According to BusinessWeek, residential rents dropped in several major cities due to the decline in the demand for housing. People are losing money on their investments, cutting spending, and moving in with other family members in order to save cash. This is having an adverse affect on rental markets nationwide. Rental markets like New York City and the suburbs of New Jersey are drastically feeling the decline in demand for housing since the financial crisis exacerbated in 2008.
BusinessWeek.com worked with Axiometrics to come up with a list of 25 large metros where rent declines accelerated most at the end of 2008. In Salt Lake City, where the economy had been holding up better than most cities, effective rents (including landlord concessions) fell 2.3% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter. By comparison, rents were climbing 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2007. (more…)
Update: You can probably sleep sound tonight knowing that the granite countertops in your home will probably not give you cancer.
According to an article at Realtytimes.com,
the Marble Institute of America says such comments are “ludicrous” because, while granite is known to contain uranium (which can produce radon) and other radioactive materials like thorium and potassium, the amounts in countertops are not enough to pose a health threat.
(more…)
This article was on the front page of Yahoo and it caught my attention. The New York Times’ Kate Murphy reports:
Allegations that granite countertops may emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation have been raised periodically over the past decade, mostly by makers and distributors of competing countertop materials…granite is known to contain uranium and other radioactive materials like thorium and potassium, the amounts in countertops are not enough to pose a health threat.
Apparently, a married couple had a radon test done in their home and the radon levels were much higher than anticipated. The radon test revealed that the radon levels were 10 times higher by the granite countertop in comparison to any other room in the house.
Maybe cross off granite countertops as a requirement for your next rental property.
Source: What’s Lurking in Your Countertop?
