Office Buildings in Big Cities Most at Risk: Goldman Sachs

Originally published on April 25, 2023, for Goldman Sachs.

Big office buildings in large U.S. cities are the most at risk from turmoil in commercial real estate, according to Goldman Sachs Research. There are signs that smaller offices in suburbs, as well as newer buildings in central businesses districts, could be more insulated from the stress.

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Cloud Computing, AI Tech Boosting Data Center Growth: JLL

Originally published on April 20, 2023, by Michael Tucker for the Mortgage Banker's Association.

Mass adoption of cloud computing and artificial intelligence is driving exponential growth for data centers, reported JLL, Chicago.

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FHFA Seeks Comments on Proposed Fair Housing Rule for GSEs

Originally published on April 19, 2023, for the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it is seeking comment on a proposed rule that would formalize many of the Agency’s existing practices and programs regarding fair housing and fair lending oversight of its regulated entities.

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Bipartisan Legislation Targets Appraisal Licensing Modernization

Originally published on April 26, 2023, by The Appraisal Institute. 

The Portal for Appraisal Licensing Act, known as the PAL Act, was reintroduced in the House of Representatives on April 20. The bipartisan legislation is intended to modernize the real estate appraisal licensing system to reduce costs and cut red tape for appraisers and those who use the services of appraisers. 

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Foreclosure Activity Climbs During First Quarter: ATTOM Data

Originally published on April 19, 2023, by the ATTOM Staff.

ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its Q1 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 95,712 U.S. properties with a foreclosure filings during the first quarter of 2023, up 6 percent from the previous quarter and up 22 percent from a year ago.

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Concerns Over Small-cap vs. Large-cap CRE Performance Unwarranted: Boxwood Means

Originally published on April 17, 2023, by Michael Tucker for the Mortgage Banker's Association.

Small-cap commercial real estate appears to be in better shape than the larger CRE market, reported Boxwood Means LLC, Stamford, Conn.

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Single-tenant Net Lease Cap Rates Rise: The Boulder Group

Originally published on April 12, 2023, by the Boulder Group.

Cap rates in the single-tenant net lease sector increased during the first quarter, marking four consecutive quarters of growth, The Boulder Group reported April 6 in its Q1 2023 Net Lease Market report. Industrial cap rates rose to 6.77% while retail and office cap rates reached their highest level since the third quarter 2020 at 6.05% and 7%, respectively.

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Remote Work, Rising Home Prices Still Influence Population Migration, Data Reveals

Originally published on April 5, 2023, by Adam Ozimek and Connor O'Brien for the Economic Innovation Group.

Key Findings

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Hospitality Recovery Clouded by Underperforming Upscale Properties, Data Shows 

Originally published on April 11, 2023, by Michael Tucker for The Mortgage Banker's Association.

U.S. hotels have performed well overall since the pandemic, but upscale properties report higher commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquencies than more modest hotels, reported KBRA, New York.

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AI Letter to FHFA Critical of Value Acceptance Program

Originally published on April 19, 2023, by the Appraisal Institute.

The Appraisal Institute on April 13 sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson that was critical of Fannie Mae’s “value acceptance” program. AI expressed its concerns about the program's potential effect on the valuation profession. 
 
Specifically, AI said it was concerned that the value acceptance program is creating an alternative workforce of property data collectors that may negatively affect aspiring appraisers’ ability to enter the valuation profession. 
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FHFA to Host Second ASC Hearing on Appraisal Bias

Originally published on April 6, 2023, by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency FHFA) will host the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) on Friday, May 19, 2023, for its second public hearing on appraisal bias in coordination with ASC member agencies. The intent of this hearing is to explore the current regulatory framework for the appraisal industry by focusing on appraisal standards, appraiser qualification criteria, barriers to entry into the profession, and appraisal practices.

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US Bank and Supervisory Rules May be too Loose and Require Review, Yellen Says

Originally published on March 30, 2023, by David Lawder for Reuters.com.

 U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that banking regulation and supervisory rules need to be re-examined in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) failures to ensure current banking system risks are addressed.

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Baby Boomers Now Largest Generation of Homebuyers: NAR

Originally published on March 28, 2023, by Spencer High for the National Association of Realtors. 

The share of baby boomers has surpassed millennials and now makes up the largest generation of home buyers, according to the latest study from the National Association of Realtors®.

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CRE Values to Drop as Banks Dump Failed Assets: Report

Originally published on April 3, 2023, by Jack Rogers for GlobeSt.com.

With interest rates still rising, prices retreating, and credit evaporating—and a stressed-out banking system moving to shore up balance sheets—expect more fire sales of older CMBS loans and acceleration of plunging CRE values in markets across the US.

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CRE Prices, Deal Volume Drop as Interest Rates Rise: Report

Originally published on March 30, 2023, by Michael Tucker for the Mortgage Banker's Association.

The commercial property pricing decline steepened in February, pulled down by a sharp fall in the apartment sector, reported MSCI, New York.

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Multifamily to Face Challenges This Year, Especially in the Sunbelt, Data Shows

Originally published on March 27, 2023, by Courtney Fingar for Globest.com.

Multifamily is facing negative headwinds this year and into the next in the form of outsized supply growth and weak demand drivers, according to PGIM Real Estate’s Quarterly Insights report.

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Land Not so Scarce in the Nation’s Biggest Cities, Especially Those in Texas: Report

Originally published on March 28, 2023 by Richard Berger for GlobeSt.com.

There’s plenty of land for development available nationwide, but it’s not cheap and hardly easy to acquire, zone, and develop.

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Resources Issued for Redesigned Uniform Appraisal Dataset

Originally published on March 29, 2023, by the Uniform Appraisal Dataset Advisory Group.

Uniform Appraisal Dataset Redesign Begins Rollout Phase

The Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) and Forms Redesign has taken a big step by announcing the release of the implementation resources. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs) have worked on the UAD redesign since 2018, leveraging extensive stakeholder input to update the appraisal dataset, align it with current mortgage industry data standards, and replace the GSE appraisal forms with a single data-driven, flexible, and dynamic appraisal report for any residential property type. To begin the multiyear rollout phase, the GSEs have posted an industry playbook, technical specifications, and sample appraisal reports.

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HUD Gives $54M to Groups in 42 States to Fight Appraisal Bias, Housing Discrimination

Originally published on March 21, 2023, by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Public Affairs.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded $54 million to 182 fair housing organizations across the country under its Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). The grants will provide $28,200,000 to support the efforts of national, state, and local fair housing entities working to address violations of the Fair Housing Act and helping to end discrimination in housing. In addition, HUD provided $26,350,000 in funding to its second and third-year Private Enforcement Initiative grantees to continue fair housing enforcement efforts nationwide. A state-by-state breakdown of the awardees is available here.

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Fannie Revises Policy for Appraising Some Manufactured Homes

Originally published on March 1, 2023, by Fannie Mae.

Overview

Fannie Mae requires market-based property valuations for manufactured homes demonstrated by a well-developed sales comparison approach to value that is further supported by the cost approach to value.

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