What I'm Reading Diverted: Money is pouring into real estate funds but investor strategies are different in the past. Historically, downtown office towers were prime targets for institutions, as the size of the assets allows them to deploy hundreds of millions of dollars at once. But now, the long-term stability...
July 19th – Micro Marketing
What I'm Reading Micro Marketing: Cities have historically tried to increase job opportunities by trying to attract large companies with tax incentives. In the post COVID remote work world, cities are increasingly focusing their marketing efforts on appealing to individuals who already have a job but are looking for a...
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...
July 14th – Target Rich Environment
What I'm Reading Diamond Hands: Baby Boomers hold the lion's share of real estate wealth in the United States and are showing a higher inclination than previous generations to age in place rather than moving to assisted living. The result has been less housing supply for subsequent generations. New York...
July 13th – Risky Business
What I'm Reading Liftoff: With apartment shortages across much of the country, rents are climbing at the fastest pace seen in decades. Smaller growth markets like Boise continue to lead the way. With for sale housing expensive and development not keeping pace with demand in most places, the real risk...
July 2nd – Stop
What I'm Reading Mission Accomplished? With the housing market running white hot for a year, calls are growing for the Federal Reserve to start tapering its $40 billion/month purchase of mortgage-backed securities. Given the current environment - both fixed income and housing - there is a heated debate as to what...
July 1st – Hiding in Plain Sight
What I'm Reading Hiding in Plain Sight: It's well known that US infrastructure from roads, to bridges, to tunnels is falling apart. The tragic Florida condo collapse this week highlights another type of private infrastructure disaster that may be much more widespread than we currently think. Justin Gillis highlighted the...
June 30th – Spillover
What I'm Reading Pressure Valve: Last year, home prices soared across the US while rents stagnated, thanks to a large amount of vacancy in big cities. Now there are signs of price exhaustion in the for sale market and rent versus own ratios have become extremely skewed. As a result,...
June 29th – Fuel on the Fire
What I'm Reading Fuel on the Fire: Every $1 billion in additional e-commerce sales requires 1 million square feet of new warehouse space to support it. Using this calculation as a baseline, the US will need 330 million square feet of new space by 2025 just to keep up with...