Monday, April 14, 2008

Big Trouble

The housing market is officially in BIG TROUBLE. The top tier law firms are scaling back hiring of new associates! Who will buy $600,000 2 bed condos now?!

Law Firms Curtail Associate Programs As Economy Slows


By ASHBY JONES
April 14, 2008; Page B1

For associates at law firms, how quickly things have changed.

This time last year, salaried lawyers at many of nation's largest firms had just scored a pay bump, as business was blazing and firms were scrambling to keep talent. Now, due largely to a slowdown in work relating to mortgages, real estate, mergers and private equity, some firms are taking such measures as rescinding offers to incoming associates and summer associates, asking first-year lawyers to start several months later and shortening their summer programs to save money.


I can hear Lincoln Pk and River North screaming right now.

2 comments:

The North Coast said...

"who will buy 2 bed condos for $600,000 now?"

How about all the traders who are shorting all the CDOs? Some money managers are absolutely cleaning up off the unravelling of the housing market.

Oh, but I forget... these guys don't need $600K apartments.. they're busy looking for the perfect 40,000 sq ft mega-palace with the heated 10-car garage with inlaid marble floors, three swimming pools, a gameroom with an $185K billiards table, and, for the wife or mistress, the perfect little Judith Leiber handbag encrusted with semi-precious stones for $75K.

Anything less than that, like a great $1mm coach house in Lincoln Park, is going to go begging for quite a while, never mind all the ill-conceived conversions, rehabs, and new construction in other Chicago nabes such as Lakeview, Uptown, Hyde Park, Edgewater, and Rogers Park.

stuckinthecity said...

Oh, but I forget... these guys don't need $600K apartments.. they're busy looking for the perfect 40,000 sq ft mega-palace
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I would say most big dollar people already have their castle. They are probably staying away form rental units untill they can get a *good* discount.