What’s uglier than the Drake vs. Kendrick beef?

The US housing market, that’s what. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a supply-constrained market of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Buying [a house]( is a pain. - A [daily walk]( is good for the brain. - [Remittances]( really make it rain. - “[Free Gaza?](” Please explain. [Housing Beef]( Uhhh, is Drake gonna have to sell his home? Although I will make no attempt to explain the origins of [his beef]( with Kendrick Lamar, I do wonder if he’ll keep his 50,000 square-foot [limestone McMansion]( in after this rap battle. The album art for Kendrick’s fourth diss track, “[Not Like Us](,” shows an aerial view of Drake’s abode with a smattering of [sex offender icons]( all over it: Now, Kendrick fans are [wreaking havoc]( on Google Maps by putting suggestive [location markers]( around his estate: Luckily, Drake [owns]( three other houses — all of them in Los Angeles — so he can flee from Canada and escape the trolls if he so pleases. But not everyone else in need of a place to stay is so lucky. In the US, the housing supply is tight and consumer confidence in mortgage rates hasn’t been [this depressed]( in decades. Robert Burgess [says]( “you have to go back to the dark days of the early 1980s” — before Aubrey Drake Graham was even born — “to find the last time Americans in the University of Michigan’s monthly sentiment survey were so downbeat when asked whether it was a good time to buy a home.” Just today, a new Federal Reserve Bank of New York [survey]( showed that half of renters under the age of 50 don’t think they will be able to buy a home in their lifetime — an all-time high. One big reason for that pessimism: the US doesn’t have enough housing. By one estimate, the country needs [an extra 3.2 million homes]( to meet demand. And that’s not to mention the half a million homeless people who need a roof over their heads, too. In [a new video op-ed](, Kyla Scanlon says “we don’t just need more homes, we need more [affordable]( homes.” The Drakes of this world are not the demographic at issue. A [recent report]( from Redfin tells us as much: The total number of luxury homes for sale rose 12.6% year-over-year, compared with a 2.9% decline in non-luxury properties. “But not everyone can afford a luxury home,” she says, which is why we need to build more townhomes, duplexes and triplexes. Matthew Yglesias wholeheartedly [agrees](. “Twelve years ago, I wrote a book called [The Rent Is Too Damn High]( … my basic argument can [be summarized]( in three words: Build more housing,” he writes. But less than 40% of voters think that a greater supply of housing would moderate prices. Instead, [people want]( things like rent control, government subsidies and property tax cuts will help keep costs under control. But in the words of Miss Sabrina Carpenter, those things are all [nonsense](, economically speaking. “If you push subsidies into a supply-constrained market, prices will go up in response, and you’ll be left right where you started,” he explains. The solutions aren’t quick and easy. Robert says we must “find a way to bolster consumer confidence” and Matthew suggests “quiet bipartisanship — motivated state legislators and governors working together — rather than noisy partisan coalitions.” Too bad [the odds](of our elected officials actually doing their jobs are about [as low]( as a Kendrick-Drake resolution. [Take a Walk]( Are you one of Those People who tracks how many steps you walk each day? Justin Fox is, and [he says]( he surpasses 10,000 most days without really trying. But that’s because he lives in [New York City]( and his commute often includes a walk across Central Park. Oh, and he also [owns a dog](, which, duh: But most Americans don’t live in [15-minute cities](. They take six-lane highways to work and rarely close their [Apple Watch rings]( each day. And it’s not just adults. Schoolchildren in the US, too, suffer from a lack of physical activity: It wasn’t always this way. During pre-Industrial Revolution times, people walked an [estimated]( 10,000 to 18,000 steps a day. But [by 2010](, that figure had dwindled to an average 5,117 daily steps. “The explanation for the decline in walking since the 1960s and Americans’ below-average international showing seems clear: It’s cars,” Justin writes. But even if you live in a car-centric city or a remote town, Justin says there will always be a certain subset of people who take a walk every day. “Some people will exercise a lot no matter where they are, but places where even those at the low end of the walking scale get in a respectable number of steps are likely to have better health outcomes,” he writes. In a [2017 smartphone-based study](, the US ranked the fifth-highest among 46 countries for “activity inequality” — a measurement of the disparity in daily steps among a population — behind only Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada and Egypt. “America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing us,” Justin concludes. Read [the whole thing]( … or, even better, listen to it in audio form while you’re walking your dog. Bonus Pedestrian Reading: The [random walk hypothesis]( helps us understand the five strange weeks that have started the second quarter. — John Authers Telltale Charts In 2023 alone, Latin Americans received an [estimated]( $156 billion in remittances, more than what the World Bank Group [lends]( to developing countries every year and more than all the [outstanding loans]( that the International Monetary Fund has to almost 100 countries. It’s a financial revolution that Juan Pablo Spinetto [says](, “is beginning to have an outsize impact, from sustaining consumption levels to helping balance current accounts in small nations and avoid debt defaults.” Consider the fact that remittances in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua represent between 20% and 30% of gross domestic product — easily on par with money generated via taxes and government spending. Who needs a stuffy old trade pact when you have a brother living in Omaha who can Venmo you a couple of Franklins every payday? The tide is turning against the student activists. Not only has Columbia [canceled]( its commencement ceremony, protesters at the University of Florida [now face]( a three-year suspension if they so much as litter, [fall asleep]( or leave their posters unattended. The discourse has somehow devolved into [suggesting]( that instead of calling for divestment, kids on campus should lay off [the avocado toast]( and buy a controlling stake in [Raytheon]( (using [Klarna](, probably). But while funding America’s military–industrial complex sounds beyond extreme, Marc Champion [says]( the protesters could at least revisit the messaging on their posters: “When I see ‘Free Gaza’ placards on US campuses, I can only ask, from whom? The Israel Defense Forces, for sure, but Palestinians also need liberation from Hamas,” he writes. Although Hamas won a round of elections in 2006 (the aftermath of which was a bloody coup), there hasn’t been a vote since. “What polling we have suggests the war has boosted Hamas’s standing in Gaza, which is hardly surprising, but also that given an alternative to the current crop of Hamas and Palestinian Authority leaders, Gaza’s voters would choose it.” Further Reading Free read: [Hope Hicks’ tears]( are a rare sight in Trump’s world. — Timothy L. O'Brien Free read: The [neutrality of Civil War]( offers Democrats a rare opportunity. — Frank Barry Bill Gross may have conquered bonds, but [diversification]( still reigns supreme. — Aaron Brown The relationship between [MAGA and racing]( is no longer marketable. — Adam Minter Propaganda doesn’t need to go viral to [sway elections]( anymore. — Parmy Olson Berkshire Hathaway’s days as [a pop-culture phenomenon]( are numbered. — Justin Fox Rishi Sunak limps on as [the best leader]( the Tories have. — Martin Ivens Today’s decision-makers fail to grasp [the right lessons]( from history. — Niall Ferguson ICYMI It’s the first [Monday in May](. Judges won’t hire [Columbia law clerks](. Treasuries mint [$2 million per minute](. Women are working [more than ever](. Issa Rae is promoting [diverse creators](. Kickers Did we find [Adrienne from Brooklyn](? [A baguette]( is baked in France. Tom Brady got [ripped apart](. “Pure Irish Butter” is [not so pure](. [Mocktails]( are for the kids. Notes: Please send baguettes, butter and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](