The Lede

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 2, 2018--Peter Grant; Shefali Anand (subscription)As 2017 ended, the good news for commercial real estate investors was that values were near peak levels in many markets. The bad news: values in many markets are near peak levels, which will make buying property this year particularly tricky.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 2, 2018--Peter Grant; Shefali Anand (subscription)Private-equity funds that focus on real estate have been raising less money for the past few years and chances are dim that there will be much pickup in fundraising in 2018.

National Mortgage Professional, Dec. 21, 2017--Phil HallThe Mortgage Bankers Association Opens Doors Foundation has announced it raised a record $1.8 million in calendar year 2017, furthering its mission to help families meet their housing costs while dealing with a critically ill or injured child receiving medical treatment.

HousingWire, Dec. 29, 2017--Ben LaneThanks to the new agreement between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury, each of the GSEs withheld billions from the Treasury to ensure that each has enough capital on hand to "cover other fluctuations in income in the normal course of each Enterprise's business."

Commercial Observer, Jan. 3, 2018--Mack BurkeFannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently set multifamily lending records, but in the current multifamily market environment, that volume and competition could create a problem--and a slowdown may be on the way.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 2, 2018--Peter Grant (subscription)The U.S. office market in 2017 experienced a slowdown in tenant expansions while supply growth stayed at about the same level as in 2016, according to a new report.

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Retail sector single-tenant net lease cap rates reached a new low in the fourth quarter--6.07 percent--reported Boulder Group, Northbrook, Ill.

The Mortgage Bankers Association welcomed 18 new regular members to its ranks, which now numbers more than 2,300 member companies.

Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C., launched DUS Disclose, a new mortgage-backed securities disclosure website to improve transparency and increase data available for multifamily securities.

Delinquency rates for loans packaged in commercial mortgage-backed securities fell throughout the second half of 2017, said Morningstar Credit Ratings LLC, New York, which expects the declining trend to continue in 2018 as servicers continue to wind down their legacy portfolios and originations outpace new problem loans.

Commercial real estate and finance markets were strong and steady during the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.