Category: Top National News

HousingWire, Nov. 14, 2018–Ben LaneFive major multifamily real estate investment trusts, Aimco, Boardwalk, Essex Property Trust, MAA and UDR, are partnering with private owners Starwood Capital Group, Cortland and GID to invest more than $100 million in a venture capital fund organized by Real Estate Technology Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm.

Bloomberg, Nov. 14, 2018–Simone FoxmanSam Zell is increasingly looking for the exits outside of his real estate empire. The billionaire’s Equity Group Investments has sold or plans to sell stakes in at least four companies since October 2017.

National Mortgage Professional, Nov. 13, 2018–Phil HallA new data analysis from CoreLogic determined 48,390 homes with a total reconstruction cost value of $18 billion are at high or extreme risk of wildfire damage from ongoing fires in California.

National Mortgage News, Nov. 13, 2018–Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)About 70% of consumers blame house flippers and speculative investors for pushing up home prices, while 66% say wealthy residents moving in from costly markets have increased housing costs to unsustainable levels, according to ValueInsured’s 4Q Modern Homebuyer Survey.

HousingWire, Nov. 13, 2018–Alcynna LloydOn Tuesday, Amazon finally announced it selected Long Island City, N.Y., and Crystal City in Arlington County, Va., as the split locations for its HQ2, and data suggests that the real estate markets in these areas saw a surge of interest when speculation of their selection first arose last week.

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 14, 2018–Richard Rubin, Ruth Simon (subscription)Wealthy investors, fund managers and real-estate developers are racing to take advantage of a tax incentive meant to spur economic growth in neglected areas.

HousingWire, Nov. 13, 2018–Ben LaneAmrock now claims it has affidavits from three whistleblowers who state HouseCanary’s entire case was based on fraud and that HouseCanary CEO Jeremy Sicklick conspired with the Amrock executive in charge of the initial negotiations between the companies to willfully misrepresent the capabilities of HouseCanary’s products.

Bloomberg, Nov. 14, 2018–Christopher FlavelleCalifornia’s deadly wildfires have a straightforward solution, experts say: stop building homes in places that are likely to burn–and make homes that already exist in those areas a whole lot tougher.

HousingWire, Nov. 9, 2018–Alcynna LloydThe report points to an increase in mortgage debt among older homeowners as a concern, noting that in 2012, one-third of homeowners over 65 were still paying off a mortgage–up from less than a quarter of homeowners in 1998. And, the amount owed on a mortgage has nearly doubled from $44,000 to $82,000.

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 9, 2018–Lalita Clozel (subscription)The Federal Reserve plans to broaden its proposal to ease stress tests for the nation’s largest banks with changes that could reduce the chance they fail the annual assessments.