The Lede

Forbes, May 8, 2017--Brad ThomasThe commercial real estate market is in enjoying extra innings of the cycle and that means investors should stay focused for opportunities to diversify and take advantage of the continued economic recovery.

National Real Estate Investor, May 8, 2017--Gary BechtelAccording to new statistics from the Mortgage Bankers Association, real estate lending is slowing down. Lenders closed $491 billion in mortgage loans in 2016, down 3 percent from the previous year.

Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2017--Alexandra Wolfe (subscription)The notoriously blunt real-estate magnate on being contrarian, not taking yourself too seriously and other business lessons he's learned.

Bloomberg, May 9, 2017--Christopher CondonPlans by Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration to reform government-backed mortgage companies could lead to a "significant shock" to the market for multi-family commercial real estate, said Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren.

American Banker, May 8, 2017--John Heltman (subscription)The quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey found that significant numbers of loan officers report they are widening the spreads for all kinds of CRE loans, seeing lower loan-to-value ratios and in some cases reducing their service areas.

National Mortgage Professional, May 4, 2017--Phil HallOriginations of commercial and multifamily mortgages were up by nine percent on a year-over-year basis during the first quarter, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's However, the first quarter's origination levels were 27 percent lower than the fourth quarter.

National Real Estate Investor, May 4, 2017--Diana BellCongress extended the EB-5 investor visa program through September 30, but after two years of re-enacting the program as-is, there are now genuine efforts to reform it including minimum investment amounts, stricter oversight and reclassification of targeted employment areas.

Mortgage Daily, May 4, 2017Commercial real estate loan originations tumbled from the final-three months of last year, when commercial mortgage production was estimated at $153 billion. But activity accelerated from an estimated $102 billion in CRE loan closings during the first-three months of last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

NPR, May 8, 2017--Tamara KeithThe Kushner family's pitch to investors in China once again raised the profile of the controversial EB-5 investor visa program, which can get foreign investors on a path to U.S. citizenship after investing as little as $500,000 in real estate and other projects.

Commercial Observer, May 10, 2017--Elyssa KatesMany people do not think of commercial real estate when they think about cyberattacks. But they should.

Commercial and multifamily developments and activities relevant to your business and our industry.

U.S. hotel industry revenue reached a record $199 billion last year, up $9 billion from 2015, reported STR, Hendersonville, Tenn. But revenue growth fell significantly.

Multifamily rents rose slightly in April, but the growth rate slid once again to a point below its long-term average, reported Yardi Matrix, Santa Barbara, Calif.

The Trump Administration's early days have been quite good ones for commercial real estate, reported Cushman & Wakefield, New York.

The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate rose again in April as numerous loans reaching their balloon date failed to pay off, reported Trepp, New York.