What I'm Reading Staying Power: Zillow's latest forecast predicts that the year-over-year rate of home price growth will hit 22% in May before gradually slowing to 17.8% in February 2023. This despite a dramatic rise in mortgage rates and decline in household affordability. Zillow It's almost as if people who...
March 23rd – Booming Boomers
What I'm Reading Booming Boomers: Covid-19 kept many older Americans on the sidelines of the recovery in consumer spending as they held back from in-person services like dining and travel despite seeing their wealth increase dramatically. But their spending is picking up as the Omicron wave recedes, and analysts say...
March 22nd – Upward Spiral
What I'm Reading Upward Spiral: Employment is strong and rents are rising quickly. People want to buy homes, in part to protect themselves against rising rents. The obvious answer is to build more homes. However, this is easier said than done thanks in part to a shortage of raw materials...
March 17th – Up, Up and Away
What I'm Reading Up, Up and Away Part I: Demand for single-family rental homes is soaring, pushing prices to record highs, as Americans continue to want larger homes with outdoor spaces per the latest report from CoreLogic. Sunbelt cities like Miami and Phoenix are leading the charge. CNBC Up, Up...
March 14th – Back from the Dead
What I'm Reading Back From the Dead: Congress seems poised to revive the EB-5 visa program with higher minimum investments. The reinstated program will also aim to crack down on gerrymandering of high-unemployment areas into shapes that include more prosperous places, which allowed developers a loophole to use the program...
March 11th – Coming in Hot
What I'm Reading Coming in Hot: RV and boat storage remains in incredibly high demand. In 2021, consumers visiting Self Storage facilities websites managed by StoragePug were seeking out boat and RV parking at a whopping 250% higher rate than they did in 2020. (h/t Scott Ramser) Radius+ Combine this with...
March 7th – Stepping Up
What I'm Reading Ghost Town: Manhattan’s office availability rate hit 17.4% last month, a new record, according to Colliers data. Since the pandemic began in March 2020, overall availability has increased by 74.1% and now sits at nearly 94M SF. Bisnow Stepping Up: Amazon is pulling back on its logistics...
March 3rd – Beware the Ides of March
What I'm Reading Beware the Ides of March: With omicron cases falling, major employers say they spot a window to bring workers back to the office. However, with a tight job market, the question becomes whether or not employees are willing. Wall Street Journal Embedded: Russian oligarchs have spent decades...
March 2nd – Paved Paradise
What I'm Reading Land Rush: The imminent rise of self driving trucks will fuel even more demand for outdoor industrial storage. (h/t Scott Ramser) Wall Street Journal IMO, this previously overlooked space is about to become a darling of the CRE investment world. Why? Demand will continue to increase due...
February 28th – Round Trip
What I'm Reading Round Trip: Mortgage rates are back to 2019 levels but prices are far above where they were in 2019. Calculated Risk IMO, the impact on stressed home affordability on rent growth is still being generally underestimated, despite the explosive growth over the past year or so. Pile...