A YouTube star’s homebuilding project, a new mansion tax proposal and Detroit leads the nation for the wrong reason. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the real estate week of July 1-5.
Hit: MrBeast to the Rescue. The feel-good story of the week belongs to Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTube star better known as MrBeast, whose latest video “I Built 100 Homes And Gave Them Away!” scored 71 million views after its premiere over the weekend. MrBeast teamed with three nonprofits – Food for the Poor, New Story and Techo – to construct 100 single-family homes in poverty-stricken areas of Jamaica, El Salvador, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia. After the homes were built, he gave them away for free to local residents. MrBeast ended the video by stating that he hoped to build and give away 1,000 more homes. If you’ve not seen the video yet, check it out here.
Miss: Taking it to the Voters. On Election Day, California voters will face Proposition 33, a ballot initiative that consists of a single sentence: “The state may not limit the right of any city, county, or city and county to maintain, enact or expand residential rent control.” The initiative’s advocates claim it will help tame the challenges facing the state’s renters, but the California Apartment Association warned this could make a bad situation worse. Shifting this level of housing authority from the state government to the municipal governments could spark a court challenge if Proposition 33 succeeds – and this story has the potential to be with us well into 2025 and beyond.
Miss: Soak the Rich, Again. A new effort is underway to bring a mansion tax to Connecticut thanks to State Sen. Martin M. Looney. The New Haven-based Democrat believes raising taxes on properties with an assessed value exceeding $1.5 million is a great way to finance government social programs. “I believe we ought to look at generating more revenue at the state level from high-end properties,” said Looney, who tried and to float a similar proposal last year. As a state with some of the nation’s highest property taxes and a higher-than-normal outbound migration rate, the idea of imposing a mansion tax is (sorry to say) looney.
Hit: Blockchain in the Spotlight. The intersection of blockchain technology and real estate was on display this week with two major stories. Mantra, an institutional-grade Layer 1 Blockchain for real world assets, announced it is providing a tokenization platform that enables real estate investors to access Dubai properties created by UAE developer MAG. The companies have set a goal of tokenizing $500 million worth of MAG’s real estate assets. Separately, high-profile real estate investor Grant Cardone listed a residential luxury property in Golden Beach, Florida, on the Propy blockchain-based real estate platform with an asking price of $42 million – and buyers will be able to use Bitcoin for their purchase. “We are all in on blockchain revolutionizing real estate,” declared Cardone. “We are leveraging top-tier technology to make transactions seamless and unstoppable. This is the future of real estate, and we’re leading the charge.”
Miss: Detroit’s Latest Problem. Detroit elbowed out Atlanta to become the most overpriced U.S. housing market in the latest Top 100 U.S. Housing Markets report from Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. According to data covering May housing trends, homes in the Detroit metropolitan area were found to be 40.79% overvalued compared to their long-term pricing trends. Atlanta, the previous leader for overpriced housing, was found to be 40.37% overvalued. Dr. Ken H. Johnson, real estate economist in FAU’s College of Business, explained, “Detroit’s rise as the most overvalued housing market in the country is likely due to new household formation. While population growth is relatively stagnant in the area, people are starting to leave their current households to form new ones, placing pressure on a housing market that simply does not have enough units to support this new demand.”
Hit: Being Proud of Real Estate Professionals. If you haven’t seen “Celebrating Freedom of Housing in the USA,” the Fourth of July essay written by our publisher John G. Stevens, I would urge you to read it. Real estate professionals are often treated shabbily by politicians, the mainstream media and others who don’t understand the depth and scope of this sector of the economy, and this essay offers a much-needed affirmation of the important role played by these professionals. “Homeownership is more than just a financial investment; it is a foundation for personal and community well-being,” wrote Stevens in his eloquent praise of the men and women who play an invaluable role in our economy and neighborhoods.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
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