National Real Estate Investor, Aug. 3, 2020While the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the investment sales market, some commercial properties still traded hands in the first half of 2020.https://www.nreionline.com/investment/top-10-cre-buyers-and-sellers-first-half-2020?
Category: Top National News
Opinion: Mortgage Applications for Suburban Homes are Surging as Buyers Try to Escape the Coronavirus Pandemic
MarketWatch, Aug. 1, 2020–Sanjiv DasHome buyers increasingly are looking to less densely populated areas like the suburbs, according to loan consultants at Caliber Home Loans.https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mortgage-applications-for-suburban-homes-are-surging-as-buyers-try-to-escape-the-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-07-31
Where a Little Mortgage Goes a Long Way
New York Times, Aug. 2, 2020–Matthew GoldsteinThe Shawnee neighborhood in Louisville, Ky., is a paradox: The houses are affordable, but they can be difficult to buy. The prices are so …
America’s Saw Mills Didn’t See This Building Boom Coming
Wall Street Journal, Aug. 2, 2020–Julia-Ambra Verlaine, Ryan DezemberLumber prices are soaring as saw mills struggle to meet demand. Home builders are rushing to meet soaring demand for houses, stoked …
U.S. Consumer Spending Presses Ahead; Declining Income Poses Challenge
Reuters, July 31, 2020–Lucia MutikaniU.S. consumer spending increased for a second straight month in June, setting up consumption for a rebound in the third quarter, though the recovery could be …
One-Third of U.S. Restaurants Face Permanent Closure This Year
Bloomberg, July 31, 2020–Anita Sharpe, Nic QueroloA new forecast projects that one in three U.S. restaurants may close permanently this year, showing how the Covid-19 pandemic is decimating an industry …
Zillow Announces Employees Can Work From Home Indefinitely
HousingWire, July 31, 2020–Julia FalconZillow first closed its offices in March, and said that since then, it has brought on about 500 more employees completely remote.https://www.housingwire.com/articles/zillow-announces-employees-can-work-from-home-indefinitely/
Arch and Genworth’s Higher Default Levels Result in Lackluster 2Q
National Mortgage News, July 31, 2020–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Higher levels of defaults, driven by the coronavirus, led to lower second-quarter earnings for the mortgage insurance units of Arch Capital and Genworth …
COVID-19 Shows Minimal Effect On Rents, Vacancies
National Mortgage Professional, July 31, 2020–Keith GriffinRents will drop and vacancies will increase due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Neither change, though, will be significant according to …
Wells Fargo Sold Assets to Stay Under Fed Asset Cap as Markets Lurched
Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2020–Julie Steinberg, Ben Eisen (subscription)Wells Fargo & Co. unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars of assets during this spring’s market collapse to stay out of …