Category: News and Trends

Market volatility in the broader capital markets has increased the spreads investors demand for commercial mortgage-backed securities in recent months, leading many Wall Street analysts to reduce their expectations for 2016 CMBS issuance by 25 percent and more.

The Mortgage Bankers Association submitted a comment letter yesterday to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, conveying its views from both a residential real estate finance and multifamily real estate finance perspective on a proposed Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed rule to implement Duty to Serve requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Commercial real estate’s traditional focus on big cities and large employers is shifting as small businesses emerge as a growth engine and secondary markets move into view, reported the Urban Land Institute and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Apartment market performance moderated in February as the annual effective rent growth rate fell to 4.1 percent, a full percentage point lower than January, reported Axiometrics, Dallas.

Several analysts say despite suggestions that the current commercial real estate cycle has peaked, data point to commercial real estate remaining attractive to investors both domestically and abroad, with the U.S. outlook stronger than elsewhere in the world.

Many believe that Baby Boomers downsizing from single-family homes drive the current apartment boom. But Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C., said Millennials, not Boomers, power the surge.

Employment fundamentals that drive demand for commercial real estate space remain sound, reported Cushman & Wakefield, New York.

Multifamily rents posted a solid increase in February as the average national rate rose $7 to a record $1,175, reported Yardi Matrix, Englewood, Colo.

The U.S. lodging industry could achieve record occupancy level this year, but an increasing number of local markets reflect growing competition, said CBRE Hotels, Atlanta.

Commercial property price indexes diverged in early 2016 as Moody’s and Real Capital Analytics observed price declines while Green Street Advisors and CoStar saw slight price increases.