The Lede

Washington Post, Feb. 1, 2019--Renae MerleA decade after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed under government control, a key Senate Republican on Friday proposed allowing them to return to being private companies.

HousingWire, Feb. 1, 2019--Kelsey RamirezWhile most of the top 10 cities remained flat, Santa Ana rejoined the ranks, giving California six of the top 10 cities, according to a monthly rental report from Zumper. It replaced Miami as the 10th most expensive city.

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 2019--Konrad Putzier (subscription)A strong economy helped lift commercial real-estate sales to near-record levels last year, and many investors are counting on low interest rates to keep sales going in 2019.

Trepp Blog, Jan. 30, 2019--Mike Fratantoni (MBA Chief Economist) The financial markets have been speaking loudly, indicating significant concerns regarding the growing risk of a recession in the near future. In particular, bond traders are now betting that the Federal Reserve will not raise rates, as the Fed itself most recently predicted, and are increasingly looking for a rate cut.

Market Express, Jan. 30, 2019--Wolf RichterThe Chinese government is cracking down on capital flows from China to other countries, particularly to fund real estate projects. It is also cracking down on the "ballooning" debt of Chinese conglomerates, after their real estate buying spree.

Non-bank direct lender Civic Financial Services, Redondo Beach, Calif., launched CIVIC Multifamily.

All signs indicate the office market can handle significantly more flexible space than it currently has, said JLL, Chicago.

The multifamily sector still has some room to run despite the "prolonged" real estate cycle, said Yardi Matrix, Santa Barbara, Calif.

MBA Commercial/Multifamily NewsLink will come to you next week from the MBA Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo in San Diego.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released an interview with Berkadia Executive Vice President and Head of Mortgage Banking Hilary Provinse.

U.S. commercial real estate prices slipped in December to the slowest annual growth rate since 2012, said Real Capital Analytics, New York.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released an interview with Berkadia Executive Vice President and Head of Mortgage Banking Hilary Provinse.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released an interview with Berkadia Executive Vice President and Head of Mortgage Banking Hilary Provinse.

Single-tenant net lease big box store cap rates increased 29 basis points between year-end 2017 and year-end 2018 to 7.04 percent, reported Boulder Group, Northbrook, Ill.