Housing starts skyrocketed 19.4% in March to 1.739 million, blowing past expectations of 1.613 million and well above the 1.5 million long-term equilibrium, according to government data released Friday. The robust increase is a reversal from February's dip, which in hindsight appears to have been ... READ MORE >
Real estate
CHART OF THE DAY: Existing home supply lags demand and spike in real estate agents
Demand for residential property is high as individuals and families located in dense urban areas or states with heavy COVID-19 lockdown protocols consider the South and West as locations for vacation homes. As a result, the existing home supply is in short order; in February, the most recent month for ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: New home sales drop 18.2% in February as market cools
The housing market continued to cool off from the torrid pace of last year as bad weather and rising costs took a toll in February. New home sales fell 18.2% last month, compared to January, to a seasonally adjusted 775,000 -- a nine-month low. At the same time, median home prices eased 1% to $349,400 ... READ MORE >
The distressed real estate market that hasn’t materialized
Soon after the pandemic took hold last March and economic shutdowns ensued, real estate investors began gearing up for opportunities around distressed assets. Success stories of acquisitions following the Great Recession of 2008 were abundant, fueling expectations for a repeat. Now, a year into the ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Housing market hits the brakes
Throughout the pandemic, a bright spot in the American economy has been housing, which had incredible growth as buyers looking for more space in the suburbs took advantage of historically low interest rates. Homebuilders responded, pushing starts and permits above the projected 1.5 million long-term ... READ MORE >
Building the new normal in health care
As the health care industry works toward a new normal—a time of recovery and eventual re-emergence from the pandemic—providers are taking a hard look at their physical infrastructure and rethinking what they will need in the future. This rethinking has been prompted in no small part by the ... READ MORE >
C-PACE: Government push toward greener buildings may fuel financing demand
Real estate businesses looking to move forward with their strategic plans during the downturn while preserving equity may just have another tool in their tool belt: Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy programs, or C-PACE. C-PACE, a public-private financing option, allows commercial property owners ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: New home sales continue to rise
The demand for new homes continues to be high as Americans take advantage of low interest rates and flee cities in search of more room. Sales of new homes in January increased by 4.3% month over month, exceeding expectations and climbing to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000, the Commerce ... READ MORE >
Hanging on: Five ways that hotels can survive the pandemic economy
(This is the last of three articles examining how the pandemic is affecting the hospitality industry. Read the first and second.) Even the most basic financial strategist knows that there are two ways to improve a company’s bottom line — cut costs or drive revenues. In a time of Depression-like ... READ MORE >
Hotels face a long road to recovery emerging from the pandemic
(This is the second of three articles examining how the pandemic is affecting the hospitality industry. Read the first here, about how the industry is struggling to adapt.) Even as the American economy continues to emerge from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic and economists predict strong growth ... READ MORE >