The Lede

Bloomberg, May 27, 2016--Fahmy, Dalia; Callahan, Neil Blackstone Group LP, the world's biggest private-equity property investor, is said to plan to sell hotel buildings in London, Dublin and Amsterdam for 980 million euros ($1.1 billion).

Reuters, May 30, 2016--Kim, Christine; Lee, Se Young St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Monday global markets appear to be "well-prepared" for a summer interest rate hike from the Fed, although he did not specify a date for the policy move.

Boston Globe, May 31, 2016--Horowitz, Evan  If you live near Boston, you already know that housing is expensive. Rents and mortgages eat up a growing share of middle-class incomes. And among the poor, affordable housing is as rare as it is essential.

Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2016--Morris, Keiko  At 52 stories, the glass-and-concrete skyscraper on Manhattan's far West Side has been detailed in dozens of glossy renderings and constructed in miniature for tabletop models. Now, the first building in the massive Hudson Yards project is finally to scale and ready for business.

National Real Estate Investor, May 31, 2016--Anderson, Bendix  Crowdfunding websites are becoming an important piece of the real estate financing puzzle, especially for apartment developers who need a little extra debt or equity to complete their plans.

National Real Estate Investor, June 1, 2016--Mattson-Teig, Beth The volume of commercial and multifamily construction loans put in place in January reached $311.3 billion based on total project value. That represents a 14.3 percent increase year-over-year and a 40.7 percent increase compared to January 2014, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Commercial/Multifamily Quarterly Databook for fourth quarter 2015.

Bloomberg, June 1, 2016--Chiglinsky, Katherine MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, is increasing bets on real estate as the company scales back investments in hedge funds.

Associated Press, June 1, 2016--Crutsinger, Martin Construction spending dropped 1.8 percent in April after a 1.5 percent gain in March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. It was the biggest monthly decline since a 4.1 percent plunge in January 2011.

Though market volatility and growth concerns increased uncertainty early this year, commercial mortgage real estate investment trusts still benefited from strong CRE fundamentals, said Keefe Bruyette and Wooods, New York.

DALLAS--Commercial real estate remains healthy despite an uncertain economy, Mortgage Bankers Association Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell said here at the MBA Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference.

U.S. industrial real estate started 2016 ahead of expectations, as "robust" first-quarter demand lowered availability by 20 basis points to 9.2 percent, reported CBRE, Los Angeles.

The Mortgage Bankers Association welcomed 19 new regular members.

Real estate activity generally expanded in April and May, the Federal Reserve reported yesterday in its Beige Book.