Maritime Salvage Rights, Home Values Improve
Salvage Law – at 1 a.m. on the morning of November 15th, 1994, Captain ‘Skip’ – a sailor since the age of 5, answered a distress call. He successfully maneuvered a 688 foot oil tanker carrying 10M gallons of heavy fuel oil near shallow water close enough to rescue tow a tugboat and barge. Once […]
Feeding Everyone, Inflation Mellows, Pending Sales Increase
Global Food Economics: How to feed 8 Billion People – in her new book Hannah Ritchie investigates how to feed 8-10B people without destroying the planet. Currently 10% of the global population is undernourished or 800M people (2.5X the US Population). Looking at caloric production, global farms produce the equivalent of 5,000 calories per person […]
Algorithmic Cartel, Inflation Mellow, Values Improve
Rents – a lawsuit against Texas-based company RealPage is putting increased attention on how algorithms influence the rental market. In this lawsuit, RealPage is accused of facilitating a cartel between major property manager which results in higher prices for renters and higher profits for landlords. In 40 markets in the US RealPage controls anywhere from […]
Disinflation, Jobs Update, Loans Perform
What a pot of gumbo can teach us about disinflation – while the CPI Index is a good measuring stick for the overall economy, a pot of gumbo has specific ingredients from different regions of the U.S. and can shed insight on ‘disinflation.’ Inflation causes prices go up; deflation causes prices go down. Disinflation means prices […]
Corporate Zombies, Current and Future Home Values
Why Corporate Bankruptcies rose in 2023 – According to S&P Global Intelligence there were 591 corporate bankruptcies in 2023, which is the highest number since 2011 if you remove the notable Covid outlier of 2020. Many of these bankruptcies were Chapter 11 which is aimed at restructuring a firm and not totally shutting down (something […]
Happy Holidays, Inflation Slows, Rents Steady
Wishing everyone longevity, fortune, good food, and time with the family over the holidays! Mortgage Rates – remained unchanged this week as the price of Mortgaged Backed Securities had a remarkably stable week. Rates are at the best levels we have seen since June and are up about 0.5% from this time last year. Inflation – […]
Fed Rate Inertia, Shipping Slows Inflation Flat
The Physics Behind Interest Rate Cuts – The Fed finished its 8th and final interest rate decision of 2023 this week. As predicted, they left rates unchanged and projected as many as 3 cuts next year. While the Fed did not clue us in to when exactly these cuts will take place, we can infer […]
Loan Limit Increases (old news), Equity Improves, Used Car Prices Decline
Loan Limits – 2 weeks ago conventional loan limit increases were announced for 2024 and increased by 5.5%. This means in the Portland market you can now purchase a $790,000 home with $23,700 down if it is a primary residence and you are a first-time homebuyer. It also means that you could buy a $1,550,000 […]
RE in China, Inflation Slows, MBS Improve
China $60 Trillion Real Estate Engine Slows . In 1994 China underwent a major tax overhaul that caused the central government to take more money at the expense of local governments. In response local governments used their zoning power to sell 70-year leases for residential development, sparking a housing boom. In this story we read […]
Dollarization? Home Values Record High, Sahm Rule Indicator
Argentina’s Inflation – think inflation has gotten out of control in the US? Argentina has experienced double digit inflation for most of the previous 20 years. This year it is close to 140%. Argentinian banks enforce a $200 withdrawal limit. The next presidential election happens in nearly a week and one candidate, a trained economist, […]