What I'm Reading Slim Pickins: Despite increasing mortgage rates, housing inventory is still at a record low. One thing to watch here as the vaccine rolls out: COVID exposure has been given as one reason that people are reluctant to list their homes. While that was undoubtedly true last spring,...
February 8th – Dead End?
What I'm Reading Dead End? Distressed debt hedge funds raised billions to take advantage of COVID opportunities. However, the capital markets have largely recovered and junk yields have plunged, leaving them with few opportunities to deploy their dry powder. This is totally reminiscent of the Great Recession when capital raised...
January 21st – Misplaced Priorities
One Big Thing President Joe Biden comes into office with a housing plan that includes a $15,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. IMO, encouraging first time homebuying is a worthy goal but doesn't really solve our current problem - not enough houses are getting built to satisfy existing demand, which would...
January 7th – Reading the Tea Leaves
One Big Thing Now that the elections have come finally, mercifully come to a close, I thought that it would be a good idea to take a look at the likely winners and losers both in the real estate sector and the economy as a whole. I’m going to do...
January 6th – No Going Back
What I’m Reading No Going Back: The pandemic has has accelerated the adoption of data access as an essential CRE technology. At this point, it is no longer just a pandemic solution and is here to stay. Globe Street Priced Out: Despite record low mortgage rates, the spike in housing prices last year...
January 5th – Unmasked
What I’m Reading Unmasked: The Corporate Transparency Act, which was tacked onto a defense bill, would require corporations and limited liability companies established in the United States to disclose their real owners to the Treasury Department, making it harder for criminals to anonymously launder money or evade taxes. The rule applies...
January 4th – Blurred Lines
What I’m Reading Blurred Lines: States are facing off in a high-stakes legal battle over who is entitled to income taxes on remote workers when one is employed by a company in one state but resides in another. The results of this high-stakes legal battle will have a profound impact on...
December 21st – Temporary Move?
What I’m Reading Temporary Solution: The number of renters seeking short term (less than 6 month) lease arrangements when moving to new cities is way up this year. This suggests that the move away from urban markets may be more temporary than thought. Apartment List Sweet Spot: Pent up demand, healthy...
December 18th – The Great Mirage
One Big Thing Jonathan Litt of hedge fund Land and Buildings is predicting that next year will see a bounce back in the performance of pandemic-impacted real estate but that it will ultimately prove to be a mirage as secular headwinds turn against these market segments (emphasis mine): The Vaccine...
December 17th – Flotation Aid
One Big Thing In the first week of December, the proportion of mortgage borrowers that sought forbearance rose to its highest level since August. Delinquencies are climbing as well, as some borrowers are either not eligible for forbearance or are still unaware that they may be eligible. NREI Reading the paragraph...