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 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 8th – The Weakest Link
What I'm Reading The Weakest Link: Environmental and anti-business regulations make California the absolute worst possible place to be the US focal point for supply chain issues. Wall Street Journal Narrative Violation: Last week's taper announcement was met by rates falling substantially at the long end of the yield curve. ...
November 4th – Sitting Ducks
What I'm Reading Sitting Ducks: Idle cargo containers piling up in ports and storage yards have created a target-rich environment for thieves, resulting in yet another supply chain headache. Cargo theft has increased 42% YoY in California during the 3rd quarter. CargoNet Out of Their Hands: The inflationary episode of...
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...
October 27th – Between a Rock and a Hard Place
What I'm Reading Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The pandemic has highlighted how many office buildings need to be renovated in order to fit the needs to today's workers and companies. However, the supply chain crisis and labor shortage means that it has never been more expensive to...
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...
October 21st – Stacked Deck
What I'm Reading Stacked Deck: Perhaps the biggest reason for the current truck capacity shortage is the surge of goods moving west to east. Simply put, there is too much freight exiting Southern California and too little coming into the area. The problem will persist until the imbalance eases. Think...
October 15th – Leveling Off
What I'm Reading Shrug it Off: Industrial rents are rising at such a rapid clip that developers aren't sweating spiking development costs. Bisnow Easing Up: While demand for apartments will likely remain substantially above its historical norm, it seems likely that absorption volume will ease somewhat in 2022. This is...
October 14th – Long Shot
What I'm Reading Long Shot: Zelman and Associates released a contrarian residential market call, claiming that today's tight housing market is already getting overbuilt thanks to the downward trajectory of population growth per the 2020 Census. CNBC Other analysts, like Jay Parsons of RealPage were quick to jump on this...