Monday Morning Quarterback The eighth wonder of the world has got to be the National Museum of Qatar in Doha, Qatar. With the opening of National Museum, the nation received a stunning new Jean Nouvel–designed building. The 361,861-square-foot structure contains the many artifacts, stories, and images (from the discovery of oil to life along the Persian Gulf) that encompass the creation of modern-day Qatar (a list of the wings include: The Formation of Qatar, Qatar’s National Environments, and Qatar Today). Yes, many if not all national museums around the world, in some form, tout the history of their people from their beginnings to modern times. What separates the National Museum of Qatar from any other museum, of course, is its revolutionary architecture. There are the facts about the building which are easy to rattle off: The exterior consists of 539 disks, with 76,000 patterned cladding elements throughout; the interiors twist and turn, with the ceiling rising and dipping, constantly keeping visitors surprised through the eleven linked galleries. That, however, is where any simple explanation ends. What made Nouvel’s task of designing this museum so difficult is what was being asked of him—to create a building that, by shape and formation, would become the very embodiment of Qatari identity. Nouvel’s answer came in the form of the “desert rose,” a naturally occurring phenomenon in the region that consists of a layered crystallization of minerals occurring in salty sand. With a deft stroke of hand, Nouvel was able to capture the essence of the miracle that has been the formation of Qatar, a tiny nation that spans only 4,416 square miles (an area smaller than Rhode Island) in the middle east. Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Home Mortgage Lending Rebounds Nationwide. real estate data services released its second-quarter “2024 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report,” which shows that 1.62 million mortgages secured by residential property (1 to 4 units) were issued in the United States during the second quarter, representing a 23.2 percent increase over the prior three-month period. Nevertheless, the spike still left total residential lending activity down 1.6 percent from the second quarter of 2023 and 61.2 percent from a high point hit in 2021. But it marked the first gain in a year and boosted the number of residential loans back up close to the level from a year earlier. The rebound came amid a strong Spring home-buying season and mortgage interest rates that dipped downward after months of increases. The increase in overall lending resulted from improvements across all major categories of residential loans, especially for home buying. Purchase-loan activity jumped 32.7 percent quarterly, to about 783,000, refinance deals rose by 10.3 percent, to about 546,000, and home-equity credit lines shot up 26.5 percent, to about 286,000. Measured monetarily, lenders issued nearly $533 billion worth of residential mortgages in the second quarter of 2024. That was up 27.6 percent from the first quarter of 2024 and 1.1 percent from the second quarter of last year. The varying increases among different loan types boosted the share of residential mortgages for home purchases, while reducing the proportion of refinancing loans. Purchase loans remained the most common form of mortgages around the U.S. in early 2024, comprising almost half of all mortgages, followed by refinance packages and home-equity lending. “The mortgage industry got one of its biggest boosts in years during the second quarter, supported by a combination of the usual Springtime home-buyer demand coupled with more attractive mortgage rates,” said John Dancy, CEO at . “However, a cautionary note is warranted, as we shouldn’t read too much into one great quarter. A similar trend occurred last Spring, with lending dropping off significantly later in the year. But with interest rates settling down and projections for cuts from the Federal Reserve over the coming months, it wouldn’t be surprising if business increased even more for lenders over the rest of 2024.”
Venezuelan Gangs Seized Control of Aurora Apartment Complexes. Be glad you don’t own properties in Aurora, Colorado. I say this because last Thursday Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman acknowledged that Venezuelan gangs have seized control of several apartment complexes in the northern part of the city in what he called “a nightmare situation.” He also admitted that the city “lost control of the gang infiltration.” This week, video surfaced of men with assault rifles dressed in hoodies and ball caps busting down doors of apartment units in Aurora. Last month, the Biden Administration sanctioned the Venezuelan gang believed to be behind a spree of kidnappings, extortion and other crimes tied to immigrants from South and Central America. The U.S. government also offered a $12 million reward for three leaders of Tren de Aragua gang. Last Wednesday, officials noted that the city and the Aurora Police Department have established a “special task force” in collaboration with state and federal partners to “specifically address concerns about Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and other criminal activity affecting migrant communities.” Coffman said it’s no coincidence that three Aurora apartment complexes that have had major problems are all owned by the same company, CBZ Management. CBZ conveniently disappeared when violence started happening there, according to residents who spoke with The Denver Gazette. All of the residents who spoke were Venezuelan immigrants, although nationals from Columbia, Guatemala and some African nations also inhabit The Edge at Lowry at 12th and Dallas, Aspen Grove at Colfax and Nome, and Whispering Pines at 1357 Galena. The three apartment buildings have been in the news for crimes that range from criminal activity to being uninhabitable due to squatters, drugs, plumbing leaks, mountains of trash and the rodents which follow. On Aug. 18, a dangerous shooting at The Edge brought national attention to a spiraling situation. One man was critically injured and residents said that they are fearful of getting caught in the crossfire. They want out, but have nowhere to go. But, unlike Springfield, Ohio, no evidence of gangs eating the residents’ dogs, so far.
Jeremy Renner Fix and Flip On The Market. A 1924 Greek revival home in Los Angeles is for sale that has been ground zero for significant moments in both entertainment and literature history. Once the landing spot for Ernest Hemingway after parties and later remodeled by actors Jeremy Renner and Kristoffer Winters, 8050 Selma Avenue is on the market for $6,495,000. Known as the Hemingway House, the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom estate spreads across 5,800 square feet in the Selma Avenue Residential Historic District. “Hemingway House is truly a one-of-a-kind property that beautifully marries historical significance with modern luxury,” said listing agent Dovi Levin of Christie’s International Real Estate. The sale comes just as the property celebrates its centennial anniversary. Over the course of its 100-year history, it was also once owned by Disney director Perce Pearce, who dreamed up Bambi, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia and more beloved characters within these very walls. Over half a century later, Renner purchased the historic gem for $1.55 million in 2008 and later sold it for upwards of $4 million in 2009. Just moments away from the action of Hollywood, Hemingway House puts its homeowners in welcome proximity to can’t-miss industry happenings without sacrificing privacy. The home is tucked away behind towering, manicured shrubbery and a wrought-iron gate. Then, an expansive cobblestone driveway fit for up to nine cars leads to a garage that can hold two more vehicles.
Office Market May Have Found Its Bottom. Office landlords sweating out a cloudy market may finally be seeing some light peek through. Years of price drops in the national office market may come to an end soon, according to a new report from Moody’s Analytics. “We are seeing signs that the market is beginning to function in a healthier way,” the report’s authors stated, citing a rise in price discovery and an easing of declining transaction volume. In the 15 months analyzed through March, Moody’s found only three sales in public records that occurred at a price point of at least $100 million less than the property’s previous transaction. Since then, however, seven such deals have been found in records, indicating a boost in price recovery. Moody’s is far from the only company to be optimistic about the state of the property market. Months ago, Blackstone president Jon Gray said that it appeared the commercial real estate market was bottoming. The company’s flagship property fund spent months eschewing the office market, essentially exiting it altogether in favor of other property types (such as student housing and data centers). The report notes that office owners and lenders are better positioned than before to evaluate possible losses, but those losses could still be coming for many.
Harris and Trump Agree On Lowering Housing Costs. As the candidates unveil their positions on the top issues facing voters, housing has emerged as a higher-priority topic than in past elections, and industry leaders are taking a close look at how the candidates plan to address the country’s housing affordability crisis. Both candidates have called for increasing the supply of housing to bring down costs, and while they have vastly different proposals for how they would do so, several housing industry leaders are feeling optimistic. “This is the first time in years where I could ever remember housing being part of the national dialogue,” National Association of Home Builders CEO Jim Tobin told Bisnow. “It’s very gratifying.” High interest rates, construction costs and local barriers have slowed housing development over the last two years after a pandemic-era surge. This year the U.S. has a housing shortage of between 1.5 million and 2 million units, according to separate estimates from Moody’s Analytics and Freddie Mac. Meanwhile, the cost of housing has become a top issue for voters. A Gallup poll in May found that the cost of owning and renting a home was the No. 2 most important financial problem facing U.S. families, and a Redfin-commissioned survey found more than half of Americans say housing affordability is impacting who they plan to vote for in this year’s election. Vice President Harris has generated buzz on the issue over the last week after releasing her economic agenda along with the Democrats’ 2024 party platform, highlighting her push to develop 3 million new units of housing in her first term. While Trump has discussed housing on the campaign trail, industry leaders say his policy proposals on the issue are less clear: The GOP’s 2024 party platform mentions the word “housing” five times, with one paragraph dedicated to housing affordability. Many industry professionals are looking favorably at his past actions and comments as president, citing his calls for reducing regulations on builders, protecting single-family zoning and opening up federal lands for development as potential focal points.
Why You Shouldn’t Invest Like a Billionaire. A pitch in the investment industry comes from firms that claim to give the middle-class access to investment strategies hitherto available only to billionaires. But investing like the ultra-rich is a terrible strategy for most people. Think about it. Billionaires don’t need to maximize their returns when they make investments — and they almost never need to sell anything. They’re therefore terrible role models when it comes to your personal investment decisions. Specifically, the financial services companies pitching exotic solutions tend to implicitly or explicitly lean on a powerful argument. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals are growing their wealth more quickly than the middle class; they have access to investments unavailable to the middle class; therefore, the middle class would grow their wealth faster if they had access to those rarefied investment opportunities. But that syllogism is a solecism. Various billionaires, including Sean Combs, Bill Ackman, Larry Ellison, Jack Dorsey, and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, were revealed to have helped fund Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter at the inflated price of $54.20 per share. British hedge fund billionaire Paul Marshall is reportedly bidding $131 million (some $1,400 per subscriber, or 72 times earnings) for a 150-year-old British political magazine. One billionaire scion, David Ellison, beat out another billionaire scion, Edgar Bronfman Jr., for the right to buy Paramount from a third billionaire scion, Shari Redstone. In all of these examples, a trophy asset has personal value to the acquirer, on top of any financial value or price-appreciation potential. While it’s possible those investments will end up outperforming a stock-market index fund, it seems highly unlikely. As Luma’s Terry Kawaja told Deal Book about the war for Paramount, “If you’re the billionaire son of a billionaire, it’s the ultimate asset.” Or as Bloomberg Opinion’s Matt Levine put it, having “some coherent, or entertainingly incoherent, story of what you’re up to with your money” is clearly superior, to someone worth $25 billion, to a passive investment strategy that makes more money. Big Picture: One of the greatest luxuries that being very rich buys is being able to lose a lot of money and still live a billionaire’s lifestyle. You and I don’t have that luxury. This Week. For economic reports, Existing Home Sales will be released on Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors. New Home Sales will be released on Wednesday by the Census Bureau. Second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic activity, will come out on Thursday from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal Income and the PCE price index, the inflation indicator favored by the Fed, will be released on Friday also by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Weekly Changes:
|
|
I hope you had a great Labor Day last week and has transitioned back into “work-mode” without any stress.
We have lots of new things, so I’ll be brief:
Most importantly, we have a nationwide database of Cell Phone & Emails available. Call or email me for details. As always, it’s my pleasure to assist with your data needs. John |
|
Target Nationwide Residential Homeowners |
|
Target Homeowner Phone Numbers! Target Homeowner Email Addresses! |
|
|
|
|
|
Additional types of Data and Services:
|
|
Check our most recent Blog Posts! Here’s How Realtors Can Win in the Wake of the NAR Settlement |