A residential property tax hike in Boston, an investigation into Bill Pulte, and a surprise squatter in a California homeowner’s residence. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the week of Dec. 1-5.
Miss: A Boston Debacle. Boston homeowners will not be starting the New Year on a happy note. Mayor Michelle Wu announced there could be a 13% spike in residential property taxes beginning in January, an increase of $780 for the average homeowner. This is because the city is unable to raise enough revenue through commercial property taxes to cover its budget. With commercial property values down by 6% this year, the city is expecting homeowners to foot the bill for municipal spending. Wu added homeowners might face an extra high property tax bill in January because it applies the new tax rate retroactively to the previous quarter. Incredibly, Boston voters re-elected her last month – maybe there should be a recount?
Hit: How Now, Bill Pulte? The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has launched an investigation into Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte over the potential misuse of his office for his criminal referrals of alleged mortgage fraud against President Trump’s political foes. Despite his claims that he is a champion against mortgage fraud, it is fairly obvious that Pulte has targeted specific Democrats with the goal of enacting retribution for their past battles with Trump (New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Eric Swalwell) or inventing a phony scandal in order to improperly gain control of the Federal Reserve (in the case of Fed Gov. Lisa Cook). To date, this cockamamie scheme has been a huge failure, and it looks like the only person who will ultimately be in the hot seat is Pulte himself.
Miss: That’s Not Your Job. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the news this week by proposing a new requirement that the presidents of the Federal Reserve’s regional banks must live in their districts for at least three years before taking office. The Associated Press reports hiring regional Fed leaders from outside of the districts represents “a disconnect from the original framing” of the central bank. Of course, that has nothing to do with the “original framing” of the Fed, and it also has nothing to do with the Treasury Secretary – the regional Fed presidents are appointed by boards made up of local and business community leaders, not the Executive Branch. Bessent needs to stop interfering with the Fed and to focus on running his department properly.
Miss: A Premature Pardon. It appears that President Trump is at cross purposes with his Justice Department. This week, Trump pardoned Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of Oak View Group who was indicted earlier this year on charges that he rigged a bid to build and manage the Moody Center Arena at the University of Texas in Austin. The pardon was reportedly coordinated by Trey Gowdy, a former South Carolina congressman and Fox News host. Leiweke denied the charges, and we’re not in a position to ascertain the merits of the case against him. However, perhaps it would have made sense if the case went to trial first before a pardon was given – pardons traditionally erase criminal records and were not designed to abort a prosecution ahead of a trial. Trump criticized Joe Biden when he issued pre-emptive pardons, but now he’s doing the same thing.
Miss: Power From the People. Over in London, the growing number of data centers being constructed in the British capital has resulted in a delay in the delivery of much-needed new housing. According to The Standard, a report from the London Assembly’s planning committee determined the typical London-based AI data center uses the same level of electricity needed to power 100,000 homes. In parts of west London, electric capacity is “stretched to its limits” and the new report stated, “The queue to get a grid connection was growing and growing, with some developments being told they would have to wait until 2037 to get connected – almost 15 years into the future.” Hmmm, maybe they should have thought of that before they started building all those data centers?
Miss: The Unlikeliest Squatter. Our hearts go out to Ken J. Johnson of Altadena, California, who is dealing with a squatter in his house. No, it is not malcontented miscreant claiming the home for themselves. According to the New York Times, the squatter in question is a 550-pound black bear who has taken up residence in the home’s crawlspace. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife gave Johnson advice on how to prevent the bear’s return when it finally leaves, but it is not helping to evict the animal. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation for Johnson, but we are sympathetic to the bear. After all, with so much of its habitat destroyed by both urban sprawl and by wildfires that could have prevented if intelligent forest management policies were in place, it has no place to go. As Johnson admitted, “Actually, to date I know three people who have had this bear in their yard or crawl space.”
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
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