What I’m Reading
Bailed Out: The latest round of federal stimulus will provide San Francisco with about $600MM over the next two years, wiping out the vast majority of its $650MM budget deficit and likely sparing it from substantial budget cuts. This was always the bullish case for blue cities that were struggling now that we have a new Democratic administration. However, budgetary issues still remain and will continue to weigh on the city if economic activity does not return, spending isn’t reigned in and remote work becomes permanent. San Francisco Chronicle
Signs of Improvement: The NMHC rent payment tracker has 80.4% of apartment tenants making full or partial payments for the first week of March. That’s down 410 basis points from the same period in 2020 but up from 79.2% in the first week of February. New stimulus measures should continue to help. NMHC
The Shift is On: Remote work has set off a boom in the Central Valley as families leave the Bay Area for larger homes and more land now with long commutes becoming a smaller concern. San Francisco Chronicle
Bucking the Trend: While department and chain retailers faced headwinds even before the pandemic, discount stores have been thriving – and are ramping up to open even more locations in 2021. The Real Deal
Bright Spots: The 2021 Best Performing Cities report from the Milken Institute found that metro areas that are less dense and tech oriented were big winners in 2020, with Provo, Utah leading the way. Bisnow
Chart of the Day
Last year about 1 in 10 conventional refinance loans was a repeat refinance (refinance of a refinance loan that was less than 1 year old). Given the trajectory of rates, I think that 2021 will be a very different story.
Source: Leonard Kiefer
WTF
Always the Ones You Lease Suspect: A judge ordered a psychological evaluation to help determine the competency of a man charged with having sexual contact with a pair of large stuffed animals at a Target store because Florida. The Smoking Gun
Honest Mistake: An accused murderer was mistakenly released from Rikers Island in NYC because of a clerical error. NY Post
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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