How to use this Page

New York City is the midst of a housing affordability crisis. Over the last decade, average rents have climbed 15% while the income of renters has increased only 2%. The city’s renaissance since the 1990's has drawn thousands of new residents; today, the population of 8.5 million people is the highest it has ever been. But New Yorkers are finding that the benefits of city living are not without its costs. The demand for housing has outstripped the real estate community’s ability to supply it; as a result, prices have been rising.

The post New York City’s housing crisis appeared first on OUPblog.

He's not inviting you to his mansion anytime soon, but at least we've got this video tour.

The post Look Inside Ed Catmull’s New $10 Million San Francisco Mansion appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

DreamWorks has finally found a viable business model: selling its studio campus over and over again.

The bank that bought the campus just a few weeks ago is attempting to flip the property for a $65 million profit.

Disney Animation and Pixar president Ed Catmull is listing one of his compounds in Kailua, Hawaii, just two years after building it.

It may not pay to be an artist on "The Simpsons," but it definitely pays if you're a voice actor on the show.

By Maisy Wong

 
There are many policies around the world designed to encourage ethnic desegregation in housing markets. In Chicago, the Gautreaux Project (the predecessor of the Moving To Opportunity program) offered rent subsidies to African American residents of public housing who wanted to move to desegregated areas. Germany, the United Kingdom, and Netherlands, impose strict restrictions on where refugee immigrants can settle. Many countries also have “integration maintenance programs” or “neighborhood stabilization programs” to encourage desegregation. These policies are often controversial as they are alleged to favor some ethnic groups at the expense of others. Regardless of the motivation behind these policies, knowing the welfare effects is important because these desegregation policies affect the location choices of many individuals.

I am interested in one such desegregation policy in Singapore: the ethnic housing quotas. Using location choices, I analyzed how heterogeneous households sort into neighborhoods as the ethnic proportions in the neighborhood change. To do this at such a local level I had to assemble a dataset of ethnic proportions by hand-matching more than 500,000 names to ethnicities using the Singapore residential phonebook.

The ethnic housing quotas policy in Singapore is a fascinating natural experiment. It was implemented in public housing estates in 1989 to encourage residential desegregation amongst the three major ethnic groups in Singapore: Chinese (77%), Malays (14%), and Indians (8%). The quotas are upper limits on the proportions of Chinese, Malays, and Indians at a location. Locations with ethnic proportions that are at or above the quota limits are subjected to restrictions designed to prevent these locations from becoming more segregated. For example, non-Chinese sellers living in Chinese-constrained locations are not allowed to sell to Chinese buyers because this transaction increases the Chinese proportion and makes the location more segregated.

Using transactions data close to the quota limits and controlling for polynomials of ethnic proportions calculated using the phonebook, I documented price dispersion across ethnic groups that is consistent with theoretical predictions of the policy’s impact. The findings suggest a model where Chinese and non-Chinese buyers have different preferences for Chinese neighborhoods.

Indeed, my estimates show that all groups have strong preferences for living with members of their own ethnic group but the shapes of the preferences are very different across the three ethnic groups. All groups have ethnic preferences that are inverted U-shaped but with different turning points. This means that once a neighborhood has enough members of their own ethnic group, households want new neighbors from other ethnic groups. Finding tastes for diversity and differences in the shapes of ethnic preferences is consistent with previous research using data on racial attitudes from the General Social Survey in the United States and also surveys of ethnic relations in Singapore.

I used these estimates of ethnic preferences to perform welfare simulations. The seminal work by Thomas Schelling on tipping showed that externalities exist in a model with ethnic preferences because a mover affects the utility of his current and future neighbors by changing the ethnic composition of the neighborhood. Due to these externalities, Schelling showed that policies such as the ethnic quotas could potentially be used as a coordination mechanism to achieve equilibrium with integrated neighborhoods. My welfare estimates show that under the quota policy, about one-third of neighborhoods are close to the optimal allocation of Chinese, Malays, and Indians respectively.

Maisy Wong is Assistant Professor in Real Estate at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania. Her paper, ‘Estimating Ethnic Preferences Using Ethnic Housing Quotas in Singapore’ can be read in full and for free in The Review of Economic Studies.

The Review of Economic Studies aims to encourage research in theoretical and applied economics, especially by young economists. It is widely recognised as one of the core top-five economics journal, with a reputation for publishing path-breaking papers, and is essential reading for economists.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only business and economics articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Image credit: HDB flats at Tampines New Town. By Terence Ong. [Creative Commons], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Do people tend to live within their own ethnic groups? appeared first on OUPblog.

Walt Disney’s first home – his family’s house on Tripp Ave. in Chicago – is for sale. This is where Walt spent the first four years of his life, before the family moved to Marceline, Missouri. Walt’s father built the house himself.

It’s been up for sale for several years and there are no takers. According to this story in today’s L. A. Times, preservationists are concerned it’ll be torn down as it lacks historic landmark designation. Situated in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, a city councilmen there (quoted in the article) considers Disney a racist. “Walt Disney was a bigot, and I’m not going to sit here on a panel and create a historical landmark for a bigot.” I hope someone at the Disney Studio will consider purchasing the place; the $179,000 asking price is probably less than the cost of craft services on the next Iron Man movie.

Cartoon Brew | Permalink | 3 comments | Post tags: Real Estate, Walt Disney

Jeffrey Katzenberg makes his second appearance in our Lifestyles of Animation Executives column. Unlike his Beverly Hills mansion that he built on a $35 million plot of land, this relatively modest ski-in, ski-out lodge in Deer Valley, Utah cost a mere $10 million to build. The 14,000-square-foot space includes six bedrooms, gym, stone fireplace, ski-prep room with boot warmers built into the walls, an indoor pool and hot tub, a wood sauna and a billiard room. It also includes a 75-inch 3-D-enabled Samsung television that Katzenberg flew in from Korea.

The home was built twenty years ago but has been continually updated. Its interior floor plan was designed by architect Charles Gwathmey in consultation with architect Rick Otto. “[My wife] Marilyn wanted to create a place where we could be a family and not have social obligations infringe on that time,” Katzenberg explained to the Wall Street Journal. “We designed the house to be the perfect family trap. When we vacation at the house, we literally eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together.”

Guests at the home have included Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Michael Jackson, reality-TV producer Mark Burnett, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The Wall Street Journal offers more photos and a video tour of the property, which you may as well watch since it’s unlikely that Jeffrey will be extending invites to Cartoon Brew readers anytime soon. But seriously, Mr. K, if you’re ever lonely and need a ski buddy, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’ll even eat dinner with you, though breakfast and lunch seems a tad excessive.

(Photos by Chad Hurst of the Wall Street Journal)

Cartoon Brew | Permalink | 2 comments | Post tags: dreamworks, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Lifestyles of Animation Executives, Real Estate

File this one under “Things I Did Not Know About Dick Clark.” Apparently, he owns a one-bedroom Flintstones-inspired home in Malibu, and the LA Times reports that he’s selling it for $3.5 million, though the asking price doesn’t reflect the value of the home so much as it does the 23-acre plot of land it sits on. If you’re curious, here’s the full home tour in all its stone-age goodness.

(via Laughing Squid)

Cartoon Brew | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Dick Clark, Hanna Barbera, Real Estate, The Flintstones

Add the home of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz to the list of famous animator and cartoonist homes that have popped up on the real estate market recently. The 7,894-square-foot, 6-bedroom home was built in 1949 and is situated on two acres in northern California’s Sonoma County.

According to AOL Real Estate, Schulz purchased the home for $250,000 in 1973 from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa. Schulz and his wife Jeannie sold the home in 1996. The second owner listed the place way back in November 2009, and the price has now dropped from $2.9 million to $2.275 million. From the photos, which you can VIEW HERE, the place appears to be in need of an overhaul.

The home has a nice stained-glass window in a “chapel” room, which the real estate people suggest can be removed and replaced with a big-screen TV. They’ve even created a mock-up of what this new den of Godless debauchery could look like:

More photos of the home after the jump:

(Thanks, Carl Russo)

Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Charles Schulz, Peanuts, Real Estate

Sheila Barbera, the wife of the late Hanna-Barbera co-founder Joe Barbera, has listed their Studio City estate for $6.795 million dollars. According to the LA Times, Mrs. Barbera “will be making her primary residence at her Old Las Palmas estate in Palm Springs.”

The 2-acre property has a 6,900 square foot feet home with 4 bedrooms, staff quarters, and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace in the living room. There’s also a 7,200 square feet car garage, lighted tennis court, pool and spa. The home was built in 1988 so it’s not the site of any real animation history, unless you’re an admirer of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Jetsons: The Movie.

The home is listed by Karen Misraje of Partners Trust, Beverly Hills. Here’s the ALL-CAPS listing from her site:

ONE ENTERS THIS GATED ESTATE ALONG A WINDING DRIVEWAY TO A LARGE MOTOR COURT WITH A GRANDE PORTE-CO-CHERE. THIS TRADITION CLASSIC, COMMISSIONED IN 1988, IS A GATED BYRD DESIGN ESTATE AND IS SITUATED ON APPROXIMATELY 2 ACRES IN FRYMAN CANYON. THE ESTATE RESONATES SERENITY AND A COMFORTABLE FAMILY LIFESTYLE. IF OFFERS A CENTER ENTRY WITH A POWDER ROOM, A LIVING ROOM WITH FLOOR TO CEILING STONE FIREPLACE AND ACCESS TO AN OUTSIDE TERRACE WITH TREE TOP CANYON VIEWS. THE FORMAL DINING ROOM SEATS 10 GUESTS COMFORTABLY TO A MAXIMUN OF 16 GUESTS. THE GRACIOUS FAMILY ROOM/DEN HAS A FULL BAR, A FLOOR TO CEILING STONE FIREPLACE AND BEAUTIFULLY DESIGN LEADED GLASS WINDOW. THE MASTER SUITE IS ON THE MAIN FLOOR WITH A MASTER BATH AND A HUGE MASTER CLOSET. THE MASTER SUITE HAS VIEWS TO COLORFUL FOILAGE AND MATURE TREES. THE KITCHEN OFFERS A SUBZERO REFRIGERATOR AND FREEZER, A VIKING COOKTOP, BUILT-IN OVENS, CENTER ISLAND WITH SINK, WARMING DRAWERS AND A TRASH COMPACTOR WITH OVERVIEWS TO A PARK-LIKE SETTING. IN THE MAIN RESIDENCE THERE ARE 3 ADDITIONAL FAMILY BEDROOM SUITES, 1 STAFF SUITE, A LARGE LAUNDRY ROOM AND 2 STAIRCASES. A “GENTLEMAN’S” CAR GARAGE OFFERS 7200 SQ. FEET OF SPACE. THE SPACE IN THE GARAGE HAS ROOM FOR A NUMBER OF AUTOMOBILES, A PRIVATE GENTLEMAN’S OFFICE OR PLAYROOM, AN ADMISTRATIVE OFFICE, A STORAGE ROOM WITH A ROLL-UP DOOR AND A BATH. THERE IS A OUTSIDE ENTERTAINMENT PATIO ADJACENT THE POOL AND SPA. THIS ESTATE ALSO HAS A SECLUDED CHAMPIONSHIP LIGHTED TENNIS COURT AND ITS OWN COMMERCIAL GENARATOR. SHOWN BY APPOINTMENT ONLY!

Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Hanna Barbera, Joe Barbera, Real Estate