Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Professor Edwin T. Burton, an economist at the University of Virginia, joined Morning News to share his insights on year-end financial advice and the retail landscape heading into the holiday season. 

“Well, if it’s a tax issue, for example, if you’re a homeowner, you probably itemize your income taxes. If you do pay those property taxes now, don’t wait till February,” Burton advised. “You can only take them for the year in which you pay them, not for the year in which they send you out the notice.” 

Burton also offered a timely warning about holiday spending: “Think again… Don’t go buy the most expensive thing you can find. Your child won’t appreciate it really because they’re not looking at the price as much as their ability to use it.” 

As for local real estate, Burton emphasized that without policy changes encouraging affordable housing development, the market will remain expensive. “If you want more housing then you have to encourage policies that have it,” he explained, noting the barriers developers face in building low-cost housing, such as high construction costs, zoning restrictions, and limited availability of land in desirable areas. These challenges make it difficult for developers to meet the demand for affordable housing, ultimately contributing to the rising prices in the market. Burton stressed the need for collaborative efforts between government and private sectors to create policies that incentivize the construction of more affordable housing units. 

Listen here for the full conversation: