What I’m Reading
Dispersion: Relocation buyers are fundamentally changing the housing landscape across the country. When higher income individuals and families from the coasts move into more affordable areas, they are able to outbid locals when housing is scarce. The result is a shift to more expensive housing costs. Affordability will become even more strained when mortgage rates rise. The only way to solve this issue is more construction in markets where demand persists. New York Times
Cooling Down? There were homebuyer bidding wars on “only” 65% of Redfin deals in June vs. 74% in April. That’s still higher than 57% in 2020 though. Redfin
Myth Buster: A new study by Freddie Mac found that while demand for urban living decreased in 2020, prices and sales overall have recovered beyond their pre-pandemic levels as of May 2021. The report also noted that demand is shifting from expensive cities to urban areas in more affordable cities across the Midwest, South, and West. Freddie Mac
Back from the Dead: With back to school season upon us, visits to indoor malls in the second quarter were “within striking distance” of pre-pandemic levels, according to a new analysis from Placer.ai—and in more good news, outdoor malls also saw their visit gap drop to a mere 0.7% during the same period. Globe Street
Green Light: Weekly refinance applications spiked 20% last week after mortgage rates dropped back to their February low. Purchase applications were also up 8% for the week but were substantially below their level a year ago. CNBC
Chart of the Day
Source: The Overshoot
WTF
Busted: Instagram influencers who don’t clearly state if they’ve edited photos which are advertisements could be fined or imprisoned in Norway due to a new law. New York Post
Nature is Healing: German environmental officials believe that cocaine exposure could be at the root of a frantic jumping behavior witnessed among salmon at a fish farm. Vice
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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