Reuters, July 26, 2019–Pete Schroeder”You’re trying to reform what is the financing behind one-sixth of the economy,” said Pete Mills, senior vice president at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “You’ve got to do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt the marketplace, and that’s the challenge.”
Category: Top National News
Amazon’s New York Office Hunt Includes WeWork-Owned Lord & Taylor Building
Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2019–Eliot Brown, Suzanne Kapner (subscription)Amazon.com Inc. is scouring New York City for new office space, including the historic building that formerly housed Lord & Taylor’s flagship store.
Transitioning From LIBOR
Commercial Property Executive, July 25, 2019–Jamie Woodwell (MBA Mention)Uncertainty surrounds strategies for managing this watershed change, as many firms wait on the sidelines for others to take the lead.
CMBS Issuance Focuses on ‘Bulletproof’ Retail Loans
National Real Estate Investor, July 31, 2019–Beth Mattson-TeigInvestors are getting increasingly concerned about the outlook for retail-backed commercial mortgage-backed securities 2.0 loans.
Goldman Tries to Exorcise Ghost of Real Estate Past With New Fund
Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2019–Peter Grant (subscription)Goldman Sachs’s newly reorganized real estate investment unit is reviving a fund business the firm shut down after it suffered steep losses during the financial crisis.
The City That Never Deletes: How New York City Became a Real Estate Data Mecca
Commercial Observer, July 22, 2019–Nicholas RizziData, the fuel on which so much of the technology and appraisal of real estate runs, is up-to-date and in abundant supply in New York City, but still living in the dark ages in the rest of the country.
California Is Divided Over Development Amid Severe Housing Shortage
NPR, July 18, 2019–Darius RafieyanCalifornia’s governor wants cities in his state to build more housing, but some of them don’t appear to be moving fast enough. The state has taken Huntington Beach to court.
Anbang Bidding Proves Investors Still Want High-Profile Hotels and Big Portfolios
National Real Estate Investor, July 15, 2019–Bendix AndersonThe frenzied bidding for a portfolio of high-profile luxury hotel properties owned by Anbang Insurance Group shows just how eager investors still are to put their money into full-service luxury hotels in the U.S.–and the bigger the deal, the better.
Manhattan Condo Slump Starting to Imperil City Developers
Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2019–Konrad Putzier, Esther Fung (subscription)High-rise developers in Manhattan are coming under stress as tough market conditions are starting to undermine some of the city’s most prominent luxury condo projects.
SEC Calls for Orderly Transition Away From LIBOR
National Mortgage Professional, July 15, 2019–Phil HallThe SEC called on market participants to “proactively manage their transition” away from the London Interbank Offered Rate, which is set to expire in 2021. In June, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s LIBOR Outreach Committee found 92 percent of commercial and multifamily mortgage lenders it polled have already begun planning for the transition away from LIBOR.