Issi Romem was the chief economist at Trulia and had a Ph.D. in Economics from Berkeley. He is a published author with many papers on real estate trends, city real estate data and writes about the current pulse of real estate investment. Growing up in Israel, Issi has always cared about cities, liked looking at buildings and maps from an early age. He is using his background in economics to assist Trulio and other startups with publicity through research. He talks about the affordability crisis, outward expansion, and suburban sprawl, their patterns, and the increase in density of cities since the 1970s. Traditionally, we have used suburban sprawl to build homes for populations outside of cities, however, once this sprawl slows down, the prices of housing are being pushed up. As a result, we are seeing cities on the coast, such as California and the Northeast becoming very expensive. Grand Policy Changes, how the cost of living in expensive cities drives industries and careers available in these cities, and how development patterns can change are all variables that drive investment opportunities. A new trend in coastal towns is people coming into coastal cities from other countries overseas. The challenge for cities is to increase growth while keeping the cost of living from exploding. Listen in to find out what cities have a legacy, coastal, and expansive traits, where you will see better yield as far as appreciation in apartment rentals and the different variables and characteristics of expansive cities versus coastal cities. Learn what factors are the root causes of expansion in American towns, Issi’s views on zoning, and what factors will need to change to fix the housing affordability issue. Guest Bio Dr. Romem is the founder of MetroSight and a fellow at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at U.C. Berkeley. He has also served as Chief Economist of Trulia and Senior Director of Housing & Urban Economics at Zillow. His research on metropolitan growth patterns, construction trends and housing has been featured in major publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and more. He regularly speaks at industry and research forums. Prior to that, Issi served as Chief Economist of BuildZoom, advised the Rentonomics team at Apartment List, and worked as an economist at OnPoint Analytics and the Bay Area Council. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University, and a Ph.D. in economics from U.C. Berkeley, where he has also taught as an adjunct professor. Subscribe to Eyes Wide Open Podcast Apple Spotify Android Stitcher Links and Resources Eyes Wide Open Real Estate Investment on YouTube Eyes Wide Open Investing Issi Romem on LinkedIn MetroSight Eyes Wide Open Real Estate Investment https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxlRIh8MARsGSVfwLW0VfiA/ Eyes Wide Open Investinghttps://www.eyeswideopeninvesting.com/ Email Don Gangulymailto:don.ganguly@mynd.co Connect with Don Ganguly on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/donganguly/ In This Episode: [02:00] Issi gives us his background and why he chose economics as his major at Berkeley. [02:56] Where and when you want to invest into a city based on real estate data and trends. [06:10] Cities who are a magnet for workers and have high population density may not be a great investment. [08:30] The new concern for coastal cities: who can live there as opposed to how many people can live there. [09:47] Expansive cities and the dynamics involved in their real estate. [12:35] How the specifics of properties matter when choosing your next real estate investment. [14:34] Three factors which are the root causes of expansion of American cities. [18:34] Issi’s view on zoning when investing in real estate. [23:20] The solution to housing affordability. [24:31] Homelessness epidemic and social impact, especially on the West Coast. [26:01] Legacy cities and solving the financial problems of a legacy city. [29:50] “The Silver Tsunami”, the effects of an aging population on real estate. [35:17] How many of the 6.5 million homes that are sold will be in the Silver Tsunami category? [39:20] Fluctuations in real estate and our current economy. [42:20] Marriage, family, and how these factors affect housing and walkability in city environments.
