John T. Reed’s news blog

I saw a Reddit reader say he had some sort of 4-year exclusion on home gains tax because he is in the military. “The second rule is the military extension of the capital gains exclusion. This allows active-duty military members who are away from their property due to permanent change of station orders to extend the 60-month period up to an additional 10 years. This means that eligible military members may exclude their capital gains as long as they occupied the primary residence for two of the previous 15 years. “There are special limitations for situations in which a homeowner...

One of Chris Cuomo’s problems, it seems to me, is he wanted to be cool. And that is more of a problem because it is a middle school/high school impulse and the target audience is the former kids with whom you went to middle school and high school with and their birth-year peers at all the schools you did not attend. This desire to be thought of as cool by your old middle- and high-school classmates and those birth-year peers is common, but it usually goes away when you go off to college or out into the post-school adult world....

Because of high inflation in Turkey, its citizens are fleeing to Europe. I have repeatedly told readers here that if we get hyperinflation here, you will have to leave the U.S. . That seems to meet with a lot of resistance. It is not debatable. The average Venezuelan has lost 24 pounds due to their hyperinflation. . One Turk says in today's WSJ, "We used to cook meat every day. Now it's just once a week." Another Turk said his family had to stop eating meat at all. . Another of the Five Bad Laws that hyperinflated governments always pass...

A year or so ago, many would be home buyers and investors decided to sit out the current home market. Why would a home buyer not buy a home? Why would a would be-investor not invest? They claimed the market was “insane,” “crazy,” “nuts,” “ridiculous.” Those adjectives apply more to those who sat out the market more than to the market. What happened in the market was some pent-up demand came out of the lock downs. Also, prices are determined by supply and demand. The supply as measured by housing starts plummeted in 2020 due to covid, lack of construction workers and shortages of...

A guy who calls himself Street Smart Lou Brown says a big real estate crash is coming. . There is no big real estate crash coming. . Why is he saying there is? I guess because many assume all booms are followed by busts. And I guess he thinks he can make a buck telling those people what they want to hear. He wouldn’t be the first. . I have said I expect hyperinflation. I explain why and many ways how to protect yourself here and elsewhere at my web site. I also have a book on the subject. .Brown...