Category: Top National News

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 9, 2018–Esther Fung (subsciption)A rash of store closures and bankruptcies last year prompted some investors to bet against debt tied to the retail property sector. So far, at least, the bets haven’t paid off.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 2, 2018–Peter Grant; Shefali Anand (subscription)As 2017 ended, the good news for commercial real estate investors was that values were near peak levels in many markets. The bad news: values in many markets are near peak levels, which will make buying property this year particularly tricky.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 2, 2018–Peter Grant; Shefali Anand (subscription)Private-equity funds that focus on real estate have been raising less money for the past few years and chances are dim that there will be much pickup in fundraising in 2018.

National Mortgage Professional, Dec. 21, 2017–Phil HallThe Mortgage Bankers Association Opens Doors Foundation has announced it raised a record $1.8 million in calendar year 2017, furthering its mission to help families meet their housing costs while dealing with a critically ill or injured child receiving medical treatment.

HousingWire, Dec. 29, 2017–Ben LaneThanks to the new agreement between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury, each of the GSEs withheld billions from the Treasury to ensure that each has enough capital on hand to “cover other fluctuations in income in the normal course of each Enterprise’s business.”

Commercial Observer, Jan. 3, 2018–Mack BurkeFannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently set multifamily lending records, but in the current multifamily market environment, that volume and competition could create a problem–and a slowdown may be on the way.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 2, 2018–Peter Grant (subscription)The U.S. office market in 2017 experienced a slowdown in tenant expansions while supply growth stayed at about the same level as in 2016, according to a new report.

National Real Estate Investor, Dec. 15, 2017–Mary DiduchIt appears the retail sector is evolving into a case of the “haves” and “have nots.”

Bloomberg, Dec. 15, 2017–Joe LightA plan being developed by Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia would lower barriers to entry by removing some advantages Fannie and Freddie now possess. “If you want to eliminate too-big-to-fail, you need to have enough guarantors that you’d really let one fail in the event of a downturn,” said Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens.

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 17, 2017–Keiko Morris (subbscription)The final Republican tax bill coming up for a vote this week promises to hit some high-income New York area taxpayers hard. But commercial real estate owners have reason to cheer.