Good morning. In today’s news, 

🏠 Housing Weakens As Rates Rise
The 30Y mortgage rate continued its march higher, rising 6 bps to 6.55% on inflation fears; Zillow expects existing home sales growth to reach as low as -0.73% if current energy-driven rate volatility persists. Homebuilder KB Home cut its full-year revenue guidance due to weakening buyer demand. Consumer caution is rising from geopolitical uncertainty, elevated rates, and affordability pressures.

Other key news today includes:

Fed’s Barr signals rates to stay elevated for longer amid persistent inflation – Inflation remains above target and must show sustained decline before cuts (Reuters)

US private employers added 10,000 jobs per week ending March 7 – Hiring pace remains steady as labor market slows (ADP)

US business activity slows to 11-month low in March amid rising energy costs – Composite PMI falls to 51.4 as inflation pressures and demand uncertainty increase (Reuters)

CMBS spreads widen as investor fatigue grows amid heavy issuance – Rising spreads signal weaker liquidity despite strong deal volume (CommercialObserver)

Regulators propose new bank capital rules impacting CRE lending under Basel III revisions – Framework shifts to more risk-sensitive capital requirements tied to loan risk and LTV ratios (ConnectCRE)

SCOTUS declines to hear CoStar antitrust appeal, allowing Crexi lawsuit to proceed – Claims allege CoStar monopolized CRE data platforms by restricting competitor access and listings (Bisnow)

Zillow sees 2026 housing outlook weakening as energy-driven rate volatility rises – Higher mortgage rates could cut existing home sales growth to as low as -0.73% YoY if pressures persist (Zillow)

US home prices rise 0.1% MoM and 1.9% YoY in February marking slowest growth in seven months – Prices declined across 16 major metros as buyer leverage increases amid high rates (Redfin)

Home-sale cancellations hit record 13.7% in February as buyers gain leverage – Over 42,000 deals fell through amid excess supply and rising uncertainty (Redfin)

Home flipping activity falls 3.9% in 2025 to lowest level since 2020 – Returns drop to 25.5% with $65,981 average profit amid high home prices (CNBC)

Apartment rents decline across 65 major US markets, with 0.4% YoY drop in February marking seventh straight month of cuts – Supply-heavy Sun Belt markets drive widespread declines (RealPage)

OpenAI leases 450K sf office campus in Mountain View, CA from KKR Real Estate Finance Trust and TMG Partners – Five-building campus expansion reflects surging AI-driven office demand in Silicon Valley (Bisnow)

FedEx launches same-day delivery service with OneRail amid intensifying logistics competition – Service expands last-mile network to offer faster and more flexible delivery options (Reuters)

Amazon’s constant push to compress delivery times is forcing carriers to accelerate last-mile investments and match rising consumer expectations for speed.

Shallow-bay industrial vacancy falls ~2.5 percentage points below overall market amid supply shortage – Limited construction and aging inventory keep availability tight despite strong demand (CBRE)

Retail investors expand into smaller markets as competition and pricing rise in major metros – Capital shifts beyond top-tier markets as bidding intensifies for prime shopping centers (CoStar)

JPMorgan flags aging power grids as national security risk amid rising energy demand – Bank sees $5.8T global investment opportunity driven by AI and electrification trends (Bloomberg)

OpenAI flags memory chip shortage and power constraints as key bottlenecks for AI infrastructure growth – Energy supply limits and chip shortages risk slowing data center expansion (Bloomberg)

US to launch pilot surveys tracking data center energy use – Effort aims to measure growing power demand from AI infrastructure across key states (Reuters)

Crusoe secures long-duration battery supply from Form Energy to power data centers – Deal includes 12 GWh of storage to support AI-driven electricity demand and reduce grid reliance (Bloomberg)

Electrical equipment manufacturer Forgent Power Solutions and shareholders offer 30M shares in secondary sale, raising $1.07B – Equity sale follows recent IPO as investors capitalize on AI-driven infrastructure demand (Bloomberg)

Microsoft to lease Texas data center originally planned for Oracle and OpenAI – Deal secures ~700 MW site after prior tenants walked away from expansion talks (Reuters)

Microsoft says data center growth requires local community support – Rising opposition over power use, water impact, and costs is slowing new development (Reuters)

Joliet, IL approves $20B, 795-acre data center campus led by Hillwood – State introduces higher developer deposit requirements tied to large power usage (Bisnow)

North Carolina municipalities consider data center moratoriums across Raleigh-Durham – Local opposition over power, water, and zoning pressures delays new development despite strong demand from major tech firms (Bisnow)

KB Home cuts full-year revenue guidance to $4.8B–$5.5B from $5.1B–$6.1B as buyer demand weakens – Consumer caution rises amid geopolitical uncertainty, high rates, and affordability pressures (WSJ)

Saks Global reverses closures and keeps three luxury stores open in Palm Desert, CA, Sarasota, FL, and White Plains, NY – Locations retained in high-income markets following rent concessions and lease restructuring (CoStar)

Eddie Bauer to close all stores after failing to find buyer post-bankruptcy – Store traffic declined 9.7% YoY in 2024, significantly underperforming broader apparel peers (Placerai)

Fuji Lane launches Laser AI platform for self-storage operators – System aggregates pricing and operational data to provide AI-driven recommendations (CommercialObserver)

Rezora IO launches AI voice platform for residential agents to automate lead calls and booking – Tool streamlines cold outreach and meeting scheduling for deal generation (CommercialObserver)

Towne Park launches Nexity parking management platform following Frogparking rebrand – System offers end-to-end arrival and departure technology for hospitality and healthcare sectors (CommericalObserver)