Housing crunch could stunt LI growth, says economist.The Long Island economy is in good shape, but future growth will depend on how well rising housing costs in the area are addressed, economist, Pearl Kamer, told CoreNet Global Long Island Chapter during her annual outlook speech. "Thanks to its recent diversification, the Long Island economy is more cyclically stable than ever before," Kamer, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the for the Long Island Association, the region's biggest business organization, told about 100 attendees gathered for a Jan. 19 breakfast at the Milleridge Inn, Jericho. However, she noted, "It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to address the cost factors that could eventually derail de·rail intr. & tr.v. de·railed, de·rail·ing, de·rails 1. To run or cause to run off the rails. 2. future growth." She said the Long Island economy is entering a period of transition. "How well it does during the coming year will depend on part on how it solves the problems of affordable housing, so young, college-educated workers can remain on Long Island," she said. "But, it also depends on what happens to the national economy." Kamer said Long Island job growth has not been robust and noted that fewer than 11,000 new jobs were added in the 12 months ended in November. She contrasted that to the late 1990s, when 30,000 new jobs were created annually. And, Kamer added, "Although Long Island's unemployment rate, 4 percent, signifies a full-employment economy, Long Islanders This is a list of famous people from Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island. People from Brooklyn and Queens are on List of famous New Yorkers. This is an incomplete list. Please add to this list if you are aware of an omission. are laboring under heavy mortgage and credit card debt Credit card debt is an example of unsecured consumer debt, accessed through ISO 7810 plastic credit cards. Debt results when a client of a credit card company purchases an item or service through the card system. loads. "Long Island homes are clearly unaffordable un·af·ford·a·ble adj. Too expensive: medical care that has become unaffordable for many. un for most families and many recent purchasers had to resort to interest-only mortgages to get on board the housing market." She noted that median home prices in Nassau County Nassau County is the name of two counties in the United States of America:
Kamer noted that there is little land for new residential construction at a time when housing demand from immigrants and newly formed households remains high. In addition, construction moratoria in various towns have taken land off the market for prolonged time periods. Higher local taxes and numerous taxing municipalities in the region are also inhibiting the Island's economy. Long Island's commercial and industrial real estate markets continue to thrive, despite lackluster job growth, but Kamer noted that vacancies are rising. She cited Sutton & Edward's fourth-quarter industrial vacancy report, which put vacancy at 6.23 percent, up from 5.42 percent in the third quarter. |
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