Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2022–Peter Grant and Konrad Putzier (subscription)War underscores the difficulty in assessing political risks in volatile markets; ‘there are no buyers for the product’https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-invasion-upends-u-s-investor-bet-on-russian-malls-and-other-property-11646744401?
Group Newslink: MBA Commercial/Multifamily NewsLink March 10 2022

Fast Pace of Real Estate M&A Activity Seen Cooling This Year
Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2022–Kate King (subscription)Publicly traded real estate investors in the U.S. enjoyed a record-breaking year for mergers in 2021, but the war in Ukraine and soaring …

MBA Chart of the Week, Mar. 4, 2022: 10-Year U.S. Treasury Yields
Prior to Russia’s invasion, 10-Year Treasury yields broke higher — reaching 2.05% on February 15. Since then, they have fallen to as low as 1.72% but have rebounded somewhat, underscoring both the downside risk and volatility markets are facing.

REIT Earnings Rose 24.6% In 2021: Report
Benzinga, Mar. 4, 2022–Phil HallNareit reported nearly every commercial real estate sector experienced FFO growth between 2020 and 2021, with only the health care sector recording a full year’s FFO …

MBA Chart of the Week, Mar. 4, 2022: 10-Year U.S. Treasury Yields
Prior to Russia’s invasion, 10-Year Treasury yields broke higher — reaching 2.05% on February 15. Since then, they have fallen to as low as 1.72% but have rebounded somewhat, underscoring both the downside risk and volatility markets are facing.

Mortgage Rate Drop May Be Temporary Response to Russian Invasion
Orange County Register, Mar. 3, 2022–Jeff Lazerson“We will continue to assess the potential impact on mortgage demand,” said Joel Kan, vice president of economic & industry forecasting at the Mortgage …

San Francisco Girds for Blow of Office Workers Never Returning
Bloomberg, Mar. 3, 2022–Romy VargheseThe tech hub is particularly vulnerable to a long-term shift to remote jobs. The San Francisco metro area has the lowest share of workers back at …

Fed’s Powell Says Ukraine War Creates Risks of Higher Inflation
Wall Street Journal, Mar. 3, 2022–Nick Timiraos (subscription)Because of Russia’s role in global energy and other commodity markets, “we’re going to see upward pressure on inflation at least for a …

Construction Needs 650K New Workers to Meet Housing Demand
GlobeSt.com, March 3, 2022–Jack RogersThe number of available homes for sale in the US is likely to remain at historically low levels in 2022 as a perfect storm of labor …

Make Your Voice Heard through MBA Mortgage Action Alliance
The Mortgage Action Alliance is a voluntary, non-partisan and free nationwide grassroots lobbying network of real estate finance industry professionals, affiliated with the Mortgage Bankers Association. For more information, click …