San Francisco Seeing One of the Biggest New-Housing Construction Booms in History

Business Insider, Nov. 24, 2015–Richter, Wolf
San Francisco is seeing one of the biggest new-housing construction booms in history, said Paragon Real Estate. It’s accompanied by one of the biggest office construction booms in history. Banks are lending to developers like there’s no tomorrow.

MBA Asks SEC To Exempt Multifamily Agency Securities From Margining Proposal

Banker and Tradesman, Nov. 25, 2015
The Mortgage Bankers Association and other groups have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to exempt multifamily transactions from a proposed rule that would require margin be posted on forward-settling agency securities.

Chinese Cash Floods U.S. Real Estate Market

New York Times, Nov. 28, 2015–Searcey, Dionne; Bradsher, Keith
A luxury development 35 miles northwest of Dallas is the latest frontier in a global buying phenomenon as Chinese money becomes a major force in real estate around the world.

Delinquency Rates for Commercial Loans Fall in Third Quarter

Scotsman Guide, Dec. 1, 2015–Whitman, Victor
Delinquency rates for commercial and multifamily mortgages fell to new lows in the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Tuesday.

Commercial Real Estate Looking Frothy

Mortgage Professional America, Nov. 19, 2015–Chiglinsky, Katherine ; Scully, Matt
Voya Financial Inc.’s Christine Hurtsellers said she’s staying away from new issues of commercial mortgage-backed securities, echoing concerns from Federal Reserve officials and bond graders about loosening underwriting standards in the market.

Fort Lauderdale Gets a Makeover

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 1, 2015–Karmin, Craig
Fort Lauderdale is undergoing a vast makeover. A string of new luxury hotels and residential buildings along the beach promenade are attracting a mix of well-heeled U.S. tourists, foreign condo buyers and visiting families from all over.

Capital Spigot Is Wide Open

National Real Estate Investor, Dec. 2, 2015–Mattson-Teig, Beth
Commercial real estate borrowers are reveling in a market where capital is both cheap and plentiful, and even an expected rise in interest rates is not likely to take the wind out of the sails of the current robust lending climate.

The Goods on Inflation and the Fed

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 17, 2015–Lahart, Justin
Prices of goods and services are taking divergent paths. So, too, are the fortunes of many companies.

House Passes Bill to End Pay Raises for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs

Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2015–McGregor, Jena
Monday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that would suspend new annual target compensation of $4 million each for Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton and Fannie Mae CEO Timothy Mayopoulos. If signed into law by President Obama, the bill would return the cap on their pay to $600,000.