Why “Good Enough” Is Winning in the Age of Execution
I recently finished listening to Inside the Box, a book that explores how constraints—properly understood—don’t limit creativity, but instead give rise to it.
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Blog Archives
Hot and Hotter
I wanted to return to the subject of housing and share some of the latest graphs related to the single-family and multifamily markets. I’ll start with the single-family sector.
Demand continues to be strong but it has decelerated from the torrid Covid-catalyzed pace of 2020.
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Lessons from NMHC and Melbourne
Five‑Set Tennis, Five‑Set Markets: Lessons from NMHC and Melbourne
For more than 25 years, the National Multi-Housing Council meeting has been one of my annual rituals—a place to take the pulse of the apartment market by listening to smart people, absorbing the mood of owners,
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Pendulum Interrupted
The U.S. apartment market has gone through a very intense swing from the greatest market in my life in 2021 and early 2022 to a far more challenging one from 2023 through today. The pendulum swung far to the left in the wake of low interest rates,
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Emily Dickinson - Hope Is Not a Strategy
I many times thought Peace had come
When Peace was far away—
As Wrecked Men—deem they sight the Land—
At Centre of the Sea—
And struggle slacker—but to prove
As hopelessly as I—
How many the fictitious Shores—
Before the Harbor be—
-Emily Dickinson
Every so often I will read poetry to tap into timeless thoughts and wisdom.
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A Slippery Slope
I’m on a bit of a slippery slope here. I take pride in producing a weekly blog almost without fail for the past 12 years. There are times when I am scratching my head for ideas or not feeling super inspired to write.
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Do Better!
Last week I attended our National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) conference in Las Vegas along with a number of my CWS colleagues. It’s amazing how it has grown over the years. One person said he was told there were 7,700 people attending.
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Way Too Hot
Last week was so devastating for those who lost their homes in the LA fires. This satellite image and analysis done by Microsoft of an area of Pacific Palisades shows over 2,000 buildings that were damaged or destroyed, with the vast majority being residential.
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To Fix or Not To Fix, That Is the Question
A few months ago, we started the process to refinance a few of our variable-rate loans into 7-year, fixed-rate loans. The fixed rates are based on the 7-year Treasury plus a spread which has been in the range of 1.50%. Here is a chart of the 7-year Treasury that goes through September 16th.
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London 2024 - Insurance, Nick Cave, and The King
Last week I was in London for the fourth consecutive year to meet with some of our insurance carriers. Our program has become increasingly complex as this year we have 43 different companies providing coverage for our property program.
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