From the Department of Not Quite What I Meant

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Semi-Amazing

The price of a house in Detroit.

And that's the average.

Apropos of nothing

Is it Better to Buy or Rent? NYTimes java applet.

I'm not sure if they include the opportunity cost of the money you spend vs, nominally, investing. Either way, it's very much a no-go in DC right now. ($400k for a 1000 sq foot house in Arlington). Unless my illegitimate kids finally track me down and I need extra basement space, I'll be renting my cardboard box for awhile.

(And yet... the house down the block just went up for sale. Should I put in a bid? When it doubles in two years, I'll be rich!)

Dearth of taxes

Apparently, middle class federal income taxes are pretty low - I'm curious if the drop around 2000 is caused by mortgage interest deductions from the real-estate boom.