What's Happening Now
Seems like a lot blew up this week. First was our Y Combinator batchmates, DoorDash, which IPO’d at a dizzying $182 per share, then SpaceX’s Starship SN8 (definitely watch this if you haven’t yet, it’s remarkable) launched in an incredible display of awe, amazement and fireballs the very same day. Not to be outdone, on Thursday, AirBnB - another fellow YC company - showed an also incredible IPO, up 112% at one point on the first day of trading. It’s not all sunshine and roses though as many have called the success of all three into question. Only time will tell what we can learn from the trio of stratospheric events.
More news of major employers leaving core markets hit this week as well. News was circulating that Goldman Sachs was eyeing South Florida as the target for their asset management arm, and we just learned late Friday that Oracle is relocating its headquarters to Austin, TX. Oracle has been a staple of Silicon Valley lore since its founding in 1977. That’s a big move and one that will have major impacts for Redwood City and surrounding areas.
These major relocations echo a concern we’ve discussed on the podcast a few times - how will cities deal with such a massive loss of tax revenue. I’m starting to think we may be on to something with all the work that goes into those episodes…
What To Watch
Late Friday, we learned the FDA provided emergency authorization for Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine. This is a huge first step and absolutely shatters the previous record for vaccine development, beating the mumps vaccine by almost 3 years! Now let’s hope that we can figure out a way to a) produce it in quantity that will provide doses for everybody, b) do that quickly and, c) actually get people to take it.
We saw an unexpected, and troubling, rise in unemployment claims last week which could be a signal of a weakened economy as we enter the dark days of winter and a tightening of restrictions on business operations around the country.
Also reversing a pretty long run of positive indicators, the NMHC Rent Payment Tracker was down 780 basis points through the week ending December 6th compared to the same period in 2019. As mentioned in prior newsletters, 2020 has tracked within 150-250bps since the pandemic. Still a bit early to tell if this is a blip or a bigger indicator – but you’ll remember I called this as one to watch back in our pre-Thanksgiving newsletter. Stay tuned for the next updated numbers that we’ll have for you in our next writing.
The Holidays are upon us and we’ll be trying to step out of the office a bit starting at the end of next week. If you have urgent business for us, better catch us next week or there may be some delays in responsiveness. Rest assured we’ll be around to help anything critical, but we hope you’re able to take some breaths away from the grind as well. And boy has this year been a grind.
Stay safe out there, wash those hands, wear a mask and send somebody a text, email or even give them a call. The sun is setting earlier and earlier each day until the 21st, and a little bit of sunshine in the way of an unexpected call is just the ticket to help brighten somebody’s day.
- Adam Hooper, CEO
RealCrowd CEO, Adam Hooper, will join executives from Cadence, MicroVentures, and Vinovest, for an informative roundtable discussion and Q&A.
On this webinar you will learn key points on diversifying your portfolio with alternative assets. Hear how alternative assets aim to mitigate risk, and how these assets work independently from traditional markets — all from the people who built some of the most popular alternative investing platforms.
You will also get the chance to ask these industry experts anything about alternative assets during our interactive Q&A.
When: Dec 17, 2020 12:00 PM PST.
20192020Rent Payments Collected by May 6th81.7%80.2%Rent Payments Collected by June 6th81.6%80.8%Rent Payments Collected by July 6th79.7%77.4%Rent Payments Collected by August 6th81.2%79.3%Rent Payments Collected by September 6th81.2%76.4%Rent Payments Collected by October 6th79.4%79.4%Rent Payments Collected by November 6th81.5%80.4%Rent Payments Collected by December 6th83.2%75.4*Data brought to you by NHMC Rent Payment Tracker
CurrentPrior Week Change10 Year Treasury0.897%-0.073%DOW30,046.37-171.89S&P 5003,663.46-35.66Unemployment Rate6.7%--Covid Cases - 7-Day Avg204,766+31,314*Metrics as of Friday, December 11
Listen as Brian Leitner, Head of Wealth Management at Mariner Wealth Advisors, discusses keys to building an estate plan.
Companies are more willing now to call other big cities home, forcing coastal business hubs to work harder to keep their place.
Fitch’s move comes close on the heels of S&P Global Ratings changing its outlook on the city’s debt to “negative” from “stable” due to uncertainties stemming from a recent uptick in the virus transmission rate.
Shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got a mixed reception at the U.S. Supreme Court on a lawsuit that seeks billions of dollars and could affect the push to end government control of the mortgage giants.
Collins v. Mnuchin is an early test of just how much chaos the Supreme Court’s new majority is willing to impose on the government.
“Well, if I worked seven days a week, 15 to 16 hours a day and I don’t take any holidays, at least for a period of time I’m going to be more productive.”
*If you like this post, be sure to enroll in our free six week course on the fundamentals of commercial real estate investing — RealCrowd University.*
