What I'm Reading Baby Boom? A recent Bank of America research note struck an optimistic tone compared with the poor demographic data in the 2020 Census. The report showed that birth rates are beginning to tick up and leading indicators - such as the sale of pregnancy tests - point...
November 11th – Boxed Out
What I'm Reading Boxed Out: Supply chain woes are playing to the strengths of large retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Target who buy in massive scale, and therefore negotiating leverage with manufacturers and 3rd party logistics providers. This is in stark contrast to mom and pop retailers who are struggling...
November 10 – In the Money
What I'm Reading Double Edged Sword: Long-underfunded state and local pension funds are reaping a historic windfall thanks to billions of dollars in record market gains and surplus tax revenues. Now they need to decide what to do with the money in an environment where assets are richly priced and...
November 9th – Outside Set
What I'm Reading Outside Set: With travel restrictions set to be lifted on 33 countries, brokers in cities popular with wealthy foreign investors are reporting a substantial uptick in requests for showings. This is looking like a big shot in the arm for the luxury segment in coastal gateway cities....
November 3rd – Fire Sale
What I'm Reading Fire Sale? Zillow is looking to unload 7,000 homes for $2.8 billion after royally screwing up their iBuying strategy and substantially overpaying for acquisitions. They are listing the homes at a loss. The news came after Zillow announced that they would be taking a pause from buying...
November 2nd – Sell the News
What I'm Reading Sell the News: Interest rates have increased in recent months as the Federal Reserve began signaling that they will begin tapering their bond purchasing. However, recent history suggests that yields tend to fall once actual tapering begin. US Housing and Mortgage Market Weekly Staying Close: Relocations are...
November 1st – Disconnect
What I'm Reading Disconnect: COVID-19 has broken the longstanding connection between wage growth and employment levels. Typically, the rise in wages currently seen would have us at near full employment but that has not yet happened. Full Stack Economics Dispersed: Co-working companies are making big bets on the suburbs, including...
October 28th – Safety First
What I'm Reading Safety First: Proligis's Q3 earnings call characterized industrial demand as being in "panic mode" with tenants showing an insatiable appetite for space. Bisnow A primary driver here is the fundamental shift in the way that retailers handle their supply chain management. Space was already tight in the...
October 26th – Cooling Off?
What I'm Reading Cooling Off? Some of the hottest housing markets in the country are showing signs of slowing down with inventory increasing and more sellers reducing asking prices. Bloomberg The article specifically talks about Boise - a rental market that we are bullish on (we recently closed our second multifamily...
October 25th – Standoff
What I'm Reading Standoff: Stimulus programs over the past two administrations, coupled with enhanced unemployment and rising asset values have left American balance sheets in better shape than ever. They have also given workers the flexibility to hold out en masse for higher wages, contributing to today's labor shortage. (h/t...