You’ll find our blog to be a wealth of information, covering everything from local market statistics and home values to community happenings. That’s because we care about the community and want to help you find your place in it. Please reach out if you have any questions at all. We’d love to talk with you!
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($510,400 or less) decreased to 3.06% from 3.14%, with points decreasing to 0.33 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 2% for the week and were 22% higher than the same week in 2019. (CNBC)
DID YOU NOW?
Uber and Lyft have been ordered to begin classifying drivers as employees. A judge granted a preliminary injunction on Monday, requiring Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as employees within 10 days. The companies said they would appeal. (CNBC)
Simon Properties - a large mall owner - collected 51% of rents in May. In July that figure jumped to 73%, a 43% jump!
DID YOU KNOW?
The S&P 500’s home-building subindustry index—currently made up of Lennar Corp., D.R. Horton, PulteGroup. and NVR. —is up 23% in 2020 and closed Monday at its first record in 15 years. The S&P 500, in comparison, has risen 4% and is within 1% of its February high. (WSJ)
Global cases of COVID-19 are now approaching 20 million. Of the 20 largest cities in the USA, San Francisco has performed remarkably well. With 883,000 residents, its death rate stands at around 6 per 100,000 residents. New Zealand recorded its 100th day without a single new case. (CNBC)
DID YOU KNOW?
Morgan Stanley predicts that office tenants across Asia will permanently give up between 3% and 9% of their existing office space. That will result in a rent decline of between 10% and 15% over the next three years, a recent report by the investment bank estimated. (CNBC)
Filings for jobless benefits fell last week to their lowest level since the coronavirus hit the U.S. in March, a sign layoffs eased somewhat as the labor market tries to recover from economic disruptions related to the pandemic. (WSJ)
DID YOU KNOW?
Foreign purchases of U.S. homes dropped to the lowest level since 2013, a boost for domestic buyers at a time when inventory has been tight. Foreigners bought $74 billion in U.S. residential real estate in the year ended in March, down 5% from the prior year and the third straight year of declines. With COVID lockdowns and quarantining of foreign visitors expect this number to drop even further......expect buyer build-up and pent up demand to grow from this sector. (WSJ)
Housing prices rose at a record 4.9% in June, the largest gain in 7 years. Last year pricing jumped 3.5% in June. Philly pricing was up 8.4%. San Diego prices may rise 4.2% in 2021. Las Vegas home prices could drop over 9% in 2021. Idaho, Montana, Missouri, and Arizona experienced enormous gains, above 8%. All pricing is being driven by.....supply and demand. (CORELOGIC)
DID YOU KNOW?
The Federal Reserve is completing a year-long policy review and is expected to announce the results soon. One big change would be a harder commitment to getting inflation higher, through a pledge not to raise rates until it hits at least 2%.Markets have been betting on higher inflation, with surging gold prices, a falling dollar, and a rush to inflation-indexed bonds. (CNBC)
You may know you’re renting, but nobody else needs to. Today we’re talking about common decorating mistakes for renters.
The most common mistake is ignoring Window Treatments AKA curtains. For some reason everyone feels they can’t hang a curtain rod when it’s not much more difficult than hanging a picture and just as easy to patch. Plus, your landlord may appreciate the upgrade and future tenants will enjoy the hardware. [(Psst: Hang that curtain rod high, and make sure your curtains hit the floor.)]
The next thing to avoid is living With White Walls. Though most tenants receive firm instructions to leave their spaces unpainted, removable wallpaper is a chic and stylish way to give your space a quick and easy design upgrade. I have three in my home.
Another common occurrence is cheaping out on a Shower Curtain. Spend the money on a beautiful fabric curtain, it’s far more beautiful than the toxic PVC-related equivalent. [maybe britney spears shower curtain, or “toxic, really?” or “paul is being a drama queen”]
Another rookie mistake is using over-the-Door Hangers. Few things torpedo a room’s pulled-together aesthetic faster than a storage solution that screams “makin’ the best of student housing.” [Paul’s outfit says making the best of student housing] If additional hanging storage is a must, use metal self-adhesive hooks.
Having Stuff for Stuff's Sake - You don’t want your walls filled with generic art pieces like you’re living in a Panera. Resist the urge to fill spaces with items that aren’t meaningful to you . Apply this to your furniture pieces as well.
Pro tip - always have a hand towel for your guest. If you don’t have a towel rack, perch a towel on the edge of your sink.
Melbourne Australia - voted repeatedly as one of the most livable cities in the world - has gone into a 6-week lockdown as COVID cases surged registering 671 new cases in one day. Escaping COVID is tough: The US states with the highest cases per capita are 1) Louisiana, 2) Arizona, 3) New York, 4) Florida and 5) New Jersey, five states as different to one another as it gets.
DID YOU KNOW?
California markets saw building costs increase the most, as San Francisco — which surpassed New York last year as the most expensive city to build in — increased its lead, and Los Angeles overtook Washington D.C. to land in 6th place among the 12 cities tracked. The construction sector was among the largest recipients of forgivable PPP loans, receiving more than 470,000 loans totalling $64 billion, about 12.5% of all funds disbursed. San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas are the TOP 12.
71% of workers at home have reported a new or worsening ailment since the outbreak, a global study by the Lenovo tech group showed last month. Fatigue, insomnia and headaches were common from Brazil to Britain, along with backache and eye problems. At the same time, most people said they had been more productive. Peakon analysed 25,000 comments people had made in its surveys and found two of the top five words employees used at the height of the pandemic in March and April were “hours” and “pressure”. As time went on, a large chunk of managers mentioned their own mental wellbeing and one of the top phrases they used was “utter madness”. (FT)
DID YOU KNOW?
The average pickup truck on the road gained 1,142 pounds between 1990 and 2019. In April, U.S. sales of pickups surpassed automobiles for the first time ever—about 112 years, give or take. Trucks and truck-based sport-utilities now account for roughly 70% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. Garages need to accommodate these vehicles. (WSJ)
Across the world, the pandemic has unleashed a high-stakes debate over whether rents should be fixed or linked to some measure of how a tenant’s business is performing. (FT)
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After this long list of lovely news, here comes something I can REALLY look forward to: A provision in the $1 trillion HEALS Act provides a 100% deduction for business meals until the end of the year. Bring on the carbs!
Building construction and operations were, globally, responsible for 36% of final energy use in 2018. The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction also stated that, worldwide, the sector accounted for 39% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2018. Over 4 billion metric tons of cement are produced annually, accounting for around 8% of global CO2 emissions. LafargeHolcim's green concrete ECOpact is now available on the U.S. market. They are also planning to introduce the product to Latin America, Canada, and the U.K. It is already available in Switzerland, Germany, and France. The concrete comes in a number of iterations. Depending on which one is used, it can produce 30% to 100% fewer carbon emissions compared to standard concrete. (CNBC)
DID YOU KNOW?
Moderna said the pivotal study of its experimental coronavirus vaccine began Monday, with the first subjects receiving doses. Researchers plan to enroll 30,000 people across the U.S. in the last stage, or phase 3 trial of the Moderna vaccine candidate. Results, which government health officials said could come by November, will determine whether two doses protect against symptomatic Covid-19 and whether it should be cleared for widespread use. (WSJ)