New building permits for private housing in the U.S. fell by a seasonally adjusted 21.1% in April compared with a year earlier, while construction starts were down 22.3%
S&P Outperforms
The S&P 500 has risen 14% this year, beating an 8.5% advance by the MSCI All Country World ex USA Index, which tracks developed and emerging-market stocks.
REIT Prices
Share prices of the five largest real-estate investment trusts that concentrate on downtown office buildings were down an average 63% in June compared to the end of 2019. Price declines were much smaller for REITs focused on retail property down 7% and apartment-focused REITs down 8%.
Worker Pay
Compensation for the median worker at 278 companies in the S&P 500 index was higher in 2022 than in the year before. About 100 of the companies said their median worker’s pay rose 10% or more, roughly the same number as in 2021.
Student Loans
Around 43 million people in the U.S., some 17% of the adult population, have federal student debt. Out of those borrowers, roughly 26.6 million—or about 10% of the adult population—had loans in forbearance as of the first quarter. This was thanks to the federal government’s suspension of payments and interest accrual starting in March 2020 and that pause is ending August 30.
Connecting Rooms
Hotel and resort managers say requests for connecting rooms and suites have increased recently as multigenerational families and large groups of friends gather. Some hotels have reported a more than 20% increase in demand for these types of rooms.
Slowing Rents
The average of six national rental-price measures shows new-lease asking rents rose just under 2% over the 12 months ending in May. That is down from the double-digit increases of a year ago and represents the largest deceleration over any year in recent history.
San Fran Hotels
San Francisco hotels are still struggling badly in both occupancy and room rates compared with before the pandemic. Revenue per available room was nearly 23% lower in April compared with the same month in 2019. The city’s lodging business has been squeezed by crime and other quality-of-life issues that have kept many convention bookers away. Tech companies’ embrace of remote work also undercuts business travel to the city and hotel activity.
Startups Slowing
Startups in the U.S. raised $37 billion in the first quarter of this year, down 55% from the first three months of last year.
Resort Sale
Blackstone Real Estate Investment Trust is selling the 1,000-room JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa for $800 million in a deal that is being called the second-biggest hotel transaction since the pandemic and a major bet on the convention and leisure industry. The hotel is being bought by Nashville, Tennessee-based Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc.