What I’m Reading
Hiding in Plain Sight: It’s well known that US infrastructure from roads, to bridges, to tunnels is falling apart. The tragic Florida condo collapse this week highlights another type of private infrastructure disaster that may be much more widespread than we currently think. Justin Gillis highlighted the problem in a terrifying but important Twitter thread:
For those of you not on Twitter, the entire thing is here: Justin Gillis (via Threader App)
Thin Air: “Real” wage adjusted house prices (dividing house prices by average hourly wages) are close to their most extreme measures during the housing bubble. However, typical monthly mortgage payment, while higher than a year ago, is nowhere near as high as it was during the housing bubble, thanks to near-record-low rates. Bonddad Blog
Pipeline: Californians are fueling Austin’s booming housing market as the city continues its evolution as a tech hub, with locals often getting priced out in the process. The good news is that Austin has room to grow from a development perspective and is building new housing to accommodate that growth as it readies to pass San Jose as America’s 10th largest city. It will be fascinating to see if the influx of Californians import the terrible land use politics of the state that they are fleeing to their new home city. San Francisco Chronicle
Slimming Down: Real estate investment managers are expected to increasingly outsource back office business functions in the coming years in an effort to realize efficiencies and focus on their core objectives. FTI Consulting
Repositioning Play: Some big name retailers are doubling down on traditional brick and mortar stores. While some of this is experienced based, much of the trend is driven by utilization of well-located retail spaces to speed up eCommerce deliveries. PYMNTS.com
Chart of the Day
This long-term chart shows an inverse relationship between US 10-year real yields and the federal government’s debt.
Source: The Daily Shot
WTF
You Don’t Say: A man who leapt from moving LAX plane told police that he smoked ‘a lot’ of meth before the stunt. New York Post
Playing Politics: Drug dealers are peddling ethically sourced ‘woke coke’ now. IMO, they missed a major marketing opportunity here by not calling it ‘Wocaine.’ New York Post
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related. Visit us at RanchHarbor.com