What I’m Reading
Open Field: Startups in smaller MSAs are facing competition from large Silicon Valley competitors when it comes to hiring employees:
Some of the biggest names in tech aren’t just allowing existing workers to relocate out of the Bay Area, they are also starting to hire in places they hadn’t often recruited from before. The result is the most geographically distributed tech labor market to date. That’s leading to above-market rates for workers in smaller hubs, forcing local companies to raise wages to keep up with the cost of living and fend off deeper-pocketed rivals from California, Seattle and New York.
Boom: Apartment completions have hit a two decade high and it couldn’t come at a better time with vacancy at all-time lows. However, the completions have to be taken in the context of years of undersupply. Also, a substantial portion of these deliveries are in hard-hit gateway markets, which could slow local recoveries. Globe Street
Tale of the Tape: The 20 states that reduced unemployment benefits in June did not see an immediate spike in overall hiring, but early evidence suggests something did change: The teen hiring boom slowed in those states, and workers 25 and older returned to work more quickly. Washington Post
Failure to Launch: COVID set off a lot of speculation about adoption of hub and spoke office networks with smaller workplaces closer to where employees live. However, there are few signs of companies pushing hard to adopt such a model. Commercial Observer
Preemptive: In June, 76.6% of the new homes sold were either still under construction or not yet started. This is considerably higher than the 65% level where the metric trended before the pandemic. The trend is likely due to homebuilders intentionally slowing the pace of new sales to allow production to catch up. Axios However: Supply is finally increasing but prices are still going up. As sales typically lead prices, this should signal a slowdown. Bonddad Blog
Chart of the Day
Good snapshot of what is in and out of favor from an investor standpoint. Somewhat surprised to see office on par with retail.
Source: @avikXm
WTF
Cut Short: A man startled beachgoers when he washed ashore inside a hybrid bubble-running wheel device, which he had planned to take all of the way to New York because Florida. MSN
Off Easy: A 78-year-old Florida woman who was arrested after a Whopper-throwing fit in May of this year at Burger King, has been sentenced to probation because Florida. Tampa Free Press
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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