What I’m Reading
The Laundromat: “In the United States, as in many countries, real estate is an attractive investment for kleptocrats looking to park dubiously sourced money, as it continues to be one of the least transparent industries. This lack of transparency, and the flood of corrupt and illegal cash that it invites into an industry that touches every element of American society both undermines the United States’ ability to levy sanctions to stop international conflicts- and impacts any number of domestic issues…” Just Security
Race to the Bottom: Instacart announced several new services for retail partners, including one called Carrot Warehouses, which promises to help grocers build out the infrastructure to support 15-minute deliveries. That would cut Instacart’s quickest existing option — 30-minute deliveries — in half. CNN Perhaps one of these services will figure out a way to actually make money on this but no one has so far.
Easier Said Than Done: Office to logistics conversions seem logical due to demand imbalances but rarely work in reality. Commercial Property Executive
Bleeding Out: Big cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles all lost population in 2021. New York Times
Moment of Truth: We are about to find out just how much of a hedge against inflation CRE truly is. Globe Street
Chart of the Day
Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.
Source: Calculated Risk
WTF
What a Way to Go: A group of disgruntled Russian soldiers reportedly killed their commanding officer in Ukraine by running over him with a tank. NY Post
Got Beef: An Ohio woman called 911 to report being “upset because she only got 4 pieces of chicken instead of 8.” The Smoking Gun
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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