What I'm Reading Back from the Dead? Single room occupancy units, once a prominent feature of city life in America that cater to low income residents, have been largely zoned out of existence. Now, cities are taking another look at SROs as a revived source of low income housing. Governing ...
June 9th – How Low Can You Go?
What I'm Reading How Low Can You Go? The MBA's Market Composite Index, which includes purchase and refinance applications, fell 6.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis to 288.4, compared to 645.4 one year ago. That's the lowest level in 22 years. Reuters What a brutal time to be in the...
June 8th – Danger Zone
What I'm Reading Danger Zone: Diesel prices are increasing at a quicker rate than gasoline prices and inventories, especially on the east coast continue to drop. A loss of global refinery capacity is primarily to blame. Freight Waves I'm surprised that this isn't getting more attention. The entire global supply...
June 6th – Pick Your Poison
What I'm Reading Leveling Off: Rent is still increasing sharply YoY but the pace is slowing somewhat. Calculated Risk Trade Off: Just-in-time inventory management substantially reduced the risk of inventory cycle recessions where over-ordering leads to a glut. In the post-pandemic world, companies are increasingly opting for a just-in-case model...
June 3rd – Window of Opportunity?
What I'm Reading Window of Opportunity: Amazon's warehouse pullback is being viewed by some as an opportunity for logistics companies who have been largely boxed out by the e-commerce giant in recent years to pick up choice locations. Bisnow Instant Gratification: The recent proliferation of delivery apps that promise to...
June 2nd – Out of Balance
What I'm Reading Out of Balance: Households boosted spending in April but drew heavily on savings in order to do so. Higher-income consumers are likely healthy enough to continue funding their spending through savings for a while as their excess savings are significant. However, lower income households do not have...
June 1st – Disconnect
What I'm Reading Disconnect: US Economic data aren't adding up. Incomes indicate a very strong economy while expenditures show a somewhat weakening one. Something in the data is incorrect. The Overshoot Bullwhip: Lumber prices have shed over 50% since March and lumber yards are filling up as mills slow their...
May 31st – On the Move
What I'm Reading On the Move: The U-Haul move data is out for 2021. Unsurprisingly, RanchHarbor markets Texas, Florida, Arizona, Idaho and New Mexico all did well. California was at the bottom of the list. U-Haul See Also: Verizon data shows that Florida has been the big pandemic migration winner. ...
May 27th – Dropping the Hammer
What I'm Reading Dropping the Hammer: In a surprising decision, the First District of the California Court of Appeal upheld approval of a 43-unit residential project following years of NIMBY obstruction, government resistance and numerous court challenges. What's interesting here is that the court called out CEQA as a "formidable...
May 26th – Great Outdoors
What I'm Reading Great Outdoors: Institutional investors are turning their sights on amenity rich campgrounds and RV parks as a way to capitalize on the pandemic boom in vehicle sales and camping. Investors are looking to follow the same institutionalization playbook as single family rentals and mobile homes and see...