Will sharp increases in Property Taxes for
Palisades Residents become reality?
- In Palisades Park, New Jersey, concerns are growing that residents may face significant property tax increases after the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) rejected the borough’s request for an emergency appropriation.
- Palisades Park requested $7.75 million in emergency funding to cover a budget shortfall.
- The DCA denied the request, stating that the deficit does not qualify as an emergency and that it resulted from poor fiscal management and overspending, not unforeseen circumstances.
- Reason for Rejection is Emergency appropriations are meant for unexpected, urgent situations, not recurring budget overruns.
- The DCA also pointed out procedural issues and failures in budget discipline.
- Without corrective measures, property tax hike or cut tp public services in the 2026 budget are now considered highly likely.
- Many home shoppers have given up on the depressed housing market, where sales are stuck at a 30-year low. But those buying are enjoying discounts at the highest rate in years.
- About 62% of buyers last year purchased a home below the original listing price. That was the highest proportion since 2019, according to a new analysis by the real-estate brokerage Redfin.
- The average discount for the homes that sold below their original listing price was around 8%—the largest since 2012.
- Buyers are also obtaining concessions from sellers, including cash that can be used for closing costs or to buy down a buyer’s mortgage rate.
- Now, the situation has flipped. The U.S. housing market had over 600,000 more sellers than buyers in December, the biggest such gap on record in seasonally adjusted data going back to 2013, according to Redfin
Share of sold home: above, at, below listing price
Population Growth Slows.
- Census data show U. S. growth at its slowest since Covid; five states in the red. The U.S. government’s dramatic immigration restrictions have slowed population growth to the lowest levels since the Covid pandemic, new federal data show.
- The U.S. population grew by just 1.8 million, or 0.5%, to reach 341.8 million in the year ended June 30, 2025, the new estimates show. That is down from 1% growth in the prior year and marks the slowest expansion since Covid-19 caused a surge in deaths and curbed border crossings.
- The sharpest change in the data is a drop in net immigration. The Census estimated 1.3 million net arrivals in the most recent measured year, down 54% from the prior 12 months, a time period when migrants were surging into the U.S. in historically high numbers.
- Korean population in U.S. is over 1.99M and 146,133 in NY / 111,443 in NJ, and 64,121 in Bergen county.
Trump to Pick Warsh to Lead the Fed.
- The Fed chair nomination is arguably the most important personnel decision Trump faces for the remainder of his term because the central bank serves as a first responder in financial crises and sets interest rates that affect every corner of the economy and markets.
- Warsh, 55 years old, has long positioned himself to return to lead an institution he once served and has spent years publicly criticizing.
- He is a former Fed governor who played behind-the-scenes roles during Washington’s rescue of Wall Street in the 2008-09 financial crisis.
- Trump quickly soured on his choice of Powell and previously expressed regret over not picking Warsh.
- If confirmed by the Senate, he will take his position by the end of May, and will have the 1st FOMC meeting on 6/16-17 after taking the position. And 5 more FOMC meetings remain in 2026.
Hyundai’s CEO Leads U.S. Push, Sets Sights On Robots.
- Last year, Hyundai sold about a million vehicles in the U.S.—39% more than when he joined the company in 2019— and more than four million worldwide.
- Yet Muñoz, the first non-Korean chief executive of the South Korean carmaker, seems to be worried that Hyundai is moving too slowly in an era of tariffs and technological change. He wants to shake up its hierarchical culture, expand into robots and flying cars, and build factories in the U.S. faster. He said of the company’s roughly $26 billion plan to invest in the U.S.
- Hyundai has a partnership with artificial-intelligence leader Nvidia, using 50,000 Blackwell chips to make its manufacturing smarter and bring real-time AI functions to its vehicles and robots.
- By 2030, Hyundai wants 80% of the cars it sells in the U.S. to be American-made, up from nearly half now. Muñoz said the company was on track.
