Seven Steps to Housing Reform

Urban Institute, Apr. 5, 2016–Pollock, Alex J.
Will these seven steps solve all the problems of American mortgage finance and ensure that we will never have another crisis?  Of course not.  But they will set us on road more promising than sitting unhappily where we are at present.

Cognitive Decline of Older Americans Affecting Housing Market

Pleasanton (Calif.) Weekly, Apr. 4, 2016–Bing, Jeb
A new report  by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America finds a strong correlation between the future housing market and the cognitive decline of older Americans.

Why Fannie and Freddie Cannot Be Recapitalized

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 4, 2016–Carney, John
The chances of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being released from conservatorship are extremely low, Carney says. A far more probable outcome: that they get wound down and replaced by a new system, perhaps along the line of the National Mortgage Reinsurance Corporation recently outlined in a paper by Jim Parrott, Lew Ranieri, Gene Sperling, Mark Zandi and Barrry Zigas.

Retail Rents Could Increase by 4 Percent in 2016

National Real Estate Investor, Apr. 4, 2016–Mitchell, Donna  
The retail sector could see a 4.0 percent increase in rents in 2016, said commercial real estate services firm CBRE.

RMBS Slowly Moving Back Into Portfolios

Pensions and Investments, Apr. 4, 2016–Jacobius, Arleen
Institutional investors are moving back into residential mortgage-backed securities, even as lawsuit settlements are giving them back some of the money they lost on RMBS investments made before the financial crisis.

#PanamaPapers Impact on Housing and Why You Should Care

Housing Wire, Apr. 4, 2016–Swanson, Brena
The list of famous and controversial names revealed in the Panama Papers runs deep, including into housing, exposing how the rich and the powerful allegedly use offshore tax havens.

Factory Orders Down 1.7% in February, In Line with Estimates

Reuters, Apr. 4, 2016–Mutikani, Lucia
New orders for U.S. factory goods fell in February and business spending on capital goods was much weaker than initially thought, the latest indications that economic growth remained sluggish in the first quarter.

Anbang, Know Your Customer

Bloomberg, Apr. 1, 2016–Fickling, David; Gopalon, Nisha
Get over your shock that Anbang Insurance dropped its $14 billion takeover offer for Starwood Hotels. It’s more surprising that the proposal got so far in the first place.