"A much higher standard of living"

When I wrote this article in the summer, I was particularly impressed when Constance Moore of BRE Properties told me that "living in a Class A or B apartment provides a much higher standard of living than your typical $600,000 house."

Okay, so she has a vested interest, since she is top brass at an apartment-centered REIT. But this old broad (that's what she calls herself, btw) is right. And the market's just about now starting to realize it.

Wintertime ... and the rentin ain't easy

On a morning when a friend emails me from Kalamazoo, Mich., to tell me she can't afford the rent, I read this.

Hard to know what to do about cries for affordability. I'm always more renter-friendly than landlord-friendly, but I can hardly tell them to lower their prices to benefit me ... can I?