What I’m Reading
Micro Marketing: Cities have historically tried to increase job opportunities by trying to attract large companies with tax incentives. In the post COVID remote work world, cities are increasingly focusing their marketing efforts on appealing to individuals who already have a job but are looking for a better place to live. Several have established marketing programs to lure remote workers. Axios
Taking Share: Fannie and Freddie have not been aggressive in the multifamily space thus far in 2021. At the same time, LifeCo lenders have been increasing their allocations to the space and broadening their offerings. Multi-Housing News
Technobabble: When it comes to inflation, the word “transitory” means that the rate of price increases slows down to a normal level, not that prices actually correct and fall back down. IMO, the Federal Reserve is doing a poor job of explaining this, sewing confusion. Pragmatic Capitalism
Can’t Beat the Clock: “Over nearly a decade, Japanese policymakers have wielded nearly every trick in the economist’s playbook in an effort to coax prices higher. They have juiced the economy with cheap money, spent huge sums on fiscal stimulus like public works, and lowered interest rates to levels that made borrowing nearly free.” New York Times Reality is that Japan has terrible demographics and an aging population with very little immigration and a record low fertility rate. Simulative policies may help a bit but there is really no way to beat demographic trends. When an ever fewer amount of working age people end up supporting a growing number of retirees, it is a massive drag on growth.
On the Move: Migration continues to be robust among renters in the post-COVID world, according to new data from Apartment List. Apartment hunters are also wealthier than ever before, thanks in part to the geographic flexibility granted by generous WFH policies and to the increasing unaffordability of homeownership. Apartment List
Chart of the Day
Source: Apartment List
WTF
Its the Thought That Counts: -A Louisiana man has admitted to stealing and pawning a $4500 ring owned by his girlfriend and then using the ill-gotten proceeds for a down payment on an engagement ring for the same woman. IMO, they need to make a rom-com based on this story ASAP. The Smoking Gun
That’ll Show Em: A man is accused of stealing an alligator from a tourist attraction, then swinging the animal around and deliberately stomping on it in order to “teach it a lesson” because Florida. News Channel 8
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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