About half a million new apartments opened in 2023, the most in 40 years. Based on what is already under construction, analysts expect a similar number to be completed in 2024. However, developers are now launching fewer projects amid the financing crunch. Multifamily building starts fell to an annual rate of 322,000 units in April, the lowest April rate since 2020.
Turtle Bay
Host Hotels & Resorts has entered an agreement to acquire fee simple interest in the 450-room Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The price for the transaction, which includes a 49-acre land parcel entitled for development, is stated by Host Hotels as approximately $680m. Blackstone Real Estate acquired the hotel in 2018 for $332m. Host Hotels intends to transition management to Marriott and rebrand the resort under The Ritz-Carlton brand.
Private Lending
Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s alternative investment platform raised more than $20 billion for senior direct lending in its latest fund targeting private-equity-backed global businesses.
Chicago Office
Chicago’s office-vacancy rate has soared to 16.3% from 11.9% in early 2020, and it is notably higher than the U.S. average of 13.8%. Some downtown office buildings have sold for less than one-quarter of what they were valued at a few years ago.
Hampton Waffles
Hampton Inn travelers consume 30 million waffles at the hotel chain each year as part of its breakfast buffet.
Yield Curve
The yield curve has been inverted for a record stretch—around 400 trading sessions or more by some measures—with no signs of a major slowdown.
Fed Longer
Federal Reserve officials concluded at their most recent meeting they would need to hold interest rates at their current level for longer than they previously anticipated after a third straight disappointing inflation reading last month.
Bank Rules
Regulators are considering making significant changes to a recent proposal that would require banks to have more capital. In bottom-line terms, regulatory agencies had previously estimated that the core capital requirement for the largest categories of banks would rise by 19%, or roughly $150 billion more capital for the eight U.S. global systemically important banks.
College Sports PE
A new business called Collegiate Athletic Solutions plans to invest $50 million to $200 million apiece in a select group of universities. The idea is to build businesses that help monetize a school’s intellectual property and provide them with advice and capital.
Drugstore Downsizing
About 3,000 fewer drugstores were open for business at the start of this year compared with the same period in 2019.