Where real estate meets rhythm | Developer, investor, live music enthusiast, and mountain seeker.

​ By Daniel Kaufman — May 2026 I've been developing workforce and affordable housing in New England long enough to recognize a zombie idea when I see one. The zombie in question: if you just build more units, prices will fall. It sounds so reasonable. It's Econ 101. Increase supply, reduce price. Works great for soybeans. Doesn't work nearly as cleanly for the thing people sleep in. A newly published study out of UVM — authored by economist Joe Ament and doctoral student Chris McElroy — just put some real data behind that skepticism, specifically in Burlington. The researchers analyzed more than 4,000 single- and two-family home sales over two decades, from 2003 to 2023, and what they found should reshape the policy conversation across all of New England, not just Vermont. THE NUMBERS THAT STOP YOU COLD Burlington's average home price nearly tripled over the study period, climbing from roughly $188,000 in 2003 to almost $500,000 by 2023 — with the steepest acceleration ...

Let me give you the number that should have every land-hungry developer paying attention: raw land prices surged 86.5% between early 2019 and March 2026. Not build-ready lots. Not partially improved parcels. Raw dirt. The stuff with no utilities, no clearing, no entitlements — just acreage and a dream. According to Realtor.com’s first-ever land listing analysis, overall land prices per acre climbed roughly 77% over that same stretch, while inventory of for-sale parcels cratered 24%. The pandemic lit a fire under a market that was already supply-constrained, and developers — chasing historically cheap debt — ran hard at every acre they could find. The result? A tiered appreciation story. • Raw land: +86.5% • Semideveloped parcels: +80% • Build-ready lots: +53.3% Why did raw land outrun everything else? Two reasons, according to Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner. First, it started from a lower price point — more room to run. Second, build-ready lots have a natural ceil...

​ Happy New Year’s Eve. Next week I’ll share some predictions for 2026, but before we rush ahead, it feels worth pausing for a moment and looking back at the year we’re closing out. 2025 was… a year. On a personal level, I’m grateful. Everyone in my life stayed healthy. Business was strong. We made real progress on our workforce housing efforts, which continues to be some of the most meaningful work I’ve ever been part of. For me, it was a very good year. But if I’m being honest, the broader mood out there felt heavy. The headlines were unsettling. A lot of people seemed on edge. Between political tension, economic anxiety, and the rapid rise of AI, it often felt like nobody quite knew what the future was going to look like. The vibes, as the kids say, were bad. I asked a simple question on social media recently: How was 2025 for you? About 30% said “okay.” Another 30% said “poor,” “bad,” or “terrible.” That felt about right. So how do we even measure how things are going anymore? I ca...