December 20th – Full House

Programing note: I’ll be posting a bit more intermittently over the next couple of weeks.  Wishing you all Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 

What I’m Reading

Full House: People are increasingly buying homes with their friends as a way to deal with high costs and gain a foothold in the housing market.  NBC News

Maxed Out: Los Angeles port volume is sinking as facilities become even more overwhelmed with container traffic and fail to pace.  Freight Waves

Blood in the Streets: All of the dry powder that has been raised for distressed investment finally has a target.  Some large investors are buying up Evergrande bonds at 20 cents on the dollar.  However, a distressed play on the giant Chinese developer’s debt comes with the additional risk of determining how the CCP will treat foreign creditors in a reorganization.  Wall Street Journal

Boom: Developers started construction on 734,000 multifamily units alone last month, a level not seen since the last full month of Richard Nixon’s presidency in July 1974. The largest surge in development is in the South.  This should help some with rent pressure but it is unlikely that it is overbuilding due to today’s steep supply-demand imbalance.  Bisnow

Building Wave: An earlier start to online returns—coupled with record-breaking volume of such transactions—will continue to stress already-fractured supply chains this holiday season, according to a new report from CBRE and retail services firm Optoro.  Returns require up to 20% more space and labor than fulfillment facilities.  Globe Street 

Chart of the Day

Millennials have been catching up to historical averages when it comes to household formation.

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Source: John Burns Real Estate Consulting

WTF

Joy Ride: A naked  man stole a pickup truck from a dealership, leading police on a pursuit before being arrested because Florida.  Click Orlando

Shitty Situation: A woman brought a machete into a grocery store, acted erratically, kicked a responding deputy in the face, then defecated in a patrol car and tried to throw feces at the officer because Florida.  Also, because meth.  Orlando Sentinel 

Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related. 

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