🥶 A chill in the housing market

Plus: Pizza on the move 🍕 | Monday, May 16, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Deloitte   Axios What's Next By Jennifer A. Kingson and Joann Muller · May 16, 2022 Well, it had to happen: The housing market is cooling off just a bit — which doesn't necessarily mean it's a great time for buyers, but change is in the air. Today's robot-in-the-wild photograph comes from What's Next reader Peter Sobelton, who spotted it in Birmingham, Michigan. We could make you famous, too! Submit your picture to whatsnext@axios.com. Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,144 words ... 4½ minutes.     1 big thing: The crazy housing market is finally slowing down Homebuyers face a lot of competition. Photo: Raychel Brightman/Newsday RM via Getty Images   The red-hot housing market is starting to cool this spring, after nearly two years of soaring prices and shrinking inventories, Joann Muller writes. Why it matters: Homebuyers and renters who've been struggling to find an affordable place to live will have more choices and fewer bidding wars — if only just a little. Rising interest rates, inflation and the stock market drop are countervailing factors, keeping the housing market unaffordable to many. What's happening: The supply of homes for sale is finally increasing, after being depleted over the past year and a half, Zillow reports. There were 740,000 homes for sale in the U.S. at the end of April, up from 715,833 at the end of March, per Zillow. That's still about half pre-pandemic levels in April 2019. It's not just a seasonal uptick either. Inventories are rising enough to begin closing the gap with 2021's available homes, and should surpass last year's inventory sometime later in 2022, Zillow says. More houses for sale should help slow the frenetic pace of the U.S. market, in which the median home was snatched up in just six days in April. That head-snapping sales rate is "extraordinary — unlike anything we've seen before in the national housing market," Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow, the real estate website, tells Axios. New home construction has also bolstered the housing supply, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Yet persistent inflation — plus external factors, like the war in Ukraine — will continue to cause strain for potential buyers, he said. The big picture: The dynamics of the housing market are shifting in many ways, with rising mortgage rates becoming a factor for the first time in a while. The monthly mortgage payment on the median-asking-price home — which has risen to $408,458 — has hit a record high of $2,404 at the current 5.27% mortgage rate, per Redfin. That's 42% higher than the $1,688 monthly payment a year earlier, when mortgage rates were 2.96%. Keep reading.     2. It's b-a-a-a-c-k: Graffiti on NYC subway cars Screenshot: @hyperallergic   There's been a big uptick in graffiti being painted on New York City subway cars — including from tourism vandals who deliberately travel to Gotham to put their marks on the city's trains, Jennifer A. Kingson writes. Why it matters: The tags and artwork are reminiscent of the "bad old days" of the 1970s and '80s, when spray-painted subway cars were a symbol of crime and urban blight. Driving the news: The Metropolitan Transit Authority, which runs NYC's subway system, has started publishing figures about the rising graffiti, saying, "We are hopeful that increased transparency about vandalism incidents in our system will keep everyone safer and more vigilant." "Since the beginning of 2022, the agency has reported 209 incidents of graffiti on subways in the city, set to beat a total of 300 in 2021," per the art news website Hyperallergic. "There were only 208 and 297 in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Current numbers are on track to reach 2018's relative high of 443 incidents." The MTA will spend more than $1 million on graffiti removal and prevention this year, up from $600,000 in 2018. "Included in the rising number of hits are elaborate murals that cover the entire exteriors of trains," the New York Daily News reports, adding that, for potential vandals, the thrill of posting one's work to social media is heightening the appeal. The intrigue: In April, Two French graffiti artists were struck and killed by subway trains while trying to ply their craft. Gothamist, a news site dedicated to New York City, quoted their "boss," the artist Ceet Fouad, saying that the two men's dream was to paint a subway train. "It was like winning the World Cup, winning a trophy," Fouad said. The New York Police Department said that "individuals living overseas" are targeting the layup areas — where trains turn around. "As restrictions on international travel have lifted, we have seen an increase in layup graffiti incidents," Lt. Jessica McRorie, an NYPD spokeswoman, told The City, a New York news site. Flashback: "Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent targeting graffiti from 1972 until 1989, when the MTA took what it said was the last train covered by graffiti out of service to be scrubbed clean," The City said. Of note: "The general public doesn't see trains with graffiti, as they did in the 1970s and 1980s because the MTA has a policy of generally not allowing vandalized trains to go into service until they've been repaired," Gothamist said. Share this story.     3. Top baby names Data: Social Security Administration; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios In 2021 — for the fifth year in a row —Liam was the top baby name for boys, while Olivia was No. 1 for girls for the third straight year, the Social Security Administration said. After Liam, the most common names for boys were Noah, Oliver, Elijah, James, William, Benjamin, Lucas, Henry and Theodore. For girls, following Olivia: Emma, Charlotte, Amelia, Ava, Sophia, Isabella, Mia, Evelyn and Harper. "The 'fastest rising' baby names — which signify the names growing in popularity — are Amiri for boys and Raya for girls," AP reports.     A message from Deloitte Understand the metaverse     There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to the metaverse, a three-dimensional, immersive environment where users can interact. Okay, but: Executives shouldn't underestimate the potential now. Learn about the metaverse and how to prepare for it.     4. Zoom takes over movie production Tony Chambers, Walt Disney Studios' executive vice president of theatrical distribution, speaks about the Marvel Studios movie, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage   Virtual meetings have become so commonplace for Marvel Studios that some editors and directors never meet in person during production, writes Axios' Herb Scribner. Driving the news: "Moon Knight" director Mohamed Diab told Axios after the Marvel show's finale that he never met one of the show's editors in person even though production for the show lasted three years. Diab told Axios that the Marvel television project spent six months of pre-production and six months of post-production using Zoom and he never physically met "Moon Knight" editor Joan Sobel. And, despite the virtual workflow, the show had the least amount of reshoots in Marvel production history, Diab said. Zoom out: "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which premiered on May 6, earned an estimated $185 million in ticket sales for its first weekend, per the Associated Press. The film had the biggest opening of 2022 to date, finishing ahead of "The Batman" ($134 million) and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" ($260.1 million). The "Doctor Strange" sequel was mostly produced and edited through Zoom too, director Sam Raimi said in the global press conference for the film. He said editing and audio mixing scenes would happen virtually. What he said: "I could speak to, you know, 10s of crew members at once," Raimi told reporters. "We could show a storyboard from an artist, the editor can bring up a piece of the cut. We really had great communication, audiovisual." "You were able to speak to 100 people at once. It's fantastic." Read the full story.     5. Pizza on the move An autonomous pizza delivery robot. Photo courtesy of Peter Sobelton   What's Next reader Peter Sobelton writes: "A pizzeria in downtown Birmingham, Michigan, is using this robot to deliver its pizzas. It is licensed to operate on the roads, and the recipient of the delivery is sent a code to access their pizza upon arrival."     A message from Deloitte Metaverse: What boards should know     The metaverse is a growing focus in technology circles — and with good reason. Many consider the metaverse the next generation of the internet. Boards should consider the impact of the metaverse when evaluating their companies' future opportunities, growth and risk factors. Learn more.   Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next magic by signing up for our free newsletter here. Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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