Category: Top National News

Sacramento Bee, Feb. 9, 2016–Kasler, Dale
CalPERS completed one of the biggest real estate investments in its history, purchasing a New York office tower for $1.9 billion.

Huffington Post, Feb. 9, 2016–Nussenbaum, Max
Pop quiz: what do real estate agents have in common with car salesmen, telemarketers, and members of Congress? Answer: They’re among Americans’ least-trusted professions, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Real Estate Journals, Feb. 8, 2016
Freddie Mac at the MBA Commercial Real Estate Finance Conference announced the lenders that closed the most multifamily financing volume with the company last year. CBRE Capital Markets and Berkadia Commercial Mortgage topped the list.

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 8, 2016–Coumarianos, John 
It has paid to own property stocks since the financial crisis. But can real estate investment trusts keep the returns going for investors?

Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 8, 2016–Hinckley, Story
Quicken Loans, America’s largest online lender, previewed their fast and easy Rocket Mortgage app during the Super Bowl Sunday, causing some financial experts to criticize a 2008-like mindset.

Associated Press, Feb. 8, 2016–Crutsinger, Martin
Things looked so clear back in mid-December when the Federal Reserve signaled the likelihood of four more interest rate hikes in 2016. But as Fed Chair Janet Yellen addresses Congress this week, most analysts and investors think the Fed will raise rates fewer than four times this year, if at all.

Bloomberg, Feb. 8, 2016–Laurent, Lionel
Some of Europe’s bank stocks haven’t been this low in decades. Two of the region’s lenders are embroiled in their own bloodbath as regulators force them to cut off some of their own limbs: Deutsche Bank’s stock is trading at its lowest since 1992 and Credit Suisse is at its lowest since 1991.

Housing Wire, Feb 8, 2016–Lane, Ben Fitch Ratings suggests Bay Area home prices are at an “unsupportable” level.

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 8, 2016–Brown, Eliot 
Companies from General Electric to Weyerhaeuser are pulling their headquarters out of leafy suburban campuses and moving to downtown high-rises. Figuring out what to do with the vacant corporate campuses left behind is a quandary for civic leaders and landlords across the U.S.

MortgageOrb.com, Feb. 8, 2016–Liu, Tian
The 8 million-plus rental households created in the last 10 years, as well as other families who have delayed becoming homeowners, will eventually get back on the path to owning.