Did You Know? 10-5-2021

 * New York’s tax revenue from real estate transactions more than doubled in the first 2 months of the fiscal year to $468 million,18% higher than 2019, sales of condos, co-ops and houses exceeded $41 billion in the first 8 months of 2021, 76% higher than the same period in 2020 ......and 18% more than 2019. Commercial sales totaled $12.5 billion in the first 8 months of 2021, 6.8% below 2020 and 50% lower than in 2019. (Bloomberg)

* Finances are now the No. 1 cause of stress, more than politics, work and family, according a CreditWise survey. Younger generations, who felt the brunt of the massive shifts in 2020, report feeling more stressed about money than older ones. The majority of Gen Zers and millennials say finances are at least somewhat stressful. Big changes happening almost at once can trigger financial anxiety. Anxious or stressed adults are more likely to engage in other costly financial behaviors, including withdrawing cash from retirement accounts and borrowing from high-cost financial services firms....or selling homes in a rush!  (CNBC)

* Around 81% of working millennials expect to reach another milestone, including buying a new home, changing jobs, having a child or adopting a pet in the next year, according to a MetLife survey. More than 50% also said they are stressed about those future money issues. (CNBC)

* OPEC is the perfect example of how restricting supply raises prices:  Between 2015 and 2018, OPEC produced around 37 million barrels of oil per day. In 2020 that dropped to about 30,6 million per day. Now its 33-34 million bpd.....well below what markets need, therefore elevating prices. The market is not structurally short on oil supply, partly because OPEC+ is sitting on roughly 8-9 million bpd of spare crude production capacity. Gas prices in the US are up about 50% in the 2021. The legal website Nolo estimates that real estate agents accumulate 20,000 miles or more in annual business driving. (Marketwatch)

Pizza Guys to Open New Location in San Carlos, California | QSR magazine

https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/pizza-guys-open-new-location-san-carlos-california

Did You Know 10-2-2021

* As many as 1.3 million overseas nationals left Britain between July 2019 and September 2020. Truck drivers too! (we love truck drivers!) (NY Times)

* Manhattan’s office market had its strongest quarter for leasing since late 2019 as demand rebounds from pandemic lows. Deals were signed for 7.2 million sf in the 3rd quarter, up 59% from the previous 3 months. While that’s the highest total in almost two years and very encouraging, its still 12% below the borough’s 5-year rolling average. (Bloomberg)

* Germany's LUXE car brand BMW houses its largest plant in ...South Carolina, USA, where it builds all of its X series SUVs, exporting nearly 75% of the 371,000 cars built there.... making BMW the biggest car exporter in the US! 

Redwood Shores embarks on a wild goose chase to control geese population – Scot Scoop News

Redwood Shores embarks on a wild goose chase to control geese population – Scot Scoop News

New Closed Sale at The Cove

 304 Genoa Drive closed escrow at a sales price of $1,320,000. This is a 2 bedroom, 2 .5 bath townhouse measured at 1178 sq ft. It was originally listed for $1,198,000. 

More Info and Photos

New closed Sale at Gossamer Village

 3065 Whisperwave Circle closed escrow at a sales price of $2,370,000. This is a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home measured at 1993 sq. ft. It was originally listed for $2,188,000.

More Info and Photos

New Closed Sale at Governors Bay

 901 Governors Bay drive closed escrow at a sales price of $3,003,003. This is a 5 bedroom, 3 bath home measured at 3181 sq. ft. It was originally listed for $2,888,000. 

More Info and Photos

Did You Know? 8-19-21

 *Productivity growth, a key driver for higher living standards, averaged only 1.3% since 2006, less than half the rate of the previous decade. But on June 3, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that US labor productivity increased by 5.4% in the first quarter of 2021. What’s better, there’s reason to believe that this is not just a blip, but rather a harbinger of better times ahead: a productivity surge that will match or surpass the boom times of the 1990s. Technology alone is rarely enough to create significant benefits. Instead, technology investments must be combined with even larger investments in new business processes, skills, and other types of intangible capital before breakthroughs as diverse as the steam engine or computers ultimately boost productivity.  (High tech AND High Touch?)(MIT)

* Oil prices plunged 3% to their lowest level since May and the price of lumber slipped to a 13-month low yesterday: is the next sensationalist headline DEflation perhaps? 

* The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.06% from 2.99% last week. Applications to refinance a home loan, which are highly rate-sensitive, fell 5% last week from the previous week. Mortgage applications to purchase a home, which are less sensitive to weekly rate moves, fell 2% for the week and were 19% lower than a year ago during the refi frenzy. (CNBC)

* The US currently has 41,000 public car charging stations.....the current goal is to elevate this to 500,000! Currently, there are around 168,000 gas stations in the USA. Roughly 66,000 include a convenience store.

* Housing starts dropped 7% versus a 3.2% anticipated. Affordability, supply chains, and labor are holding back construction. (CNBC)

* Soaring prices. Competition. Desperation. The dramatic conditions for U.S. homebuyers during the past year are now spilling into the market for rentals. Landlords from Tampa, Florida, to Memphis, Tennessee, and Riverside, California, are jacking up rents at record speeds. For each listing, multiple people apply. Some renters are forced to check into hotels while they hunt after losing out too many times.

Did You Know? 8-14-21

 

* The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index tumbled to 70.2 in its preliminary August reading, the lowest reading since 2011. The dramatic decline comes as the delta variant of Covid-19 has spread rapidly across the US, leading some states and cities to reinstate mask mandates and other health restrictions. (CNBC) * Stand Richman reports from LOS ANGELES on the area's spectacular high-end market ....wealthy people are obviously  NOT fleeing Los Angeles! - There have been 553 closed sales of $5 million-plus so far this year compared to 339 last year at the same time ( UP 63%) - Of these, 209 were $10 plus million this year and there were 110 $10 million-plus sales at this time last year. ( UP 90%) - 52 were $20 million-plus this year compared to 26 closed last year at this time. (UP 100%) - Of these sales, 15 were $30 plus million this year, versus 11 last year. 8 were $40 plus million versus 5 last year. - About 80% of buyers were American. - Malibu had the most sales over $20 million-plus with 15. * Southern California’s cities have built up huge water reserves through a century of building aqueducts and reservoirs and storing water in underground aquifers during wetter years. The Metropolitan Water District, the largest supplier of drinking water in the US, has 13 times as much storage capacity as it did in 1990. And Southern Californians are using much less water than they did in the past — the average consumer uses 40% less water than three decades ago. Los Angeles is developing the technology to recycle the city’s wastewater and is expected to cost about $8bn. (NY TIMES)

Did You Know? 8-7-2021

 

* The US economy continues its remarkable ONLY IN THE USA recovery: Nonfarm payrolls rose by 943,000 in July, better than the 845,000 Dow Jones estimate. The unemployment rate slid to 5.4%, compared with the 5.7% expectation. Job gains came fastest in leisure and hospitality, followed by education and professional and business services. We like good news! Now let's get COVID under control and this can keep going...... (CNBC)

 * In London, higher transaction taxes are enticing wealthy buyers to rent instead....pied a terre taxes designed to make those pesky foreign buyers 'pay their fair share' is back-firing. Some Landlords have the capacity to rent by the week, which may be far cheaper than owning....or paying additional taxes. Now a house is coming to market in London asking 100,000 pounds PER WEEK!

 * Zillow bought 3,805 homes during the 2nd quarter, while it sold 2,086.....and is also on track to purchase 5,000 homes per month in the future. More institutional deep-pocket competition for 'regular' home buyers..... Is ZILLOW contributing to rising home costs?

 * More than 11 million Americans have rent debt: Across the US, the average renter household in arrears owes $3,700. The typical debt in Alabama is $2,700. In California, meanwhile, it’s closer to $5,300. Over $46 billion in rental relief was allocated by the Federal Government, but just $3 billion has been allocated. $43 billion divided by 11 million people equates to $3,900 per household in arrears so hopefully, this covers this issue. Hopefully, states will send the excess funds not needed back to DC so those of us who aren't getting any rent relief and have to fund all of this get some relief on the National debt too? (CNBC)

Did You Know? 8-6-2021

 

* Investors spent $53 billion on multifamily real estate during the 3 months ending in June, the most ever for the 2nd quarter, according to Real Capital Analytics, extending a busy year for apartment investors that has included purchases by Blackstone and Starwood Capital. It was also fueled by real estate money moving to housing from offices, hotels, and malls, which have fared poorly in the pandemic. (Institutional ownership of rental properties - both multi-family and single-family - should surely convince renters that owning is a smarter alternative, now more so than ever?) (Bloomberg)

 * The previous economic expansion, from 2010-2019, wasn’t a housing bubble. Quite the opposite: In that cycle, we had the weakest housing recovery ever, even with the lowest mortgage rates during the longest economic expansion ever. When you don’t have a boom in housing market demand, it’s hard to have an epic bust.  A bubble needs speculation demand and this generally coincides with excess leverage. From 2002 to 2005 we experienced a credit boom due to the rapid increase in borrowing for speculation purchases.  We were able to ramp up demand and feed the credit boom by offering higher-risk, exotic loans. Pretty much anyone could get one of those loans. (Housingwire)

 * Fires are raging from California to Oregon to Nevada, British Columbia, Canada, Russia, Greece, Turkey, and even Finland as record temperatures heat up the planet. Countries across the northern hemisphere this summer are experiencing the worst wildfires in years of recorded history, with large swaths of land and entire towns in Europe, North America and Russia consumed by flames since the start of July. These fires release hundreds of megatons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. As the environment becomes more prone to fires, real estate may benefit in the following ways:

- Homes that are designed to withstand and prevent fire. Automated sprinkler systems, fire-retardant building materials, and landscaping, etc.

- Proximity to fire hydrants and fire departments (insurance companies watch this already)

- Air-cleansing systems (filtered fresh air systems are already being installed in many homes and buildings)

 * Ford and Bosch are working with the American Center for Mobility and Detroit's largest real estate developer (Dan Gilbert) on what they are calling the nation's first test site for "emerging parking technology." to test parking mobility, logistics, and electric vehicle charging technology. A mammoth infrastructure will be required to charge millions of electrical vehicles coming to market over the next few years.

 * JP Morgan Chase has opened a new kind of bank branch in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood, its 7th Community Center branch in the US.....that offers free financial literacy services. The bank has replicated its Detroit initiative in cities including New Orleans, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and elsewhere. 

 

 

Back To School: Redwood Shores 2021-22 School Calendar | Redwood City, CA Patch

Back To School: Redwood City 2021-22 School Calendar | Redwood City, CA Patch