Lets start with the figures
Ok
These are the states with the greatest housing underproduction, according to Up for Growth which is an NGO that is specialized in housing matters
State, Number of Units
California, 978,000
Texas, 322,000
Florida, 289,000
New York, 234,000
Washington, 140,000
New Jersey, 137,000
Colorado, 127,000
Arizona, 123,000
Illinois, 120,000
Georgia, 118,000
The full report can be found here
It says that it adds up to 3.8M units, so that is where the business is
But its not all social housing?
Social housing, or low rent housing, is the foundation of mixed projects that involve different things for different budgets
So how many units are we talking about?
60% of it, 60% of the housing underproduction in each state to be precise
Built by WeBuilt?
WeBuilt is a real estate promoter that employs contractors, itās real expertise aside from developing these projects, locations and planning, is verifying the conformity of work done by its contractors
But you said that it also manages these projects or co properties from a safety perspective, also conducts inspections of flats, and does community management, as regards social or low rent housing?
Yes, and we can clearly discern that WeBuilt has different activity poles
Why not 100%
We are not in the Soviet era where a single company is going to supply 100% of the market, but there is a 3.8M units demand and 60% is a good chunk of that, that still leaves others room to do their thing
If there is a demand why aren't they built already?
Because the real estate market is made of opportunity, where promoters are going to pursue the highest margins possible, it takes a very large real estate promoter to do what WeBuilt can do
Incidentally that has driven the cost of constructing homes up the reason why people with moderate incomes cannot afford to build homes or buy them, also the reason why rent has become out of control in several areas
In order to scale fast WeBuilt surely entails buying and integrating several large construction companies into one, as well as employing contractors
So how many units is that?
2.28M in total
When the real estate market is doing well the economy is doing well?
WeBuilt is a major component of NDI
Itās housing, itās also commerces, the economy and jobs?
Maybe some forgot that theyāre all part of the same equation, if its done right that is within that broader partnership of the public and private sector itās a several GDP points increase
Over what period?
Within the next decade
Surely that is a short period of time?
Itās 10 states times 10 years, thatās 100 years, with night shifts itās double that
That being said WeBuilt entails putting a lot of resources in conformity work, where we donāt want to have nothing that is hastily or poorly built, also the reason why a lot of construction work is done in house placing the focus on how well the job is done not how fast it is delivered,
Yes it has to be delivered on in a timely manner and on budget, but these are also our workers primed on qualitative targets
Itās better workers conditions?
Itās a lot of work but a fair amount of work where safety is a focus and nobody is stretched to the limit by putting up with too much to cope with, also higher pay, which is part of NDIās agenda
Give us an example?
A worker that has already put a lot of hours, working night shifts and asks for overtime, his manager is simply going to say no, we will hire more people if we have to, because we have work policies, because very likely when that project is done we have other work to do, so forth
Youāre placing a lot of focus on quality?
Absolutely, a single substandard building or several that are delivered to their tenants and they go online say that it is shabby stuff and not worth it thatās the image and brand reputation of WeBuilt as a whole, look how many housing units is that just for the U.S. alone
If a building is found to be substandard we will bring it to the ground and redo it before even it is delivered, because we donāt want that to happen conformity verification is an ongoing process during the construction
Verification entails hundreds of different points and is a multistage process involving different independent teams, some at state level but also others from headquarters
Why independent?
They donāt owe you anything just because you built it, most likely they donāt know you and itās not the same ones that keep showing up
There are challenges to building at such a scale, the main one being consistency in the quality that is delivered, and that has to be a strategic objective well understood by the top management, the middle management and even by the workers themselves
So that is The New Deal Initiative?
A large part of it, you cannot go wrong with making housing and home ownership possible for millions, while developing the economic tissue, ie creating jobs, and yes make those projects safe for everyone
Going back to WeBuilt how much capital is that?
As much as needed, the real question is how much profits is that
What about the ownership by CDG?
Morocco is an emerging country that like many has a tough job at securing hard currencies, or it depends on the performance of sectors such as the agriculture and tourism that are prone to a range of uncontrollable factors, feeble water precipitations, or a pandemy can render them unproductive
Diversifying into real estate in the U.S. to secure a regular income in Dollars makes sense
Where does the capital come from?
CDG is a public fund, also a lot of private cap, but the thing we want to study is the conversion of U.S. debt into real estate by China who holds a lot of U.S. debt, the second thing is making the Federal Reserve Bank a stockholder as a well
In WeBuilt?
In WeBuilt that is a U.S. company incorporated in the U.S., probably in Delaware
What would be the shape of these different participations?
60/30/10 or 60/25/15 with China and the Federal Reserve Bank
50/40/20 also a possibility it will depend how much debt China wants to convert into WeBuilt shares, my understanding is that they have a lot of liquidity that they want to drain, whereas real estate should be a sound investment for the Federal Reserve Bank so
How is the U.S. government going to regard the Chinese participation in WeBuilt?
Very favorably I hope, plus it says nowhere that the Federal Reserve Bank cannot in the future propose shares buybacks to China, which allows China to exit U.S. debt little by little, that is not negligible either, for both parties, something that could be agreed upon from the start
So in essence share ownership in WeBuilt becomes a debt conversion mechanism through real estate?
Globalization calls for creative solutions, especially regarding debt, also itās a misjudgment that China is a U.S. antagonist, the U.S. is still by far its biggest export market I believe
Is 40/40/30 a possibility?
If the U.S. government is going to greatly facilitate the operations of WeBuilt I donāt see why not
Thanks
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