What I’m Reading
Paved Paradise: The imminent rise of self driving trucks will fuel even more demand for outdoor industrial storage space. (h/t Scott Ramser) Wall Street Journal IMO, this previously overlooked space is about to become a darling of the CRE investment world. Why?
- Demand will continue to increase due to macro trends and cities don’t exactly like truck parking as a use, meaning supply will be constrained.
- It is a perfect investment for the permanent capital that big PE shops are shifting towards since capex is extremely low.
Rise of the Machines: A new Whole Foods store in Washington that is almost fully automated is a glimpse of the future for the high-end grocer. The Amazonification of Whole Foods is nearly complete. NY Times
Lead by Example: The Biden administration plans to accelerate the return of the federal workforce this week, as the White House seeks to show the country that in-person work can be safe. Axios I’ll be very interested to how much this spills over into the private sector.
Mind the Gap: From AAA to high yield, fixed income security spreads widened in February, an indication that fear is taking over for greed in the market. Thrasher Analytics
Left Behind: Most of the commercial real estate market has been on an historical hot streak, with values and rents soaring. However, office, traditionally the industry darling for large institutional investors is not participating. Bisnow
Chart of the Day
Savings as a percentage of personal income has collapsed to its lowest level since 2013.
Source: Liz Ann Sonders
WTF
Sunk Your Battleship: A Ukranian sailor sunk the yacht of the Russian tycoon that he works for because he made his money making “bombs for the Russian Army.” (h/t Nicole Deermount) Larazon
Foreplay: A man told police that he thought his girlfriend was “being rough like ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’” when she began to slap him but eventually fled the couple’s apartment when the beatdown continued because Florida. The Smoking Gun
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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