What I’m Reading
On the Move: For decades, the share of Americans moving to new cities has been falling. The pandemic-induced rise of telework is turning that trend around. This is perhaps a silver lining in the chaos that is 2020. Axios
Before the pandemic, the top 15 most expensive cities in the country had just 19% of the population but the vast majority of business activity, writes Adam Ozimek, chief economist at Upwork, which connects freelancers to employers. Now, with remote work, 49% of business spend on Upwork’s platform is going from those cities to lower-cost places
Perfect Storm: A combination of insurance companies declining to renew policies and city residents moving to larger homes has caused an affordability crisis in fire-prone areas of California. The Wall Street Journal
Hitting the Wall: In the early months of the pandemic, many hotel borrowers worked out special arrangements with their lenders, in some cases burning through their reserves to fund interest payments. However, a growing number of owners have stopped making payments altogether and a significant number are now weighing whether to repurpose their properties or simply send the keys back to their lenders. At the same time, lenders are rightfully concerned about becoming hotel owners during a pandemic. The result will likely – eventually – be distressed note sales. The Real Deal
Overflow: US Gulf Coast ports are pulling more freight traffic from Asia as congestion at West Coast ports remains an issue. JOC.com
Already Gone: The Dallas Business Journal is reporting that CBRE is going to move their headquarters to Dallas from Los Angeles. To be fair, this had been happening slowly since CBRE purchased Trammel Crow. However, it does represent yet another major employer leaving the golden state for less taxing pastures. At this point, I’m just hoping that the last large company to leave the Golden State will remember to turn the lights off. Dallas Business Journal
Chart of the Day
Shot.
Chaser.
Source: @SoberLook
WTF
Portal to Hell: A man fell 15 feet into a pit of rats when a sidewalk sinkhole opened under his feet because New York. Apparently the poor guy couldn’t even open his mouth to scream because he was afraid that the rats would get in his mouth. And yes, there is a surveillance video. The Cut
Monkey Business: Costco has stopped selling Thai-made coconut products because they are allegedly using forced monkey labor (h/t Mike Deermount). In related news, Senator Bernie Sanders announced a trip to Thailand to help the monkeys unionize. NY Post
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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