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Did You Know?
A vast cohort is coming of age. Globally, some 2 BILLION people were born between 1997 and 2012, and so are part of “Generation Z”. In the US and Britain this group makes up 20% of the population, rivaling the share of baby-boomers; in India and Nigeria the young far outnumber the old.
Did You Know?
Around 50% of Gen Z use Tik-Tok, a primary source of news that tells you that no one in your generation will be able to buy a house, food prices are spinning out of control and credit-card debt is unavoidable....but also that $2,500 Louis Vuitton bags and $70 moisturizers are, as many videos say, “a must”? Say that out loud twice and the solution seems rather easy and obvious.... none of this is coincidental: much of Tik-Tok's messaging is corporate-fueled profiteering via anger/fear: If the outlook is bad, why not enjoy life now? Why buy when the world is ending: rent instead? Those born in the 90's saw their median wealth more than quadruple to over $40,000 between 2019-2022 (Federal Reserve Bank,St. Louis) while adding non-mortgage debt of an additional $11,000 in the past 2 years..... (WSJ)
Did You Know?
The Dallas-Fort Worth area has experienced massive population growth, now about 8 million people.....about the number of people in New York City! However, DFW has about 19x the amount of land for those millions.....New York City is just about 469 square miles of which 169 square miles is water.....while DFW is 9,286 square miles!
Did You Know?
A new tax bill known as "The Flood Insurance Relief Act," would change the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by giving homeowners what's known as an "above the line" deduction for their insurance premiums, allowing homeowners to deduct the cost of their insurance premiums from their gross income instead of their take-home pay, a move that would result in significant savings.(Benzinga)
Did You Know?
The populations in the US between 2020 and 2023 shrank the most in New York City (6%) and San Francisco (7%) and grew the most in southern cities. San Antonio, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Houston, San Diego and Dallas have grown the most. In all the regions but the West, bigger cities grew far faster than small towns.
Did You Know?
What is the most popular exterior home color? White. Yup, it's old-fashioned and it has been around forever, but remains popular. Then again, different areas have different likes and dislikes. Warm neutrals seem to be the safest zone. Dark grey and black have become very popular in the past few years to modernize the look of a home, but this does not appeal to everyone. A safer way to 'play' with color might be a bold front door color or color applied to trim or a small room like a powder room. A recent global poll found that while 57% of men listed blue as their favorite color, just 35% of women did so. Another major disparity between the genders was the color purple: 23% of women chose purple as their favorite color, yet it didn't even garner 1% among men. (Joe Hallock)
Did You Know?
U.S. inflation eased slightly in April: The consumer-price index, a gauge for goods and service costs across the U.S. economy, rose 3.4% in April from a year ago, down from 3.5% in March. Core prices that exclude volatile food and energy items climbed 3.6% annually, the lowest increase since April 2021. Furniture prices were down 3.8% and appliances 5.9%. Auto insurance was up over 22% fueled mostly by repair costs and weather-related claims. The auto industry is short 642,000 workers. In 2016, there were 225 cars and trucks on the road for every active service bay; 5 years later, there were 246 cars and trucks per service bay. (WSJ)
Did You Know?
Berkshire Hathaway has fretted that there are no areas of upside value in markets - now sitting on almost $200 billion of cash waiting for opportunity buys - but they DID see value in..... insurance! Yup, Chubb, a Zurich-based home insurer and one that is very profitable with room for growth?
Did You Know?
Developers are building new houses for rent at an unprecedented rate, aiming to capitalize on the steep home prices and higher mortgage rates that are forcing many Americans to keep renting. In 2023, 93,000 new single-family homes for rent were completed (John Burns Research and Consulting), 39% more rental homes than in 2022, and the most in any year ever and this pace is expected to continue this year before easing by 2025. Expect to see more 'unbiased experts' (often landlords) encouraging renting over buying. (WSJ)
Did You Know?
The US Department of Energy estimates regional electric transmission will need to more than double to meet the US’s decarbonisation targets by 2035. (FT)
"Especially since the pandemic, everyone wants what they want and they want everything hyper-customized to their interests and their requirements.”
– Ashley Isaacs Ganz, Artisans of Leisure
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