What Is the YOLO Economy?

by Charles Jackson

The acronym “YOLO” took the world by storm in 2011 when Canadian rapper Drake used the term, meaning You Only Live Once, in a song. Since then, YOLO has been used far and wide as a newer version of carpe diem, or seize the day, as a way to encourage people to take risks and live life to the fullest. Now YOLO is being used to describe a new mindset that is changing the economy … [More]

Engaged with Purpose: Who’s Driving the CAR?

by Joshua Zahn

It’s not enough to know something; a person must engage to see results. And what drives anyone’s engagement will significantly impact whether they stay engaged for the long run. According to Gallup (2021), only 35% of employees in the United States are engaged in their jobs. For business leaders, that means that, statistically, six out of 10 U.S. employees are not engaged. … [More]

Feedback: July 2021

by Barbara Hagen, Brandon Sammut, Uwe Voss

Question: What were your top reasons for locating here in Greater Phoenix? Barbara Hagen VP, Sales and Marketing ThriftBooks Sector: e-Commerce Thrift Books Global LLC has been operating in Greater Phoenix since 2011. Over the years, we have found the market conditions to be very advantageous, with its geographic positioning, strong labor market and favorable business … [More]

Rapid House Price Appreciation Drives Affordability Lower, According to Price Index

First American Financial Corporation

First American Financial Corporation, a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, today released the April 2021 First American Real House Price Index (RHPI). The RHPI measures the price changes of single-family properties throughout the U.S. adjusted for the impact of income and interest rate changes on … [More]

Phoenix is No. 11 Among Top 15 Markets for Rent Growth

CBRE Group

Tight vacancies and high demand are sparking bidding wars for industrial space across the U.S., driving both asking and taking rent growth to new highs, according to a new report from CBRE. Asking rents increased a record 8.3% year-over-year in Q4 2020 and 7.1% in Q1 2021—well above the five-year annual growth average of 6.8%. Asking rents are the listed rates that landlords … [More]

Despite Record Low Rates, 78% of Homeowners Passed Up Refinancing Last Year

Zillow

Fewer than a quarter of established homeowners refinanced their mortgages over the last year, even though about half of those who did say they cut their monthly payments by at least $300. Those savings often went toward home renovations or paying off debt.   Zillow surveyed more than 1,300 homeowners who did not move over the past year (as of late April) to find out what … [More]

Another 411K U.S. Jobless Claims Last Week, Slight Decrease over Previous Week

U.S. Department of Labor

In the week ending June 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 411,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 6,000 from 412,000 to 418,000. The 4-week moving average was 397,750, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up … [More]

Prime Day Delivered the Two Biggest Days Ever for Small & Medium-Sized Businesses

Amazon

Prime Day 2021 was the biggest two-day period ever for Amazon’s third party sellers, nearly all of which are small and medium-sized businesses, growing even more than Amazon’s retail business. Prime members in 20 countries shopped more this Prime Day than any previous Prime Day and scored deep discounts across home, fashion, beauty, and electronics. Members purchased more than … [More]

Smart Energy Devices: 6 Ways Small Businesses Can Go Green with Smart Technology

by Edgar R. Olivo

Smart energy devices are playing a bigger role in how small businesses transform to a more efficient and sustainable way to grow. A smart device is any electronic device that can be connected to your energy system, with or without the internet, that can interact with other devices and make some decisions on its own. Lighting, alarm systems, doorbells, office equipment and … [More]

U.S. Jobless Claims Rose Last Week, First Time Since April

U.S. Department of Labor

In the week ending June 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 412,000, an increase of 37,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 376,000 to 375,000. The 4-week moving average was 395,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average … [More]

Single-Family Rent Growth Rate More Than Doubles Year over Year in April, Says Report

CoreLogic

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its latest Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), which analyzes single-family rent price changes nationally and across major metropolitan areas. April 2021 data shows a national rent increase of 5.3% year over year, up from a 2.4% year-over-year increase in April … [More]

Inventory Rebounds amid Record Home Value and Rent Growth

Zillow

Continued torrid growth in the housing market paired with a long-awaited bump in inventory in May, according to Zillow's® latest Market Report. Home value appreciation continues to break records and typical time on market is down to just six days. Meanwhile, rents are rising quickly across the U.S., breaking out after growth was stymied under the pandemic. Inventory is … [More]

Nationwide Homeowner Equity Gains Hit $1.9 Trillion in Q1 2021, Says Report

CoreLogic

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released the Homeowner Equity Report for the first quarter of 2021. The report shows U.S. homeowners with mortgages (which account for roughly 62% of all properties) have seen their equity increase by 19.6% year over year, representing a collective equity gain of over $1.9 … [More]

U.S. Jobless Claims Drop to Third Consecutive Pandemic Low

U.S. Department of Labor

In the week ending June 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 376,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 385,000. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The 4-week moving average was 402,500, a decrease of 25,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 428,000. This is … [More]

Consumer Prices Jump 5% in May, Fastest Inflation since 2008

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.8 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 5.0 percent before seasonal adjustment; this was the largest 12-month increase since a 5.4-percent increase for the … [More]

Popular Assets Among Retail Investors in 2021

by Austin Distel

In spite of the astronomic job losses and decline in productive activity that shared striking similarities with the global recession of the 1930’s, research by scientists at Paderborn University showed that in 2020, stock indices in certain industries still recorded significant growth. Quite notably, a lot of changes were observed in global investment trends as a fallout of the … [More]

Strong Improvement for U.S. Mortgage Delinquency Rates in March, Says Report

CoreLogic

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for March 2021. For the month of March, 4.9% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 1.3-percentage point increase in … [More]

Small Business Optimism Pauses in May as Labor Shortage Slows Growth

NFIB

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell 0.2 points in May to 99.6. May saw a slight pause in the recovery of small business optimism after steadily increasing each month in 2021. As reported in NFIB’s monthly jobs report, a record-high 48% of owners reported unfilled job openings. “The labor shortage is holding back growth for small businesses across the … [More]

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