The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the City of Berkeley’s decision to ban natural gas infrastructure in all new construction. And the funny thing is, both sides of the case say they’re fighting for the environment. So who is it? Find out more from the Chronicle.
Looking at the national economy, the Fed is ramping up to another 25 bps rate hike at their May meeting, but the job market isn’t feeling the recession burn. Unemployment sits at 3.5%, private payroll is on the rise, and 236K jobs were added in the past month. Meanwhile, interest rates remain unpredictable day to day.
ICYMI: In an ongoing quest to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve recently raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 points to 4.75%-5%. So what does that mean for the housing market? The primary impact is reduced demand as buyers think twice about taking out long-term loans. Ironically, less demand could lead to lower home prices.
The Skimm explores this conundrum.
Governor Newsom announced that he’s ending the call for a statewide voluntary 15% reduction in water use in place since July 2021.
Meanwhile, local water agencies that were expecting just 35% of requested supplies from the state are now on tap to get 75%.
The 3.1 million acre-feet of water that will provide equates to more than double the original projection of 1.4 million acre-feet.
*In case you’re wondering, an acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons!
Here’s more on the story from the LA Times.
The rapid collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has sent a chill through Silicon Valley, including the real estate industry. Buyers are more hesitant to take on the risk of a new loan, which means properties could be sitting on the market longer than expected. Want to know what happened and how we can avoid another big bank failure? CNN explains.
