The aftershocks of the election, a new fight against property taxes and a tribute to an inspirational executive. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the week of Nov. 4-8.
Hit: The Indestructible Man. It is impossible to imagine how anyone could have barreled through such ghastly obstacles – two impeachments, 34 felony convictions in a highly spurious lawsuit, multiple civil lawsuits, two assassination attempts and 24/7 ridicule from the political and media elite, including some of his former allies – without showing signs of collapse or crumbling. But not only did Donald Trump barrel through, he captained a game-changing election by singlehandedly realigning the ossified dynamics that tightly defined the nation’s political loyalties by race, ethnic heritage and gender. How Trump will address the challenges facing the economy as a whole – and housing in particular – will make for interesting viewing, while his victory offers a historic example of an unvanquished spirit taking on and tossing aside detractors.
Hit: See You Again in 2029? The election night results unleashed a harsh wave of bitterness and melodrama from those who did not support the winning presidential candidate, but a new service is offering these people a chance to escape from being governed by their least-favorite politician. Austin-headquartered EscapeAmerica.org promotes itself as offering “both logistical and practical guidance to make the transition smoother for prospective expatriates,” and it is aimed at those who vowed to leave the country if Trump was re-elected. “The American Dream has moved abroad,” the founders of EscapeAmerica.org claimed. Whether anyone will take them up on the offer remains to be seen, but at least someone is giving these folks the chance to put their money where their mouths are while putting their bodies outside of a Trump-governed America.
Hit: Money (Lots of It!) Well Spent. Congratulations to the Wyoming Realtors Association for helping to secure the passage of Amendment A, a constitutional amendment that creates a fourth class of taxation for residential properties – the state traditionally grouped residential with commercial and agricultural property. The organization’s political action committee (PAC) spent nearly $550,000 to rally voter support for the passage of Amendment A – an uncommonly high amount for a referendum campaign in Wyoming, but Laurie Urbigkit, government affairs director for Wyoming Realtors and treasurer of the 4Wyoming PAC said it was needed, “For years, we’ve thought we should have a fourth tier for residential,” she explained. “We’ve always been behind it and always wanted to do it. It’s been our longstanding position to support any legislation that helps people stay in their homes. Too many people are in real dire situations.”
Hit: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Trump? One of the most surprising data reports this year involved statistics that determined Chinese third-party logistics providers and e-commerce companies were responsible for 20% of net new warehouse leasing in the US during the third quarter. Some of the companies within that 20% share are headquartered in China while others have headquarters in the US and elsewhere but primarily handle China-to-US logistics. While some of this activity was attributed to the rising popularity of Chinese discount retailers including Shein and Temu in the US market, Jason Tolliver, head of logistics and industrial real estate at real-estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, noted the fear of new Trump-era tariffs on China spooked the Chinese companies to begin storing merchandise on this side of the Pacific ahead of possible new tariffs on Chinese goods going into effect.
Hit: Saying No to New Taxes. Congratulations to the 29 members of the Chicago City Council who are seeking a special council meeting that would vote down Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to raise property taxes. The city has a $1 billion projected deficit, and for the second time this year Johnson is eyeing property taxes as a get-rich-quick scheme – a previous attempt to pass a “mansion tax” was rejected by voters. The council members want the meeting now, arguing that Johnson is intentionally delaying the formal introduction of his tax hike to force a beat-the-clock vote before the end of the year. Clearly, the council members have more concern for their constituents than a mayor who is having problems running the city.
In Memoriam: An Amazing Leader. This week, we said goodbye to one of the most remarkable, innovative and generous men in American business. Bernard Marcus was born in 1929 as the fourth child of Russian-Jewish immigrants and he grew up in a tenement in Newark, New Jersey. His dream to become a doctor went unfulfilled – he was accepted Harvard Medical School but was unable to afford the tuition – but medicine’s loss became retail’s gain. After being forced out of the leadership role of the Handy Dan Improvement Centers Inc. in 1978, he teamed with another ousted executive named Arthur Blank to start a new retail store in Atlanta called The Home Depot. Earlier this year, Forbes magazine estimated Marcus’ net worth at $11 billion – but as a signatory of The Giving Pledge, he freely gave most of his wealth to worthy charitable causes. Bernad Marcus passed away at 95 – his was a life that was very well lived, and he was an inspiration for all professionals.
Phil Hall is the editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
Photo courtesy of Meme.ig
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