Filtered by category: Industry Clear Filter

OCC Plans to Review Fair Lending, Appraisal Bias in 2024

Originally published on September 28, 2023, by Stephanie Collins for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released its bank supervision operating plan for fiscal year (FY) 2024.

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Non-white and LGBTQ+ Americans Face Discrimination When House Hunting: Report

Originally published on September 28, 2023, by Kenneth Applewhaite for Redfin.

Nearly one-third (32%) of Black Americans who recently moved believe they were discriminated against based on their ethnicity or race during their home search, and an additional 22% believe they may have been discriminated against. That’s according to a survey from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The share is even higher for Hispanic Americans: 36% experienced discrimination and an additional 22% believe they may have been discriminated against.

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Nation’s Residential Real Estate Valued at $52T, Data Shows

Originally published on September 26, 2023 by Orphe Divounguy for Zillow.com.

  • The total value of the U.S. housing market is 49% higher than before the pandemic. 
  • New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Miami are the most valuable housing markets. 
  • Florida now boasts the second-most-valuable real estate market, surpassing New York. California retains the top spot. 

The U.S. housing market has surged over the past year after a temporary hiccup from July 2022 to January 2023. Higher mortgage rates then contributed to a decline in the total value of residential real estate as potential buyers reconsidered their plans and residential investment fell. That downturn has proven to be short-lived as housing has rebounded impressively so far in 2023, with the total value of the U.S. housing market surging by more than $2.6 trillion over the past year. 

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Home Construction on the Decline in Largest Markets: NAHB

Originally published on September 5, 2023, by Elizabeth Thompson and Stephanie Pagan for the National Association of Home Builders.

Rising mortgage rates and elevated construction costs have taken a toll on the pace of single-family construction in markets across the nation, with the slowdown most pronounced in large metro areas. Multifamily market growth also fell in most areas of the country, according to the latest findings from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) for the second quarter of 2023.

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Miami Still Most Competitive Rental Market: RentCafe  

Originally published on September 19, 2023 by Veronica Grecu.

Miami was the most competitive rental market during this summer’s peak moving season, but the Midwest was America’s hottest apartment region, with three markets in the top five nationally. That’s largely because the Midwest offers housing options that fit more ranges of budgets, as well as a cost of living that’s lower than on the coasts. Naturally, this makes it a very attractive region to live in for renters seeking a balance between budget and quality of life.

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Buyers Sought for Signature Bank’s $33 Billion Commercial Real Estate Portfolio

Originally published on September 5, 2023, by Pete Schroeder for Reuters.com.

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is seeking buyers for the $33 billion commercial real estate (CRE) loan portfolio of failed New York lender Signature Bank, it said on Tuesday.

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NAR Survey Reveals Some Concerns About Data Collectors

Originally published in May 2023 by the National Association of Realtors.

In May 2023, NAR surveyed its members pertaining to data collectors in the appraisal process. The findings are as follows:

  • Sales agents accounted for the largest proportion, with 45% of participants holding this license. Brokers followed with 24%, and appraisal-certified professionals comprised 14% of the respondents. Broker-Associates and Appraisal Licensees accounted for 13% and two percent, respectively, while the remaining two percent reported holding other types of real estate licenses.
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Low Inventory of Homes Boosts Construction: Fed Beige Book

Originally published on September 6, 2023, by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

The inventory of single-family homes for sale fell in nearly all Fed districts during the past month, resulting in a boost in new construction activity, the Federal Reserve reported Sept. 6 in its latest Beige Book. The construction of affordable housing has become strained in many districts amid rising financing costs and higher insurance premiums.

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AI Releases Podcast Addressing Appraiser Diversity Initiative, New DEI Award

Originally published on September 15, 2023, by the Face Value Appraisal Insitute Podcast.

The Appraisal Institute on Aug. 31 released its latest episode of the Face Value podcast, “Dedication to Diversity: A Conversation About the Appraiser Diversity Initiative.” Hosts Tonia Vailas, MAI, AI-GRS, and Warren Boizot, SRA, AI-RRS, are joined by Smedmore Bernard Jr., MAI, Brent Quashie and Elana Wroten to share their experiences and the advice they have for others. Additionally, they talk about the new William S. Harps DEI Award.

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Restaurants are Acquisition Targets Despite Ongoing Challenges, Report Shows

Originally published on August 28, 2023 by Phillippa Maister for GlobeSt.com.

Restaurants have become attractive targets for acquisitions despite ongoing challenges with sales rising 10.3% over the previous year in the second quarter of 2023 following a 3.2% gain in Q1, according to BizBuySell, an online business for sale marketplace. Furthermore, restaurants that sold in Q2 generated more revenue and buyers paid more for them. 

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Multifamily Investors Most at Risk in Sunbelt, Data Shows

Originally published on August 21, 2023, by Barbara Ballinger for GlobeSt.com.

Over the next two years, CRE borrowers will face more than $1 trillion in debt maturities. Some may be able to refinance or restructure their debt, but others may have to sell assets as lending sources become hard to access. 

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Foreign Buyers Backing Away from US Residential Investment: NAR

Originally published on August 1, 2023, by Troy Green for the National Association of Realtors. 

oreign buyers purchased $53.3 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2022 through March 2023, slipping 9.6% from the previous 12-month period, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors®. Foreign buyers purchased 84,600 properties, down 14.2% from the prior year and the fewest number of homes bought since 2009, when NAR began tracking this data. Overall, U.S. existing-home sales totaled 5.03 million in 2022, down 17.8% from 2021.

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Some Lenders Discriminated Against Protected Classes: CFPB

Originally published in July 2023 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stated in a July 26 supervisory highlights report that it found some mortgage lenders violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by discriminating against borrowers in protected classes, such as race, national origin, sex and age. The CFPB directed lenders to review, identify and provide relief to any applicant negatively affected by these violations.

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Number of People Who Moved to Flood-prone Areas Doubled Since Pandemic: Redfin

Originally published on July 24, 2023, by Isabelle Novak for

The most flood-prone U.S. counties saw 384,000 more people move in than out in 2021 and 2022—a 103% increase from the prior two years, when 189,000 more people moved in than out, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

The same trend took hold in the places most vulnerable to wildfires and heat as the pandemic homebuying boom and a housing affordability crisis pushed Americans into disaster-prone areas.

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Housing Prices, Profits Continue to Climb Across the Country, Data Shows

Originally published on July 21, 2023, by Christine Stricker for ATTOM.

According to ATTOM’s newly released Q2 2023 U.S. Home Sales Report, profit margins on median-priced single-family home and condo sales in the U.S. increased to 47.7 percent in the second quarter – the first gain in a year.

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Supply of Low-cost Rental Apartments Drops by Nearly 4 Million: Harvard Report

Originally published on July 6, 2023, by Sophia Wedeen for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

The supply of low-cost rentals fell by 3.9 million units over the last decade, according to our latest State of the Nation’s Housing report. As a new interactive tool (Figure 1) released in conjunction with the report shows, the supply of low-cost rentals decreased in every single state, leaving lower- and middle-income renters with even fewer housing options they can afford.

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COVID-19 Has Lasting Effect on Urban Real Estate: McKinsey

Originally published on July 13, 2023, by the McKinsey Global Institute.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, it dramatically changed the way people worked, lived, and shopped in cities around the world. The starkest change was where and how they worked. Obeying lockdowns and office closures, tired of uncomfortable masks, and enabled by remote-work technology, many employees abruptly retreated from traditional offices to home offices. Many of those employees, newly freed from their daily commutes, chose to move out of urban cores. And now that fewer of them were working and living near urban stores, fewer of them shopped there. In recent months, some of those behavioral shifts have slowed. Others persist, particularly among office employees continuing to engage in hybrid work (that is, a combination of remote and in-office work).

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Home Prices Show First Annual Decline Since 2017: Realtor.com

Originally published on June 29, 2023, by Realtor.com.

The U.S. median home listing price slipped -0.9% annually in June, posting the first yearly decline since 2017, the start of Realtor.com®'s trends data, according to its June Monthly Housing Trends Report released today. At the same time, while home shoppers had more homes to choose from this month, improvement stalled as the active inventory growth rate slowed for the fourth month in a row (+7.1%) and came in well below May's +21.5% rate. 

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Owning Costs About $1,000 More Per Month Than Renting: Data

Originally published on June 14, 2023, by Danielle Nguyen for John Burns Research & Consulting.

One year ago, we published a piece highlighting demand shifting from owning to renting—and we’d like to give you an update. The monthly premium to own versus rent has now hit $1,030 per month, compared to $884 per month at this time last year (see note)—increasing demand for rental homes while reducing demand for homeownership.

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Purpose-built Student Housing Outperforms Multifamily for the First Time, Data Shows

Originally published on June 20, 2023, by Barbara Ballinger for GlobeSt.com.

The purpose-built student housing segment has been a steady winner for many developers for years, faring well even in recessionary and down periods. Students needed a place to live and didn’t always want to reside on campus, especially after freshman year. These off-campus dwellings long offered a robust list of attractive amenities seen in conventional multifamily housing, as well as comfortable apartment layouts with living and sleeping spaces typically furnished. Students are leased by a “bed” rather than a room.

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