Home Prices

March 1, 2023

The S&P National Home Price Index, which measures home prices across the nation, rose 5.8% in the year ended in December, down from a 7.6% annual rate the prior month. The increase was the lowest December-to-December change since 2019.

Apartment Rents

February 27, 2023

Apartment rents fell in every major metropolitan area in the U.S. over the past six months through January, a trend that is poised to continue as the biggest delivery of new apartments in nearly four decades is slated for this year.

Dividend Stocks

February 24, 2023

The S&P 500 High Dividend Index—made up of the S&P 500’s top 80 dividend-paying companies—fell 1.1% including dividends last year, compared with a negative total return of 18% for the broad benchmark. In 2023, the index is up 2.5% but is trailing the S&P 500’s 4.8% advance.

Florida Condo Redevelopment

February 23, 2023

In Florida, developers are increasingly eager to buy out condo owners so they can tear down an aging property and build a new one. Some owners, especially the elderly, oppose selling and having to find a new home. Yet they may have to sell if 80% of the owners in a condominium agree to a sale.

Office Workers

February 22, 2023

Workers’ office use on average is around 50% of prepandemic levels in 10 major U.S. cities. Employee engagement—a measure of how involved and enthusiastic workers are about their work and workplace—slipped in 2022 for a second consecutive year.

CMBS Delinquencies

February 21, 2023

The delinquency rate for office loans that back commercial-mortgage-backed securities remains low, but it is heading higher. The rate last month rose by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.83%, its largest increase since December 2021.

Venture Fundraising

February 20, 2023

Venture firms raised $20.6 billion in new funds in the fourth quarter. That was a 65% drop from the year-earlier quarter and the lowest fourth-quarter amount since 2013. The amount was also less than half the level raised in the preceding three months, the first time fundraising volumes decreased from the third to fourth quarter since 2009.

Home Sales

February 17, 2023

From August to November of last year, home sales were down an average of 25% year on year for the top third of the market, but an average of just 11% for the bottom third.

Rate Outlook

February 15, 2023

Following the consumer-price print, derivatives markets showed the federal-funds rate peaking at 5.28% in August. Hopes that the Fed would cut rates several times this year faded with the benchmark rate forecast to end the year above 5.12%.

KSL Martin Resorts

February 14, 2023

Private equity firm KSL Capital Partners has acquired the Martin Resorts Collection and its five independent, boutique hotels. The five hotels totaling 346 rooms are located on California’s central coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco.