• Permitting reform is an essential part of the current debt ceiling negotiations after decades of underinvestment in mining and metals, two essential aspects to growth and infrastructure. Even Exxon is entering the Lithium mining world in Arkansas, an element essential to battery production. Italian conglomerate Enel is investing $1 billion in solar production in Oklahoma.(CNBC)

• Texas House has unanimously passed Senate Bill 3, reducing the amount of tax local governments can collect. The homestead exemption (applies to any primary residence) rises to $100,000 from $40,000. The average Texan house costs about $300,000 so the average savings is about $1,400/year. A second adjustment lowers the cap on how much a property’s appraised value can rise each year from 10% to 5%. Texas has some of the highest real estate taxes in the US. Home values appreciated dramatically in the past 3 years. (WSJ)We seem obsessed by this tiny, tiny group of people – just 2,640 of them, a fraction of a fraction of the percentage of the world’s population – yet just the 25 richest billionaires in the world are worth a collective $2.1 trillion, (down a combined $200 billion from $2.3 trillion in 2022)…..or about the size of all of Australia and Denmark’s GDP COMBINED! (or the size of Canada, Italy or Brazil’s entire GDP) (FORBES)

• For every dollar of global investment made since 2000, some $1.90 of debt has been added. During the 2020 and 2021 period, this accelerated to $3.40 for each $1.00 in net investment, the fastest rate in 50 years and a big driver of an inflation surge globally. When debt and asset prices have surged before, it has typically produced political implosions or sent governments scrambling to create social “safety valves” — such as debt forgiveness — to avoid meltdown. (FT)

• Florida is becoming more New York-ey every day: not unlike New York City, proximity to public transportation is fueling real estate valuation and demand. Brightline – the privately owned and operated rail service, opened stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Aventura, Boca Raton and soon Orlando – reported a 68% increase in ridership in March of 2023, compared with the same month in 2022….also fueled by adding stops. Now home sellers can command higher prices for proximity to the transportation system. Property values near the station were up 83% in price over that period, compared with a 38% median increase for the Miami area. (WSJ)

• About 77% of San Francisco residents surveyed recently say their city is heading in the wrong direction, with crime and street cleanliness among the major concerns, according to a poll commissioned by the local chamber of commerce……which may signal the perfect time to buy? Usually when there is broad consensus like this, things start to turn around and improve…. already tourism is close to pre-pandemic levels in San Francisco, and many tourists are visiting the growing number of luxury stores in Union Square, as are wealthy shoppers. Hotel occupancy rates increased to 61% in March from 28% in 2022. (FT/WSJ)

• Price controls? Sounds like the 1970’s! But yes, in Europe government price controls on certain foods have been enacted to curb excessive rising prices. So are food prices rising due to inflation or corporate greed? It’s a mixed bag, yet when PepsiCo, which makes products like Quaker Oats and Cheetos, increased prices 16% in the latest quarter, and grew its profits by 18%, it does not take a rocket scientist to see that prices are being hiked ‘because you can’ under the ruse of inflation in areas. Usually what follows this abuse is government price controls, or worse…….consumer revolt. And many consumers have long memories: some plan to abandon brands permanently. Another name for prices that are hiked ‘just because you can’ is ARTIFICIALLY fueled inflation. That never ends well. (FT/NY TIMES)

• Miami-Dade County $1 million+ luxury home sales continued outperforming pre-pandemic levels as total median sale prices rose again as the market leads in real estate appreciation, according to April 2023 statistics released by the MIAMI Association of Realtors/MLS system. Miami single-family home sales decreased 19.7% year-over-year, and existing condo sales decreased 44.4% year-over-year both due to lack of inventory and rising mortgage rates. Prices rose 6.2%. (Realty Biz News)

– Leonard Steinberg

4 BD | 3 BA | 3,488 SF | 0.26 AC | 4209nottinghamdr.com

2020 Victorine Rd., Livermore| Offered at $14,998,800

GUEST/POOL HOUSE – 1 BD | 1 BA | 918 SF 

MAIN HOUSE – 7 bd | 6.5 ba | 7253 sf * POOL HOUSE – 1 bd | 1 ba | 550 sf * GUEST HOUSE – 1 bd | 1 ba | 1100 sf