The Lede

Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2017--Keiko Morris (subscription)Asking rents in many of New York City's priciest shopping corridors declined in the first quarter, one outcome of the broader national retail headwinds hitting landlords across the U.S.

National Mortgage Professional, Apr. 28, 2017--Phil HallPatenaude is president of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for America's Families. The Mortgage Bankers Association issued a statement in support.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 27, 2017--Allison Bisbey (subscription)The bill, sponsored by Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., and Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., would clarify rules that critics say have caused banks to pull back from construction lending, hurting credit availability and driving loans into risky, unregulated sectors.

National Real Estate Investor, May 1, 2017--Diana BellMarcus & Millichap CEO Hessam Nadji said he sees no evidence of a recession around the corner. "I expect this cycle to have more runway economically and within the real estate sector," he said.

National Mortgage News, May 2, 2017--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to pursue opportunities to provide liquidity to the single-family rental market despite opposition from mortgage and real estate industry groups.

Mortgage Daily, May 2, 2017Performance of securitized commercial real estate loans was slightly worse, though the outlook is stable. But late payments on industrial property loans soared, Morningstar Credit Ratings reported.

National Real Estate Investor, May 3, 2017--Beth Mattson-TeigThere is still plenty of capital available for retail-sector acquisitions, refinancing and even value-add redevelopment and new construction. But lenders are putting deals under the microscope and borrowers are finding that some projects are a tough sell.

Recent interest rate increases had little effect on single-tenant property cap rates, said NNNet Advisors, San Francisco.

Office occupiers need to consider "fit-out" costs and tenant improvement allowances when selecting their office space--and both vary significantly from city to city--said JLL, Chicago.

Technological shifts in the overall economy are benefiting the industrial sector and pushing vacancy rates to their lowest levels in nearly two decades, reported Ten-X, Irvine, Calif.

Commercial valuations grew by 1 percent during April, the strongest growth seen since the November presidential election, reported Ten-X, Irvine, Calif.

The Mortgage Bankers Association sent a letter to House Financial Services committee members offering support for a bill that would make sweeping changes to provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.