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...
May 13th – Running on Empty
What I'm Reading Running on Empty: Construction of entry level homes has been trailing off since the mid-1970s. In the early 1980s, the percentage of new homes constructed below 1,400 sf was roughly 40%. Today it sits below 10%. The combination of low supply and high demand in the space...
March 18th – Liquid Diet
One Big Thing Interesting story in Globe Street early this week about ReadyCap providing $104MM in construction-to-bridge financing on a new 200 unit apartment building in San Francisco. The project had apparently been behind on leasing thanks to COVID and therefore not able to obtain permanent financing when the construction...
January 25th – Rocket Fuel
What I'm Reading Rocket Fuel: Morgan Housel's latest piece about how COVID has substantially accelerated wealth and income inequality is an outstanding read and makes a strong case for an economic boom in the coming years - at least for some. This section on mortgage refinancings and the accompanying chart...