ECONOMY/NEW YORK/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The luxury real estate market in Manhattan is sagging. The GOP tax law is hitting real estate markets across the nation. And signs of stress across the broader housing market suggest the industry — which made Donald Trump rich, helped thrust him into the White House and remains a constant obsession for him — could also be one that slows his economy and dents his chances at a second term. The housing market may not cause the next recession like it did in 2008. But weakness in the construction of new homes, sales of existing homes and affordability for millennials looking to buy for the first time could contribute to a recession arriving as soon as next year or prolong any downturn. In addition to 2008, declines in the housing market were tied to recessions in 1974, 1980 and 1990-91, raising concerns that history is about to repeat. One area in which housing-market stress is obvious is the one Trump knows best: High-end apartments in Manhattan, where prices are now dropping as foreign buyers disappear and wealthy residents flee to lower-tax states.”
–Ben White and Katy O’Donnell, “Signs of economic strain emerge in Trump’s home base,” Politico, March 7, 2019 5:06 am