Americans have poured money into cash-like investments since the Fed began raising interest rates, driving assets in money-market funds to a record $6.12 trillion earlier this month.
Brookfield Mall Conversions
Brookfield Property Partners spent billions in 2018 to assume full ownership of mall-owner GGP when malls were out of favor on Wall Street. Executives at the firm defended this contrarian bet in part by saying that they would turn most of the company’s 125 malls into minicities with residences, offices or hotels as well as stores. Six years later, only two malls, in Atlanta and near Seattle, have been redeveloped in this way, with another two in North Carolina and Denver, in the pipeline.
Agency MBS Yields
The index of agency mortgage-backed securities, currently has a distribution yield of around 3.7%, according to FactSet. That is a reflection of the fact that after the pandemic boom of buying and refinancing, many people are still paying lower mortgage rates of around 3% or 4%.
Honeywell CAES
Honeywell International has struck a roughly $2 billion deal to buy aerospace and defense technology company CAES Systems from private-equity firm Advent International.
Mexican CRE
At least six bidders have been circling Terrafina in a flurry of offers for a Mexican company amid a boom in industrial real estate, as more companies seek space to export to the US. Hype around the “nearshoring” trend has sparked an equity issuance revival in Mexico’s stock market.
Shelter Inflation
Shelter inflation, mostly a measure of rents that lags behind real market conditions by many months, was still running hot in May, with an annual rate of 5.4%.
Rates Outlook
Futures markets Friday showed investors think there is a better than 70% chance that the Fed will cut rates at least twice this year, with the first cut most likely happening in September. That was double the chances seen in late May.
Fed Outlook
Federal Reserve officials penciled in just one interest-rate cut for this year, indicating most are in no hurry to lower rates, even after a widely watched report showed inflation improved last month.
Calgary Conversions
Calgary, Alberta, has one of the most aggressive programs in North America to promote office to residential conversions. Facing an enormous hole in its property-tax base, Calgary in 2021 approved a conversion program featuring an unprecedented subsidy of 75 Canadian dollars a square foot, equivalent to $55 a square foot. Unlike many conversion programs in the U.S., Calgary’s plan has no major strings attached, such as an affordable-housing requirement.
Hotel Employment
According to government data, total hotel employment stands at roughly 1.92 million. This means there are 191,500 less workers in the industry than there were in February 2020, reflecting the scarcity of available employees since the onset of the pandemic.