What I’m Reading
Meat on the Bone: A wave of refinancing has led to a mortgage boom in 2020, testing the limits of lender origination capacity. However, there is still a lot of meat left on the bone. According to a report this week by data and analytics firm Black Knight, there are over 19 million high-quality refinance candidates in America, representing 43% of all 30-year mortgage holders. Housing Wire But See: The new “adverse market fee” announced for all refinances guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or after December 1st will result in rates on new mortgages moving higher by 0.125-0.25%. (h/t Mark Foley) US Housing and Mortgage Market Weekly
Keys in the Mail: One of the big selling points of CMBS loans is that they are typically non-recourse to borrowers and those with no equity left can fairly easily walk away without risk of being pursued for deficiencies in the event that lenders do not make a full recovery. Most of the time, this is a non-issue, but with large owners like Blackstone Group Inc., Brookfield Property Partners L.P., Starwood Capital Group and Colony Capital Inc. turning over the keys on struggling assets, investors in some CMBS bonds are likely to take pandemic-related losses. NREI
Hard Sell: The open office tried to improve the office-work status quo – and mostly failed. The post-pandemic dynamic workplace will have to be attractive enough to convince people to even bother showing up, highlighting more varied workspaces for collaboration, and a chance to be away from a distraction-filled home. Wall Street Journal But See: JP Morgan is ordering its sales and trading teams back to the office and pinning the decision on the fact that younger workers were not productive during WFH – especially on Mondays and Fridays. Bloomberg And: Well, that didn’t last long – JP Morgan is already sending traders home with COVID infections after reopening. Bloomberg
Covered Up: Even after re-opening, Las Vegas remains a ghost town with empty casinos and hotels, shuttered shows and even its famous strip clubs sporting signs that say ‘Sorry, We’re Clothed.’ Daily Mail
Critical Link: Work from home arrangements have brought data centers to the forefront as the need to deliver information in a real-time fashion from a variety of locations became even more critical. This has forced many networks to upgrade their equipment since the pandemic hit. Globe Street
Chart of the Day
Cannabis use is way up during the pandemic while use of cocaine and ecstasy have decreased substantially.
Source: The Economist
WTF
Covidiot of the Day: A Pennsylvania man pelted a super market manager with boxes of frozen pizza after refusing to wear a mask inside the store. The Smoking Gun
The Heist: A 65 year old man was arrested for trying to steal a parked trolley because Florida. NBC 2 News
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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