Sunday, November 17, 2024

Economics

Often considered the slowest growing region in the U.S., the Midwest has recently shown surprising improvements, both in the performance of its multifamily markets and in the resilience of the region’s economy. The outperformance comes amid a volatile economic backdrop—the Midwest’s relative stability is one of the region’s defining features and highlights its importance in any multifamily portfolio.

New metrics make Midwest investment attractive

  Recently, the Midwest has shown surprising growth and economic resilience, making this region an attractive candidate for multifamily development, investment and general interest. Often considered the slowest growing region in the U.S., the Midwest has...
Absorption rates have notably risen from 118,000 units in the first quarter to 166,000 in the second, fostering optimism among industry experts about a potential shift from decelerating fundamentals to a growth phase.

Market set for recovery

The multifamily housing market is showing promising signs of recovery, with recent data from CoStar Group revealing a significant increase in demand and stabilization of vacancy rates. Absorption rates have notably risen from 118,000 units...
The median household net worth of older millennials, born in the 1980s, rose to $130,000 in 2022 from $60,000 in 2019, according to inflation-adjusted data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Median wealth more than quadrupled to $41,000 for Americans born in the 1990s, which includes the generation’s youngest members, born in 1996.

Millennials rising

Millennials are now wealthier than previous generations were at their age. They can’t believe it either. The median household net worth of older millennials, born in the 1980s, rose to $130,000 in 2022 from $60,000...
Despite inflation cooling to the lowest level in more than three years in July, there’s no way around the fact that consumer prices in the United States have risen sharply over the past three years, as several factors came together to form a perfect storm of inflationary pressures.

Categories hit hardest by inflation

Despite inflation cooling to the lowest level in more than three years in July, there’s no way around the fact that consumer prices in the United States have risen sharply over the past three...
Would a YIMBY building boom rejuvenate urban family life or produce sterile, megacity hellscapes?

The housing theory of childless cat ladies

Would a YIMBY building boom rejuvenate urban family life or produce sterile, megacity hellscapes? Housing Boom = Baby Bust? America’s low birth rate is in the news again, thanks largely to Vice Presidential candidate Sen. J.D....
bootstrap: Pulling oneself up by the bootstraps is the idea that a person can succeed “without help from others and as a result of one’s own hard work.” Ironically, this metaphor is widely used to represent the American dream of social and economic mobility through self-reliance. When first coined it described an absurd, impossible feat. How did bootstrap-pulling go from a ridiculous idea to an American ideal? Bootstraps are a loop attached to the back of a boot to help the wearer pull it on. The idiom dates back to 1834 when Mr. Murphee satirically described being “enabled to hand himself over a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.” It appears throughout the 19th century, often in the company of other metaphors for ludicrous impossibilities such as “sitting in a wheelbarrow and trying to wheel yourself” and “getting rich by taking money from one pocket and putting it in another.”

Has capitalism come at the expense of the poor?

Perhaps the most amazing fact in all economic history is the unprecedented rise in wealth per person that has taken place in the last two centuries, following the Industrial Revolution. But it remains a...
High-income millennials and Gen Zers are choosing Class A apartments over home ownership. Is it a lifestyle choice or the economy?

INFOGRAPHIC: A luxury vibe

High-income millennials and Gen Zers are choosing Class A apartments over home ownership. Is it a lifestyle choice or the economy? National Class A rents average $660 to $2,000 below the average monthly mortgage Hospitality-focused apartments Class...

The price of disorder

I was once pitched a deal in the heart of the Amazon—Manaus, Brazil. What was I buying? Firstly, a commercial asset. But I couldn’t shake my concern around governance. The sanctity of a contract...
L.A. homeless tower building cost rings bells

L.A. homeless tower building cost rings bells

Gym, balconies, restaurant, soundproof music studio, business center, located in downtown Los Angeles, and it’s pet friendly. Sounds like a pretty good hotel, four-stars at least. Sounds like it, but it isn’t. It’s the new Weingart...
Rents fall behind inflation

Rents fall behind inflation

Tracking rents is important for understanding the dynamics of the housing market. For example, the sharp increase in rents helped me deduce that there was a surge in household formation in 2021 (September 2021:...
Market demand sets stage for few rent hikes

Market demand sets stage for few rent hikes

While asking rents for new leases nationally are running nearly flat over the past 12 months, those figures are heavily influenced by the Sunbelt, where record-high supply has turned rent growth negative in some...
Economics and the hidden order

Economics and the hidden order

The “real world” is calling. But the real world is a real mess. So how do we clean up the mess? That’s a massive task: too big for any one person. This looks like...
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