General

A quick look at homelessness around the world.

In the U.S. and in Minnesota Older adults (Over 55) are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population. This makes sense. Medical care is very, so are prescription drugs, rent, and food.

 

Labor Day marks the end of Summer, probably because school starts or has started. Technically summer doesn’t end for a few more weeks.

I have used most of these pictures before to commemorate Labor Day. You will notice that almost all of the workers are white. Last year I added a new picture of a hat factory that was partitioned off so that black women could work there.

Most of the jobs in the pictures don’t exist anymore. Back then wages were enough to pay for a place to live, food, and medical care too.

Working conditions for many have improved over the last 100 years but work is still work. It was once thought that technology would replace workers and it has but no one ever expected technology to be in charge of so many workers. I am thinking of those who work in warehouses, large discount chains, and call centers.

Some jobs are broken down into pieces so that each individual worker does part of a job, over and over.  Many jobs don’t pay well enough so that the worker can afford life’s necessities.

Our brand of predatory capitalism is part of the reason why so many workers can’t have nice things but their bosses and the people who own the companies can.

On a happier note labor unions are experiencing a resurgence. I think we need strong labor unions.

 

 

The photos came from Flickr commons where there is a treasure trove of old photographs.

Happy Labor Day!

Water is in the news again. Lead water pipes need to be replaced and that is expensive. The federal infrastructure bill includes some 200 billion dollars for replacing lead pipes.

Some of that money will come to Minnesota. The St. Paul Regional Board of Water Commissioners voted to develop a plan to replace all the lead water pipes in 10 years. Those pipes would be replaced by copper or polyethylene lines.

Most of the lead service lines in St. Paul were installed in homes built before 1927, and a large percentage of St. Paul houses were built before 1927. It costs about $6000 to replace the water line into a house and it will take decades to get the lead out of St. Paul.

The drinking water in your home can contain lead if there is lead in the plumbing and or the water line going from the street into your home is made of lead. There is no safe level of lead exposure and lead poisoning can cause serious illness and even death.

If you own a home in St. Paul you can use the account number on your water bill to look up your waterline and see if it is made from lead or copper.

Find more information on the City of St. Paul household water page Also, read about having a lead water line replaced.

look up your address at Satin Paul Regional Water and find out what your service line is made of.

Last year one of my neighbors asked me if I had seen a woman with white hair walking by. The missing woman was my neighbor’s mother who suffers from dementia.

I had no idea that the woman was living half a block away or I would have helped her find her way home when I saw her walking down the alley.

If you are caring for someone with dementia let your neighbors know. Providing care for someone with dementia is challenging and it isn’t unusual for people suffering from dementia to wander off.

Elders are living alone in our communities with dementia.  It helps to know your neighbors’ names and to keep an eye out for them.

In the coming years, we are going to see more seniors with dementia living among us because there are more seniors and people are living longer.

Also here are some resources for senior homeowners who want to age in place.

Here is a shocker. The president of the United States does not set interest rates. The Federal Reserve determines what interest rates will be and the president does not control the Federal Reserve, it is independant.

Residential real estate is heavily regulated at the local level. The price of a house is what a willing seller will accept for it and what a willing buyer will pay.

The economic forces of supply and demand have a huge impact on prices.

When the government has programs that reduce the cost of buying a house the demand for housing goes up and so do the prices.

I can think of a few things that would make houses more affordable.

1. Lower interest rates on home mortgages.
2. More houses – we need to build more housing.
3. Less expensive regulations so that builders can build more affordable housing.

If the demand for housing were to go down that would also drive prices down.

Housing is complex. There are no simple solutions to our lack of affordable housing.

Realtors are members of the National Association of Realtors and this is who we are:

REALTOR® Demographics

• Sixty-five percent of REALTORS® were licensed sales agents, 22 percent held broker licenses, and 17 percent held broker associate licenses.
• The typical REALTOR® is a 55-year-old white female who attended college and is a homeowner.
• 65% of all REALTORS® are female, and the median age of all REALTORS® is 55.
• Real-estate experience of all REALTORS® (median): 10 years
• 73% of REALTORS® were very certain they will remain active as a real estate professional for the next two years.
• Median tenure at present firm (all REALTORS®): 5 years
• Most REALTORS® worked 35 hours per week in 2023.
• The median gross income of REALTORS®—income earned from real estate activities—was $55,800 in 2023, a decrease from $56,400 in 2022.
• Median number of transaction sides in 2023:
  • Residential sides for all REALTORS®: 10
  • Residential sides for residential specialist broker/broker associates only: 12
  • Residential sides for residential specialists only: 10
  • Residential sides for commercial specialists only: 3
  • Commercial sides for commercial specialists only: 4
• Formal education of REALTORS®:
  • Some college: 27%
  • Bachelor’s degree: 34%
  • Graduate degree and above: 13%
  • Associate degree: 13%
  • Some graduate school: 5%
  • High-school graduate: 7%
• REALTOR® affiliation with firms:
  • Independent contractor: 88%
  • Employee: 5%
  • Other: 8%

Source: 2024 NAR Member Profile (National Association of REALTORS®)

You would never guess that 65% of Realtors are women. The “leaders” are mostly men as are the experts. The large corporations that own the large real estate companies are run by men. The median age of Realtors is 55. That means half of all members are over 55 and half are under 55.  A few years ago that median age was 57.

Boardman Realty is 100% woman-owned and operated.