Bundles

If you’ve ever bought a home, then you know how a bundle purchase works. If you like the proximity to the city core, you might only be able to choose a home built before 1940. If you like an expansive backyard, then you might have to move out to the suburbs. If you like a certain school district, you might have to lower your square-footage expectations. That’s how it works. The bundle cannot be unwound and sold off in parts.

If you reverse-engineer this thinking, features in real estate attract particular groups of people. The young artsy crowd can tolerate a little inner-city crime for cheap rent. Those who honor the walking on the Shabbat will outbid those who don’t. Those in the throes of raising children will be attracted to some acceptable combination of safety, schools, and recreation services. Movement among the groups is a sign of institutional strengths or weaknesses.

At different stages of life and circumstance, people will cluster to the services they hold most dear. How buyers navigate the market is an ongoing signal to all the support services they seek.