Bridge lending remains an active piece of the commercial real estate finance pie heading into the anticipated economic recovery in the second half of 2021. These products and the large number of institutions offering them to sponsors are defining features of an economy in transition.
Category: News and Trends

MISMO Seeks Member Comment on Enhanced Logical Data Dictionary
MISMO® announced it is seeking member comment on its Enhanced Logical Data Dictionary (ELDD) for a 60-day comment period.

A Conversation with MBA Affordable Housing Advisory Council Co-Chairs
The Mortgage Bankers Association recently created two Affordable Advisory Councils, dedicated to supporting CONVERGENCE, the MBA Affordable Housing Initiative. These Councils are currently led by four senior executives: Christine Chandler (M&T Realty Capital Corp.), Tony Love (Bellwether Affordable Housing Group), Anthony Weekly (Truist Bank) and David Battany (Guild Mortgage).

Troy Baars: Market Volatility Drives the Need for Speed in GNMA Spec Pool Formation
While there is a tremendous benefit to adding Ginnie Mae specified (spec) pools as part of a diversified execution strategy, lenders cannot continue to operate as if it’s business as usual when faced with the current volatility in the mortgage-backed securities market. Instead, speed must become of the essence, and lenders need to move as quickly as possible while monitoring the MBS market closely to continue effectively utilizing this strategy and maximize their secondary profitability.

Kosta Ligris: Fintech Partnerships Can Empower Community Banks, Credit Unions to Thrive
Community banks need to focus on partnerships with fintechs to deliver exceptional experiences and solve some of their most fragmented challenges. Fragmentation is expensive and riddled with risk and inefficiencies—and the lending and banking industries are full of fragmentation.

Top 5 Things You Should Know About Being iLAD Ready
MISMO, the industry’s standards organization, developed iLAD through close collaboration across the industry, including with lenders, vendors, IT companies and GSEs. The MISMO Loan Application Data Exchange (LADE) Development Work Group is working to ensure these iLAD specifications will continue to evolve to meet industry needs.

Redfin: Bidding-War Rate Intensifies as Housing Shortage Fuels Fierce Competition
Redfin, Seattle, reported nationwide, 60.9% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced bidding wars in February, up from a revised rate of 59.3% in January, the 10th-straight month in which more than half of offers encountered competition.

Initial Claims Under 700,000 First Time in Year
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by nearly 100,000 last week, dropping below 700,000 for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic staggered the U.S. economy last March, the Labor Department reported yesterday.

Final 4Q GDP Sees 4.3% Increase
Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the “third” (final) estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Dealmaker: Gantry Secures $26M for Office Properties
Gantry, San Francisco, secured $25.6 million in financing for two Seattle office assets.