These [California metros] just became hotter markets, and so, there's less inventory, there's more demand, so that means it becomes more attractive for someone who is an investor. The flurry of investor activity could be from investors betting on a continued artificial intelligence boom and an emphasis on return-to-office mandates in California metros.
The supply side factor is, I would say, by far the biggest difference between San Francisco and Austin. Austin is just building a ton, and really, I would say setting kind of a good example for growing in a way that actually meets increasing demand.
Earlier this week, former Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb agreed to rent his West Chelsea penthouse for $177,500 a month, an eye-popping figure that followed a $95,000-a-month lease at a Naftali Group building on the Upper East Side in December. Data on trophy rentals is tough to pin down, but this is likely among the most expensive leases ever inked in New York City. The two hefty leases came as inventory for Manhattan's trophy rentals—which appraiser Jonathan Miller defines as the top 1 percent of the market, with rates starting at $25,000 a month—was down more than 40 percent year-over-year in January, as new leases climbed (albeit, at a more modest pace).
