Perspective

howmuch.net – How Much Americans Pay in Electricity Rates in Each State – Raul 6/25

Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice

FT – Donald Trump creates chaos with his tariffs trade war – Martin Wolf 7/10

The Registry – Uber’s Johnny Cab Future – John McNellis 7/12

Markets / Economy

WSJ – Trade Conflict Ripples Through Emerging Markets – Julie Wernau and Ira Iosebashvili 7/10

Real Estate

Bloomberg – Hot Rents in Hot Shale Basin – Ryan Collins 7/11

WSJ – House Money: Wall Street is Raising More Cash Than Ever for its Rental-Home Gambit – Ryan Dezember and Laura Kusisto 7/9

“Wall Street is betting that more well-off Americans will want to be renters.”
“Financiers who loaded up on homes after the housing bust for pennies on the dollar are buying yet more—despite home prices in many markets being at all-time highs.”
“Their wager: High prices, higher mortgage rates and skimpy inventory are making homeownership harder. Well-to-do families who might have bought a single-family home in another era are willing to rent a house now, especially if it means access to a good school system.”
“The number of homes purchased by major investors in 2017 was at least 29,000, up 60% from the previous year, estimates Amherst Capital Management LLC, a real-estate investment firm with an affiliated business that made nearly 5,000 of those purchases.”
“Single-family homes have become far more attractive to investors than apartments, where a nationwide glut has driven down rental yields.”
“This year, investors have raised billions of dollars from bond buyers, pension funds and even wealthy Chinese individuals to purchase more homes. They have been particularly aggressive buyers in places like Atlanta, Phoenix, and other metro areas with good schools and faster-growing economies.”
“On Monday, the investment firm Pretium Partners LLC said it had raised more than $1 billion so that its Progress Residential could add to its 26,000 rental homes.”
“Cash to acquire and renovate homes has become so abundant lately that some rental investors can’t spend it fast enough. Without enough homes to buy, some investors are now building their own in popular residential markets like Miami and Nashville, Tenn.—upending a traditional pattern of Americans buying starter homes and moving up.”
“Managing far-flung clusters of homes—much harder than running an apartment building—has long been a hurdle for investors. But analysts and rental executives say investors are gaining confidence it can be done profitably. Also, wealthier tenants in the single-family-home market typically have children and need more bedrooms than most apartments offer. They’re also willing to accept rent increases to stay in good school districts.”
“These investors’ war chests have been swelled by rising home prices, which give them more valuable collateral to borrow against to buy more.”