What I'm Reading Whack a Mole: Americans moved around a lot over the past two years, and those destinations also now happen to have the highest inflation rates in the U.S per new research from Redfin. Conversely, places like San Francisco that people left tend to have lower inflation. Redfin...
April 6th – Here We Go Again
What I'm Reading Here We Go Again: After being thwarted last year, the Biden administration is going after 1031 exchanges again in its proposed fiscal budget for 2023. That said, the proposal will meet strong opposition (again) and I sort of doubt that there is appetite for this in a...
December 9th – Dwindling Reserves
What I'm Reading Dwindling: American balance sheets have been historically strong during the pandemic era, thanks largely to infusions of government cash. The infusions boosted consumer spending, helped pay off debts and reduced the urgency of employment. According to Moody's Analytics, those excess savings are dwindling among many working and...
November 17th – Space Available
What I'm Reading Risk On: The board of CalPERS, the nation's largest pension fund, voted Monday to use 5% leverage and alternative assets to meet its investment-return target, even after lowering that target just a few months ago. The trustees also voted to increase riskier alternative investments, raising private-equity holdings...
August 30th – Overloaded
One Big Thing Overload: Harvard University's "The State of the Nation's Housing 2021" report found, unsurprisingly that the nation's affordable housing crisis is getting worse. What is perhaps more troubling is that current economic and market conditions indicate that there is no end in sight. Globe Street That brings us...
August 2nd – Bid Em Up
What I'm Reading Bid Em Up: A new report from real estate technology company Zavvie on iBuying transactions over the first half of 2021 found that offers from iBuyers were on average 104.1 percent of market value. That’s a marked increase from 2020, when iBuyers offers were coming in at...
July 21st – Legal Remedy
What I'm Reading Roll the Dice: Escalating material prices have made it challenging for contractors and manufacturers to bid on jobs, with owners sometime finding themselves paying out of pocket to cover overruns. Wall Street Journal Opt Out: Some workers are beginning to look for legal remedies that allow them...
July 16th – Dispersion
What I'm Reading Dispersion: Relocation buyers are fundamentally changing the housing landscape across the country. When higher income individuals and families from the coasts move into more affordable areas, they are able to outbid locals when housing is scarce. The result is a shift to more expensive housing costs. Affordability...
July 15th – In N Out
What I'm Reading In N Out: Starwood is throwing in the towel on the mall business, selling 22 of the 30 malls that it owned before COVID and taking a loss in order to get out from underneath approximately $2 billion in CMBS debt. Essentially, Starwood decided that they will...
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...