The Lede: Shortage of high end property for billionaires
Want to make a statement like Citadel LLC’s Ken Griffen? The investor is joining many others in a quest to buy $100 million homes. WSJ has an article about the surge in sales for homes that cost 289 times the cost of a median-priced home in his former hometown of Chicago. It’s creating a supply/demand issue.
“People’s wealth has grown so substantially and there’s such limited product,” said Chris Levitt Douglas Elliman in Palm Beach. “There are more billionaires than there are oceanfront, sprawling estates.” (WSJ, Subscription)
Chris Leavitt, Douglas Elliman
Realtor.com economist says market at ‘turning point’
Mortgage applications are up. Pending sales are up. Mortgage applications are down, though, meaning more movement in the housing market, which had been buffeted by low inventory and higher mortgage rates. (Realtor.com)
‘Existential crisis’ for commercial real estate, financier says
Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht says the U.S. office property market was once valued at $3 trillion. The market has taken a haircut, and now the valuation is closer to $1.8 trillion. He blames remote work, which he doesn’t see as going away. (Business Insider)
- Related: New York Community Bank posts losses, said to blame charge-off of two real estate loans, one of which was commercial and the other multi-family. (American Banker.)
NAR CEO video: Forcefully denies commission setting, welcomes competition
Nykea Wright introduces herself as CEO of NAR (Wasn’t she interim CEO…when did that change?) and in a short video decries misinformation by those who don’t understand the industry. (YouTube)
Other items of note
Yes, Microsoft OneDrive might look different this month: For those of us who rely on Microsoft, pay attention to a roll-out of a new design format for OneDrive. The refresh is said to bring it more in line with other Microsoft Office apps and will allow easier file searches. (The Verge)
Google Bard to charge for advanced service: If you use Bard to write marketing copy, you’ll have to pay to use the Bard Advanced platform. You knew it had to end sometime. (AndroidAuthority)