MarketWatch: Weekly Real Estate Update for Riverdale, Bronx – 4/21/2025 – 4/28/2025

Did You Know?

* The newish 7% State capital gains tax in Washington State on sales exceeding $250,000 didn’t apply to Jeff Bezos who made his fortune in the state…..because he moved to Florida …so when he sells 12 million worth of shares for roughly $2 billion he saves $140 million in taxes….yup, the rich are mobile! Several states have lost billions in revenue because wealthy people have relocated to other lower tax states.

* According to a Grand View Research report, the global “mind, body and energy healing” market size (incorporating yoga, meditation and acupuncture) was estimated at $78.5bn in 2023 and is projected to grow year on year at 26% to 2030…including energy healers of homes. (FT)

* California State is now the fourth largest economy in the world – with a higher nominal 2024 GDP ($4.1 trillion) than the country of Japan….higher than the countries of India and the UK too! California certainly has its challenges, but wow…..that is impressive on any level! California’s population is about 39.5 million and Japan’s 123 million…..which makes California also 3X more economically productive per capita. California’s GDP is almost double that of Russia’s even though Russia’s population is 369% larger.

* Are PRIVATE exclusives a return to the caste system? The caste system is a hierarchical social stratification that divides society into groups (often called “castes”) based on birth and occupation, primarily found in India and other South Asian regions. It traditionally categorized individuals into groups like Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants), and Shudras (laborers), with Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) outside this system. Over time, it has evolved into the jati system, where individuals are categorized by their lineage and occupation. Maybe the word ‘caste’ has also had its meaning changed?

* Cape Town was voted the #1 city in the world for 2025 based on a survey of over 18,500 TIME OUT global participants…. Cape Town faced fierce competition from the likes of Bangkok (#2), Melbourne (#4), London (#5), and New York City (#3). New Orleans , Chicago and Los Angeles also made the TOP 40. Cape Town scored highly across the 44 different criteria used in the survey, with 82% of Capetonians describing their city as beautiful, and 97% of locals saying it makes them happy. Cape Town has huge challenges too:  massive unemployment, poverty, reliance on government support and homelessness. Their young mayor has managed however to spur lots of affordable housing, improved services and infrastructure and has incentivized keeping the city clean by paying people for every bag of garbage collected…. being extremely reliant on tourism for jobs and revenue compels them to keep the city attractive – and safe – for visitors.

Mortgage Rate Updates:

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage backed by Freddie Mac eased to 6.81% on April 24th, down slightly from 6.83% the previous week, which marked a two-month high. “The average mortgage rate decreased slightly this week. Over the last couple of months, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fluctuated less than 20 basis points, and this stability continues to bode well for buyers and sellers alike,” said Sam Khater, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac.

Source: Freddie Mac