What I’m Reading
Open House: Supply chain issues are making it difficult for home builders to complete new houses, despite increased building activity. As a result, mostly finished units are often sitting for weeks, awaiting the delivery of items like garage doors and gutters. Wall Street Journal
No End in Sight: America made it through the Christmas season without too many bare shelves, with retail sales rising 11% from 2019. However, the epic shipping traffic jam is still hitting all-time highs, with more than 3x the as many container ships waiting for LA/LB berths as there were at this time last year, 11.6 times more than on June 24 (the low point for last year), and 31% more than on Oct. 24, when online searches for the term “supply chain” peaked and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced a new Biden administration-backed congestion fee plan. Freight Waves
Cashing In: One in nine first-time homebuyers (11.6%) surveyed in the fourth quarter by Redfin said selling cryptocurrency helped them save for a down payment. That’s up from 8.8% in the third quarter of 2020 and 4.6% in the third quarter of 2019. Redfin
Reading the Tea Leaves: Pandemic-induced volatility, coupled with uncertainty about the future has made appraisers’ jobs increasingly complex. Globe Street
Up, Up and Away: Rents are still increasing sharply on a year-over-year basis on trade-outs, indicating upward pressure on CPI in 2022. Calculated Risk Newsletter
Chart of the Day
Consumers are tapping their credit cards once again.
Source: The Daily Shot
WTF
Revisionist History: North Korea is claiming that Kim John Il invented the burrito. In related news, I guess Kim Jong Il wasn’t such a bad guy after all. NY Post
Below the Radar: An attorney was arrested for smuggling cocaine into jail because Florida. Tampa Free Press
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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