What I'm Reading Cash Trap: The rapid appreciation of the dollar this year helps boost the exports of weaker countries while alleviating inflationary pressures in the US by lowering the cost of imports. However, it also translates into higher import prices, more costly external debt servicing and greater risk of...
May 13th – Can’t Fix Stupid
What I'm Reading Can't Fix Stupid: California's Democratic State Senate Leader Toni Atkins is proposing to spend $10 billion to help families buy homes. The proposal would create a revolving fund that would provide interest-free loans for up to 30% of the purchase price of a home for low- and...
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...
December 15th – Delay Tactics
What I'm Reading Delay Tactics: Planning departments in California cities are going to great effort to try to comply with California's new housing mandates. Unions and environmental groups are using CEQA to stifle those efforts. Two stalled projects in my hometown of Newport Beach illustrate the problem. OC Register Latest...
December 2nd – Pushback
What I'm Reading Pushback: SB 9, which effectively eliminated single family zoning in California by allowing duplexes, and in some cases four units, in most single family home neighborhoods is set to take effect on January 1st. However, some cities are rushing to pass new restrictions. An initiative has also...
October 1st – Pointing Fingers
What I'm Reading Pointing Fingers: Frustrations are boiling over at the Ports of LA and Long Beach as freight continues to pile up. Truckers are pointing fingers at a lack of dock help to offload ships. Port officials are pointing to a struck driver shortage. The only thing that both...
September 7th – Not So Fast
What I'm Reading Not So Fast: The Biden Administration's $3.5 trillion budget proposal is in limbo after West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin came out strongly against it in a Wall Street Journal OpEd, raising inflationary concerns. Wall Street Journal Speed Bump: The US construction industry's recovery from the lows of...
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...
March 2nd – Backroom Deal
What I'm Reading Locked and Loaded: Private Equity firms’ global real estate funds are now sitting on more than $300 billion of unspent cash, according to Preqin data. Their attention is now turned to what happens when government support and bank forbearance expires. Most of this capital is looking for...
January 26th – Deep Hole
What I'm Reading Deep Hole: Nearly 20% of American renters are behind on payments. The typical delinquent renter now owes $5,600, being nearly four months behind on their monthly payment, includes utilities and late fees according to a new analysis from Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, and Jim...