What I'm Reading Bad Vibes: Homebuilder sentiment dropped 12 points to 55, according to a monthly survey from the National Association of Home Builders, the largest drop in the survey's 37-year history with the exception of April 2020. Sentiment is also declining at a far faster rate than it did...
July 18th – Contagion
What I'm Reading Contagion: The housing affordability crisis used to be a coastal, blue state issue. It has now gone nationwide. New York Times When it Rains, It Pours: America is facing the twin threats of rail and trucker strikes just as signs emerge that its ports on both coasts...
June 29th – June Gloom
What I'm Reading June Gloom: CRE market participants are increasingly negative as capital market woes take a toll. RCLCO released a new report saying that sentiment of real estate professionals has slipped nearly down to the range the firm associates with market distress and recession. Globe Street Today's CRE market...
June 14th – Taking the Plunge
What I'm Reading Jumping In: Big landlords are increasingly getting into the homebuilding business as demand for single-family rentals continues to surge. CNBC This is exactly what one should expect will happen given that the monthly cost of home ownership has doubled since January 2021. Priced Out: The cost of...
June 2nd – Out of Balance
What I'm Reading Out of Balance: Households boosted spending in April but drew heavily on savings in order to do so. Higher-income consumers are likely healthy enough to continue funding their spending through savings for a while as their excess savings are significant. However, lower income households do not have...
May 25th – The Great Unbundling
What I'm Reading The Great Unbundling: A recently published Federal Reserve analysis of household formation shows a meaningful decline in living with roommates / others since the pandemic, coupled with a rise of living alone. This happened as consumption of housing went up during the pandemic and I've referred to...
May 16th – Running on Empty
What I'm Reading Running on Empty: Record low diesel inventories on the east coast of the US could lead to rationing with truck stop giants Love's and Pilot Flying J already warning truckers of an imminent shortage. Much of this is being driven by "insane" prices in Europe that are...
May 12th – Pushback
What I'm Reading Pushback: Consumers are doing less grocery shopping online as health concerns fade and consumers become more cost conscious thanks to inflation. Chain Store Age Offshored: The tech industry is warning that more remote jobs are headed out of the US thanks to worker shortages and a lack...
May 11th – Long in the Tooth
What I'm Reading Long in the Tooth: The average US warehouse is 42 years old and only 14% of warehouses are less than 10 years old. This is a big problem in an industry that is changing rapidly where older product tends to be functionally obsolete. Newer buildings typically have...
May 10th – Clearing the Deck
What I'm Reading Clear the Deck: Western ports are bracing for increased congestion when China eventually lifts stringent Covid-19 restrictions in major cities, which could come just as many importers start to load up for the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons. The race is on to clear existing cargo and...