MarketWatch: Weekly Real Estate Update for Riverdale, Bronx – 8/24/2026 – 8/31/2026

Did You Know?

* Two massive wildfires are raging in the US: The Ross Fire in Northern Texas has scorched at least 80,000 acres in North Texas, damaging several structures in Palo Pinto County, including a longtime canoe rental business in Graford. The Ross Fire is among several wildfires burning west of Interstate 35 as extremely dry fuels, high temperatures and strong winds create dangerous fire conditions across North Texas.  Meanwhile, in the Big Sur area of Northern California, over 30,000 acres are burning. There are currently 581 Active US Wildfires with about 4.8 million acres actively burning. Oregon is currently experiencing the most severe wildfire activity in the US, having recently broken its all-time annual record with more than 2 million acres burned so far this season.

* Lets face. it solar panels are ugly: a new effort is rising in Europe to install solar panels between railway tracks…..with thousands of miles of tracks, these panels would be virtually unseen and capable of generating massive swaths of energy, especially now with sophisticated battery systems to store power. The US has 140,000 miles of railroad tracks…. which could generate 36 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year, with a peak capacity of roughly 40.5 gigawatts ….enough to power over 3 million US homes. In California Project Nexus, is testing solar canopies that researchers say could generate gigawatts of power and save billions of gallons of water by providing shade that slows evaporation of its massive canal system used to irrigate crops…..generating some 13 gigawatts of solar power (roughly half the new solar capacity needed to meet California’s energy targets) and save 63 billion gallons of water annually. (NY TIMES)

* What do you do with large swaths of public housing that is dated and decaying? Instead of tearing it down, The Arabellahaus in Munich will be made it fatter: the ageing façades and balconies will be stripped away and a new, roughly 7ft-deep structure will be wrapped around the building’s long sides to accommodate lifts, staircases and services, relieve pressure on the existing structure and, crucially, create additional interior space. On the roof, a publicly accessible garden is planned, reached by an enormous outdoor escalator roughly four times the length of the one at Paris’s Centre Pompidou. (MONOCLE)

* Shanghai’s retail scene is sophisticated, full of confidence and less mall-centric than other Asian megacities.

* There is a difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance via legal means: tax evasion is now a very big concern. Reasonable estimates of the “tax gap” — taxes that individuals and businesses are legally obliged to pay, but don’t — are startlingly large — $600 billion a year or more – approximately 40% of the current budget deficit. Much of this tax gap is surely accounted for by tax evasion by high-income Americans. So tax evasion is a significant contributor to both the rise of American oligarchy and the high federal debt.

Mortgage Rate Updates:

US 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 6.66% as of August 27th, 2026, slightly up from 6.65% in the prior week. “Mortgage rates changed little this week averaging 6.66%,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. The economy remains resilient, supported by steady consumer spending and rising household incomes, while increased housing supply and slower price growth in many areas are giving buyers more options and helping create a more balanced housing market. A year earlier, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.56%. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.98%, up from 5.95% in the previous week.

Source: Freddie Mac