“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.”

— Chris Grosser

We hope that your November is off to a good start!

The new year will be here before we know it, so please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or to discuss your future plans.

• Jaw-dropping growth and spending ($63 million jet) fueled the meteoric rise of WeWork, but also contributed to its failure…..yesterday, WeWork filed for bankruptcy, a victim of excess …..and super-expensive longterm leases (about 777….and $2,7 billion in rent per year!) in office space as the world shifted its focus on work-from-home. …..and competition. In November 2022, it closed 40 locations alone. More landlords now offer furnished space under one- or two-year leases—virtually unheard of before the pandemic. More noteworthy, the bankruptcy addresses WeWork’s billions in debt and now allows them to exit or renegotiate leases that landlords were unwilling to do. (WSJ)

• Around 36% of the Swiss own their homes or apartments, the lowest rate in the West and well below the 70% average in the European Union, and the 67% in the United States. The average age of a first-time home buyer in Switzerland is 48, 15 years older than in neighboring France. Switzerland has very strict lending standards with a minimum 20% down payment requirement, a 4% transfer tax, and was not impacted by the subprime mortgage meltdown in 2007-9…. The median net worth of a Swiss homeowner in their 30s is 6X higher than that of a renter of the same age. In their 70’s, Swiss homeowners are 11X wealthier than renters their age. (New York Times)

• A recent UBS study of those attending the original Art Basel – in Basel- found that a large percentage of the 2,828 collectors surveyed—77%—are optimistic about how art will perform in the next 6 months, and that 54% planned to buy art in the next year, the same as in 2022. Nearly 40% of the ultra wealthy allocated 30% or more to art, the survey found. Maybe the recent revelations of the Wildenstein family’s ability to hide billions in (taxable) wealth via art has something to do with this? (PENTA)

• Austin, Texas became the largest US city to eliminate minimum parking space requirements for housing developments, homes, and apartment buildings…..a way to develop more units, easing the housing crunch, promote public transportation to make commuting easier. (Texas Tribune)

• TARGET® is seeing a pullback in consumer spending on many classifications now…. including food. Shipping volume rates are down too after the massive surge between 2020-2022. The cost of labor unexpectedly declined in the third quarter too…overall sales for APPLE fell for the fourth quarter in a row……Shipping giant MAERSK is cutting 10,000 jobs as ‘greedflation’ shipping pricing hit a wall and has dropped dramatically (down 58% in a year!)….and today we will see labor stats that are also indicating some cooling. Mortgage rates dipped too: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to an average of 7.76% in the week ending November 2, down from 7.79% the week before. (CNBC)