What I’m Reading
Tip of the Iceberg: Germany will introduce new legislation giving all employees the right to work from home in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, following Ireland, France and The Netherlands. If this trend continues, it will have negative impacts on office markets around the world. The Telegraph
Time’s Up: Commercial property foreclosures are poised to rise as COVID lingers and forbearance periods come to an end. Wall Street Journal
Off the Table: President Trump announced that he would no longer negotiate another COVID relief bill until after the election, following a protracted stalemate between Republican and Democratic lawmakers. This increases the odds of a deeper recession and could absolutely lead to more distress in the property market. Axios
Cold Comfort: Cold storage facilities – which were already in high demand before COVID – are having a moment as the food supply chain adapts to the pandemic, and investors are taking notice. Wall Street Journal
New Normal: A poll conducted for Cisco Systems by Dimensional Research, concluded that working from home is the “new normal.” More than 90% of respondents said they won’t return to the office full time. 12% plan to work from home all the time, 24% will work remotely more than 15 days of each month, while 22% will do that eight to 15 days every month. If this holds true, it not only will have a massive long-term impact on the office market but also the peripheral service industries that have grown around it. Bloomberg See Also: The technology boom elevated San Francisco office rents to the highest levels in the country. Now during the pandemic, these buildings are suffering the biggest rent declines. Wall Street Journal
Risk Assessment: The Arbor-Chandan Opportunity Matrix evaluated the performance of local economies and multifamily markets by tracking eight categories: levels of large multifamily loan volume, levels of multifamily construction, labor market size, labor market performance during COVID-19, mobility trends, renter performance and sentiment, renter preferences and an assessment of COVID-19 risk. Seattle, Phoenix and Austin all fared well. Arbor
Chart of the Day
Perception versus reality: Inflation has come in consistently below expectations in recent years.
Source: Wall Street Journal
WTF
Get Off My Lawn: A man was arrested for shooting an AR-15 when a census worker was trying to get on his property because Florida. Click Orlando
Locked Up: A company that made a so-called “smart” male chastity device has run into a major problem – it can be easily hacked, potentially locking your junk permanently with no way to get out. Pro tip: if you don’t trust your significant other to the point where you would have them wear such a thing to begin with, its probably best to break up with them now. Also, how the hell does one pee? (h/t Jaime Malm) Gizmodo
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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