SAN ANTONIO | 300 Main | 32 FLOORS | 388 FEET | U/C

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by LSP

The main culprit is COVID. Remember how the price of oil tanked during COVID? There was no demand. No new wells were being produced either. When we left the crisis, there was a surge in demand for oil but not enough supply to reach or pass equilibrium. Since quite literally every good produced on earth needs oil, everything else got expensive with it.

There's a few other culprits. The Fed held historically low interest rates probably too long, but that may have been necessary for people to keep jobs during COVID. It makes sense that they raised interest rates when they did.

I agree. One other reason is that corporations and investment groups are buying houses for more than regular people can afford to pay, then renting them out at higher prices than individual landlords. That's a problem that is only going to continue, sadly.


https://www.redfin.com/news/wp-conte...--1024x708.png

[SpiritofSeguin]

Well, at least it's nice to look at.

[Restless One]

Originally Posted by LSP

Going to assuage your saltines. I teach highschool econ. We got off the gold standard because rather than having inflation, we had deflation. There is a finite supply of gold in the world but theoretically infinite growth. During the Great Depression, the dollar's value was tied to gold. It had a fixed exchange rate. Abandoning the gold standard helped the dollar recover. Further, the Fed doesn't print money. The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing prints money. The Fed adjusts the interest rates which banks can loan at which affects the supply/demand of money in circulation, and acts as the lender of last resort. Quantitative Easing, which is what you're thinking of as printing money, isn't actually printing money. It's the process of the Fed purchasing bonds to increase the supply of money in the market. They don't just invent the money out of thin air. The money they do get is from collected interest on their assets.

I think the rest of your post is about comparative advantage. It's actually cheaper for everybody to have goods produced elsewhere and shipped here.

Anyway, hope you liked my econ class!

Gee, thanks. I'm sure my eggs, milk, gas and interest rate will be much better for the lesson.

[Restless One]

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

I agree. One other reason is that corporations and investment groups are buying houses for more than regular people can afford to pay, then renting them out at higher prices than individual landlords. That's a problem that is only going to continue, sadly.


https://www.redfin.com/news/wp-conte...--1024x708.png

Hmmm, wonder why that is.

I mean, really, who benefits from having a pathway to at least some wealth given to corporations and investment groups and taken from the private citizen?

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by Restless One

Hmmm, wonder why that is.

I mean, really, who benefits from having a pathway to at least some wealth given to corporations and investment groups and taken from the private citizen?

Q: I mean, really, who benefits from having a pathway to at least some wealth given to corporations and investment groups and taken from the private citizen?

A: Corporations and investment groups

[LSP]

Originally Posted by Restless One

Gee, thanks. I'm sure my eggs, milk, gas and interest rate will be much better for the lesson.

You whine a lot.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Originally Posted by LSP

You whine a lot.

It's really crazy how some folks are just desperate for things to be terrible, hardly any of which is ever based in reality. People just live online or on cable news now and outsource the thinking to the outrage machine.

[SpiritofSeguin]

This building looks nice from the Weston Center plaza.

[texboy]

I want to point out this is a highrise apartment tower that was built to lure a higher end renter. The finishes inside and out are higher end and its more expensive to build a highrise like this in general, not to mention the location wasn't a cheap land purchase. San Antonio last time I checked was still one of the cheapest large cities to rent in. I understand some of the gripes about affordable housing in city centers (I live in Denver where rental costs are beyond outrageous), but as far as SA goes, I feel this higher end type of building is more the exception and not the rule like Austin/Dallas/Denver/New York/SF etc etc. Maybe I'm jaded from living in Denver for several years now, but these prices didn't strike me as ridiculous considering the building and setting. These prices seem to be a "lets see what we can get" situation. If sales are slow, I bet incentives will be offered. But my bet is there is a market for this type of living in SA and this sucker will be 75% leased at minimum by end of year 1.

[bosshaa5]

Personally, I think a lot of people are looking at this project. It has the potential to be catalytic in many ways. The financial community doesn't like risk, especially in this interest rate environment. Given its scale and location, this kind of development has yet to be proven in SA.

If this is successful, Weston Urban will basically demonstrate to the development community that high-rise apartments can work downtown.

[jake.robs]

3D Google Earth data has been updated, it now includes the topped-out building. Hopefully, Austin is next!

[SpiritofSeguin]

Today's heat index was 116!

[CWalk99]

View of the eastern facade from the News 4 flyover this morning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZjn...I%29SanAntonio

[jaga185]

I'm not too fond of the exposed concrete eastern facade I hope they put... paint... or something... But I'm glad that it has a good massing for that area.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by jaga185

I'm not too fond of the exposed concrete eastern facade I hope they put... paint... or something... But I'm glad that it has a good massing for that area.

I view this building as serviceable architecture that will hopefully serve as a catalyst for more, better buildings.

[texboy]

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

I view this building as serviceable architecture that will hopefully serve as a catalyst for more, better buildings.

This cluster of highrises will serve as a nice little backdrop for an east facing baseball stadium...