On Our Radar

The Washington Post, April 3, 2023, Chicago Neighbors Say Obama Center Is Raising Rents, Forcing Them Out The Obama Foundation has told residents that the $500 million presidential center will help transform some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods and offer opportunities to those who live there. But Williams and others have watched its construction with mistrust. With the center’s […]

Axios, March 31, 2023, Young Single Women Lose Homeownership Gains Single women’s homeownership rate took a heavy hit in 2022 due, in part, to lower salaries, more volatile work experiences and more caregiving responsibilities, according to a recent Zillow analysis. After growing to 28.6% by 2021, the nationwide homeownership rate for single women dropped to 24.5% last

CNBC, April 3, 2023, Home Prices Suddenly Jump After Several Months Of Declines Behind the quick change are wide swings in mortgage rates. The average rate on the 30-year fixed began rising off of a record low at the start of 2022. By June it had gone from around 4% to just over 6%. Sales

The Washington Post, March 30, 2023, Americans Are Returning To Cities After Remote-Work Exodus, Data Shows Many workers who could telecommute abandoned crowded cities and counties for suburban or rural areas when covid struck, causing demographers and businesses to wonder whether the movement signified a permanent shift. But the overall patterns of population change are moving toward pre-pandemic rates,

Time, March 27, 2023, Women Drive Wealth. So Why Is Equity Still Inequitable? While the math doesn’t lie, we’re focused on the wrong stat. We can’t allow this to be the accepted reality because this number is a reflection of today’s make-up of venture investors. It’s time to change the equation. This isn’t just a

The Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2023, A Tale Of Two Housing Markets: Prices Fall In The West While The East Booms The United States is a country of two housing markets. In one, home prices are falling from a year ago. In the other, they’re still posting annual gains. That division runs right down

The Washington Post, March 27, 2023, The Initial Banking Crisis Is Easing. Another May Be Around The Corner. In the White House, Treasury Department and Federal Reserve, policymakers are examining the potential risks posed by the approximately $20 trillion market for commercial real estate, which some analysts project is heading for a crash over the

Axios, March 28, 2023, “Badwill” Hunting: The Difference Between The Bank Failures Of 2008 And Today When government intervened to save Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank, a lot of people lost a lot of money — shareholders and some bondholders are zeroed out; senior executives are unceremoniously fired. The acquiring banks, on the other hand — UBS

NPR, March 22, 2023, The Fed Raises Interest Rates Again Despite The Stress Hitting The Banking System Members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee believe slightly higher rates may be necessary to restore price stability. On average, policymakers anticipate rates climbing by another quarter-percentage point by the end of this year, according to new projections that

AP News, March 21, 2023, MacKenzie Scott Sets New ‘Open Call’ To Donate $250 Million Through her organization Yield Giving, Scott plans to make unrestricted $1 million donations to 250 nonprofits selected in the process, which she calls a “new pathway to support for organizations making positive change in their communities.” To apply, the nonprofits

The Seattle Times, March 20, 2023, Bank Turmoil Triggers Uncertainty In Seattle Housing Market As the full impact continues to unfold, economists and lenders have been monitoring the market to see how the bank collapses could shift interest rates, home prices and buyer demand. Likewise, home shoppers are trying to unravel the potential implication for

Reuters, March 21, 2023, Exclusive: First Republic Considers Downsizing If Capital Raise Fails -Sources First Republic is examining how it can sell parts of its business, including some of its loan book, in a bid to raise cash and cut costs, one of the sources said. A sale of loans to other parties, including private

Ideastream Public Media, March 20, 2023, High Eviction Areas In Cleveland Echo The City’s History Of Redlining A recent report on the use of the city’s relatively new right-to-counsel law is just the latest. It shows where evictions took place in Cleveland in 2022 and where residents took advantage of the free legal advice now

WVU Today, February 27, 2023, Gun Violence Spills Into New Neighborhoods As Gentrification Displaces Drug Crime, According To WVU Study “Gentrification increases levels of gun violence in neighbor blocks, even more so when the gentrified block itself has a history of drug crime. There’s an average increase of nearly nine shootings in the surrounding neighborhood,

NPR, March 21, 2023, 5 Ways The Banking Turmoil Could Affect You Will banks get more cautious about lending? This would mean less access to money for real estate development, business expansions, purchases of homes and cars. Experts at Goldman Sachs said that smaller banks in particular may tighten up, resulting in slower economic growth for the