What I’m Reading
Mismatch: Residential development is booming and unemployment is relatively high, yet home builders are still experiencing a labor shortage. This is due to both a stigma about working in construction (even though it often pays more than some office jobs) and a lack of workers who have the training to do skilled construction labor. Couple this with the fact that it is nearly impossible to train for construction jobs via Zoom and a real problem is brewing. Bloomberg
Winners and Losers: Downtown high rises will decline in value by 10 to 15% as companies drive increased demand for office space in more dispersed secondary markets, according to a new report by Graceada Partners. Globe Street
Gold Mine: Snapchat is paying hundreds of thousands (sometimes even millions) of dollars to users who post viral content on its platform. NY Times
Game Over: In it’s final days, the Trump Administration is waiving the white flag on its efforts to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It doesn’t look like the incoming Biden Administration will be in any rush to take up this cause either. The Real Deal
Nowhere to Go But Up: With land growing scarce in the leading data center markets, expect to see data centers grow taller, denser and more sophisticated. Bisnow
Chart of the Day
Source: Real Capital Analytics
WTF
Taken to the Cleaners: California may have paid out nearly $10 billion in phony coronavirus unemployment claims — more than double the previous estimate — with some of that money going to organized crime in Russia, China and other countries, according to a security firm hired to investigate the fraud. Fox 11
Do As I Say….: A North Dakota man on probation for narcotics possession was wearing a “Don’t Do Drugs” t-shirt when he was arrested yesterday for methamphetamine possession. The Smoking Gun
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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