What I’m Reading
Staying Put: Nine out of ten mortgages in America carry an interest rate of less than 5%, which is the official level at which most new 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are now being written. Expect homeowners to hold onto their houses longer. Axios
Sounding the Alarm: A Riverside County supervisor is warning that Southern California Edison doesn’t have enough wattage to supply millions of square feet of warehouse space planned along a 15-mile stretch of the 215 Freeway from March Air Reserve Base to Menifee. Riverside Press Enterprise If accurate, this would be a big impediment to growth in an area where demand for new class A warehouse property is off the charts. Also, big shout out to the Press Enterprise for characterizing Inland Empire land as “cheap, flat (and) available.” I guess cheap is a relative term but, damn. LMFAO
Headache: U.S. importers who are studying shifting their sourcing from the Asia-Pacific region to Mexico and deeper into Latin America are finding it tougher to find suppliers with the right raw materials, production quality and networks for getting their own components that have been established in manufacturing hubs like China and Southeast Asia. It may take years to duplicate the supplier networks and availability of raw materials on a scale found in Asian manufacturing hubs. Wall Street Journal
Cause and Effect: The worst interest rate upturn since 1994 is likely to cause a substantial slowdown in the homebuilding industry as affordability continues to get hammered. Bonddad Blog IMO, this will continue to help put upward pressure on rents and the prices of existing homes up to the point that we experience true demand destruction (a recession).
Taking a Breather: After seeing considerable growth in borrowing and lending in the commercial and multifamily sectors in 2021, the Mortgage Bankers Association tells the industry not to expect a repeat performance this year. Globe Street
Chart of the Day
Narrative: “Investors are buying up all of the homes and pricing renters out”
Reality: “Nope”
Source: JBREC
WTF
Stolen Valor: A man posted as a DEA agent to get a discount at Wendy’s because Florida. The Smoking Gun
Let it All Hang Out: A man was arrested for allegedly exposing himself at a gas station because Florida. WFLA
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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