December 15th – Delay Tactics

What I'm Reading Delay Tactics: Planning departments in California cities are going to great effort to try to comply with California's new housing mandates.  Unions and environmental groups are using CEQA to stifle those efforts.  Two stalled projects in my hometown of Newport Beach illustrate the problem.  OC Register  Latest...

December 1st – Seeds of Growth

What I'm Reading Creative Destruction: With workers quitting their jobs at nearly unprecedented levels, entrepreneurship is on the rise:   The number of unincorporated self-employed workers has risen by 500,000 since the start of the pandemic, Labor Department data show, to 9.44 million. That is the highest total since the financial-crisis...

August 3rd – Packing Heat

What I'm Reading Packing Heat: The packaging industry is growing as soaring ecommerce adoption has led to higher demand for boxes.  As a result, demand is increasing for industrial space used to produce and distribute packaging.  Fast Company Waiting Game: Home builders are intentionally restricting the sale of new homes...

July 1st – Hiding in Plain Sight

What I'm Reading Hiding in Plain Sight: It's well known that US infrastructure from roads, to bridges, to tunnels is falling apart.  The tragic Florida condo collapse this week highlights another type of private infrastructure disaster that may be much more widespread than we currently think.  Justin Gillis highlighted the...

June 25th – Fill Er Up

What I'm Reading Tailwind: American household balance sheets are flush, with assets growth far outpacing liabilities over the past year.  A lot of this is due to home price inflation and consumers tapping HELOCs for consumption and investment could provide fuel for economic growth. Bloomberg Waiting List: Winnebago is the...

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...