Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2017–Esther Fung (subscription)Mall lenders would rather suffer huge losses than take over struggling properties.
Category: Top National News

The Bronx is Bubbling: Investors are Placing Huge Bets on the Borough–But the Numbers May Not Pencil Out
The Real Deal (New York), May 15, 2017–Ben St. ClairThe Bronx has become a destination for investors seeking high returns–not only in new development, which is booming, but also in the borough’s existing apartment building stock.

The Retail Apocalypse is Coming–It Just May Take Longer than People Think
Business Insiders, May 14, 2017–Joe CiolliInvestors are wagering on closures and bankruptcies–events that would hurt holders of commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Urban Institute: Demand for Institutional SFR Financing Will Grow
HousingWire, May 11, 2017–Kelsey RamirezEarlier this year, Fannie Mae backed Blackstone’s Invitation Homes’ $1 billion single family rental debt. Now, many are beginning to speculate over the GSE’s future moves in the SFR market.

Batter Up! The Commercial Mortgage REITs
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.

How Will a Real Estate Lending Slowdown Affect Marketplace Lenders?
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.

Sam Zell Looks Back
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.

Fed’s Rosengren Warns GSE Reform Could Threaten Property Market
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.

Banks Increasingly Skeptical of CRE Loans: Fed Report
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.

Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Originations Up Nine Percent
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.