The Lede

National Mortgage News, Apr. 6, 2017--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers originated $490.6 billion closed loans in 2016, making it the third strongest year on record despite the pressure higher rates have put on volume, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Bloomberg, Apr. 6, 2017--Patrick Clark; Kim BhasinIn February, a nonprofit called Mercy Housing Lakefront opened 181 units of affordable rental apartments in a building that once housed Sears's catalog printing plant.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 6, 2017--Ian McKendry (subscription)Observers are divided whether National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn's support for a modernized Glass-Steagall Act is purely opportunistic or a sincere wish to significantly reshape the financial services industry.

World Property Journal, Apr. 7, 2017--Michael GerrityAccording to the Mortgage Bankers Association's 2016 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Annual Origination Volume Summation, U.S. commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers closed $490.6 billion of loans in 2016.

National Mortgage Professional, Apr. 7, 2017--Phil HallRenters will need to raise their incomes by an average of $168 a year to keep up with expected rent increases over the next 12 months, according to a new forecast from Zillow, which added that median rent prices are predicted to be $1,420 at this time next year.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 11, 2017--Peter Grant (subscription)Lenders closed $491 billion of mortgage loans in 2016, down 3% from 2015, according to new statistics from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Most of the decline occurred in the fourth quarter, when volume was 7% lower than the same quarter in 2015.

The Real Deal (Los Angeles), Apr. 11, 2017Banks are aggressively lending on commercial properties even as developers and equity investors are starting to pull back amid fears of a downturn. Total U.S. commercial real estate lending volume decreased slightly to $491 billion in 2016--down 3 percent from 2015, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 11, 2017--Peter Grant (subscription)Carnegie Hall Tower, the Manhattan office skyscraper that helped shore up the finances of the fabled concert hall, refinanced its debt with a $325 million loan from Metropolitan Life Insurance.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 11, 2017--Shibani Mahtani, Andrew Tangel (subscription)The tide of companies moving back to big cities in search of talent and better transportation links is rising, reviving many downtowns at the expense of suburbs and smaller communities.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 11, 2017--Andy Peters (subscription)A litany of bankruptcies among retailers has many lenders on edge as they and others try to predict how much damage it could do to bank earnings--and how soon.

Despite recent headlines about store closures across the country--Payless ShoeSource announced on Tuesday it will close 400 stores--overall retail real estate statistics show very little change, reported Reis, New York.

Commercial real estate price indexes from Green Street Advisors and CoStar diverged in March, analysts at the firms said.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rates increased again in March as another wave of loans turned newly delinquent, reported Trepp, New York.

Colliers International Group acquired WelshCo LLC, Minnetonka, Minn., and its brokerage, property management, facilities and architecture divisions.

The Census Bureau released its annual Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units, reporting increases in 2016 but noting a slowdown toward the end of the year.

Freddie Mac, McLean, Va., said total multifamily origination volumes could increase by 3-6 percent this year to $295 billion, depending on movements in the 10-Year Treasury rate.