Category: News and Trends

This year opened with some uncertainty that could affect the way owners and occupiers invest in and operate commercial real estate, reported Avison Young, Toronto.

U.S. office rents increased at their fastest pace in seven years in 2015 as robust job gains and lagging construction created tighter market conditions in most markets, reported Cushman & Wakefield, New York.

Investor sentiment toward real estate should remain positive globally going forward and primary target markets will continue to draw the most interest, predicted Colliers International, Seattle.

U.S. homes nationwide grew by $1.1 trillion in value in 2015, ending the year at $28.5 trillion, reported Zillow Inc., Seattle. 

Non-agency commercial mortgage-backed securities issuance totaled $94.59 billion in 2015, up 6.3 percent compared to 2014, reported Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.

Rents for new residents of U.S. apartment communities rose 4.8 percent last year, reported MPF Research, Carrollton, Texas.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency yesterday issued a final rule on Federal Home Loan Bank membership that retains a controversial Mortgage Bankers Association-opposed restriction on captive insurers. 

Steven Bradshaw, testifying on Capitol Hill yesterday on behalf of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the National Flood Insurance Program is “unsustainable” in its current form and should be expanded to accommodate private flood insurance options. 

Cap rates for retail, office and industrial single-tenant net-lease properties declined steadily throughout 2015 as investors pursued the asset class’s stable returns, reported the Boulder Group, Northbrook, Ill.

Nearly two-thirds of overseas investors surveyed plan modest or major U.S. real estate investments this year despite moderate concerns about higher interest rates, the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate reported.