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...picking up, but that's partly because a lot of the excess inventory from the boom has been cleared out, and builders are now looking at emptier coffers than they have in a long while. Since the end of 2007, builders have been selling more houses than they've been putting up. In the first three months of 2009, there were 52,000 single-family homes started. Over the same period of time, 87,000 were sold. At the current rate of sale, all the new homes on the market would be gone in 8.8 months. That's still above...
...only worrisome part about that is what happens if demand then falters. Nationwide, we've seen an uptick in the number of people buying houses - both existing homes and new ones. But still, according to the Oppenheimer report, "the demand side of the equation is less than impressive." Nearly a third of existing-home sales are currently to first-time homebuyers - a wildly disproportionate amount. What happens to those buyers once the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit evaporates at the end of this year? Even with home prices a steal in many parts of the country, whether demand...
...30pm: Outside Nikola Tesla Airport, cab drivers approach us in quick succession after I arrive with my boyfriend and his sister for a three-day trip to visit his friend from college. We've been warned to be wary of unmetered 'gypsy' cabs run by drivers eager to overcharge clueless tourists. My boyfriend tries to reason with one, insisting that his friend, a Belgrade native, assured us that a cab would cost no more than 1,500 dinars— nothing close to the 2,500 the cabbie has quoted. The driver retorts, "Well, why doesn't your friend pick...
...10pm: Late lunch in a cafe high above the ruins of the city fortress. The long-anticipated meal followed a substantial walk through the park that now occupies the formerly bustling community within the fortress. We stay for nearly three hours, snacking on the tastiest salads I've ever eaten. Serbian cuisine, which is all locally grown, is definitely the best part of the trip. I'll never be able to return to my genetically modified diet...
...20pm: We meet friends of our host at a second cafe and discuss options for the evening. We're told that cafe and nightlife culture are defining characteristics of the city. Another characteristic I've noted? Extremely stylish restrooms...