What I'm Reading Another One Bites the Dust: Katerra, a SoftBank backed startup that said it could slash the cost of building and renovating apartments with offsite construction, is going bankrupt and may not even have enough cash to pay severance. This is the latest edition to the graveyard of...
May 26th – Piling On
What I'm Reading Piling On: The US Commerce Department has made a recommendation to more than double tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber in the midst of a housing affordability crisis that has been driven in part by soaring building costs. If the Biden Administration wanted to make the crisis worse,...
May 20th – Shock Absorber
What I'm Reading Shock Absorber: Normal recessions often produce a vicious cycle of foreclosures. When rents and property values fall, building owners stop paying their mortgages and lenders foreclose, pushing prices into a further downward spiral. That hasn’t happened in this cycle as regulators allowed bank to delay loan payments...
May 13th – Running on Empty
What I'm Reading Running on Empty: Construction of entry level homes has been trailing off since the mid-1970s. In the early 1980s, the percentage of new homes constructed below 1,400 sf was roughly 40%. Today it sits below 10%. The combination of low supply and high demand in the space...
March 12th – Big Shift
What I'm Reading Turning Inward: Foreign investors in the US are changing their sights from trophy properties in a handful of gateway cities to secondary markets that are experiencing population and job growth as persistently low yields make it hard to meet return targets. Yardi Matrix Same as it Ever...
May 4th – Deep Freeze
What I'm Reading Deep Freeze: If the Biden tax plan is passed in its entirety, it would likely result in an initial rush to sell properties most impacted before the changes take effect, followed by a substantial drop in the number of property sales and less market liquidity. Commercial Property...
May 3rd – Chopping Block
What I'm Reading Chopping Block: The credit tenant net lease sector will be particularly hard-hit if the 1031 exchange is eliminated as proposed in the Biden tax plan. Globe Street Passed Along: Skyrocketing lumber prices have added $36k to the price of new homes, according to the NAHB. Housing Wire...
April 30th – Up, Up and Away
What I'm Reading It's Official: The Biden tax proposal includes getting rid of the 1031 for gains of over $500k, taxing carried interest as earned income and eliminating the stepped up basis. Obviously, this is the first offer in a negotiation but if even a small amount of these proposals...
April 7th – Light the Fuse
What I'm Reading Light the Fuse: After a decade-long drought, worker productivity might be about to accelerate thanks to pandemic-induced technological adoption, which could lift economic growth and wages in coming years while staving off inflation pressure. Companies made massive investments in technology, automation and videoconferencing software over the past...
March 19th – Tick Tock
What I'm Reading Tick Tock: Multifamily forbearance for agency borrowers has been extended through June 30, 2021 after having been set to expire on May 31st. Once the forbearance period ends, owners generally have to start repaying the deferred amount immediately and within 12 months, and while some owners have...