Three Big Things To Know About

[Rob Bergeron]

There are three big things I’m picking up on right now that I think are worth being aware of—and worth looking into a little deeper.

First: electricity.

This week, President Trump explicitly said the federal government is prepared to use emergency authorities—including the Defense Production Act—to accelerate new power generation and transmission, and to push large technology companies to directly help fund that build-out. The reason was simple: AI, data centers, and advanced manufacturing are consuming power faster than the grid can support, and waiting years for traditional permitting and financing timelines isn’t an option.

That’s an important shift. Electricity is no longer being treated as a background utility. It’s being treated as national economic infrastructure.

It’s also worth noting that Kentucky is currently the ninth cheapest state in the country for cost per kilowatt-hour. That puts us in a strong position as companies continue to onshore operations and look for locations that can support energy-intensive uses like data centers, advanced manufacturing, and other power-hungry infrastructure. Power costs matter more than most people realize, and Kentucky is well positioned to receive that inbound demand.

Second: pressure returning to household balance sheets.

The federal government has officially resumed wage garnishments for borrowers in default on student loans. For many people, this can mean up to 15% of their paycheck being withheld, often with little notice.

From a real estate perspective, that matters.

Reduced take-home pay tightens debt-to-income ratios, delays or disqualifies some buyers, and increases pressure at renewal time for renters. I also think we may see some homeowners choose to sell in order to wash out or fully wipe their student loan debt and reset their balance sheet. At the same time, it’s likely we’ll see an increase in renters, simply because some households won’t be able to qualify for a mortgage in the near term. These shifts usually show up gradually, but they do change demand dynamics at the margins.

Third: Wall Street’s posture is shifting.

When Goldman Sachs openly says they’re spending serious time on crypto, tokenization, and stablecoins, that’s not speculation. Large institutions don’t move early, and they don’t chase noise. When they allocate attention, it’s usually because the underlying plumbing is starting to work.

At the same time, tokenized assets are quietly accelerating. Onchain volumes for tokenized public stocks are hitting record highs. Liquidity is growing. Settlement is faster. Markets stay open when traditional ones are closed. That doesn’t happen without real capital on the other side.

Here’s the connective tissue.

AI needs power.
Power requires massive amounts of capital.
And capital is becoming easier to move, structure, and settle.

When electricity becomes expensive or constrained, data centers don’t just eat the cost. They change where they’re built, how they’re financed, and who gets to participate. When capital becomes programmable, infrastructure stops being locked behind massive institutions and starts becoming more modular.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is down to 5.86% today. This makes maneuvering quite a bit easier. What a treat!