Originally published on March 30, 2021, by Rebecca Meeker and Nuno Mota for Fannie Mae.

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country in 2020, it touched nearly every aspect of the U.S. economy. In the housing market, new listings, home sales, and residential construction all plummeted in the spring of 2020. In the following months, however, the housing market proved resilient, with home sales and new construction reaching decade highs amid historically low mortgage rates.

Originally published on March 31, 2021, by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced it is rescinding seven policy statements issued last year that provided temporary flexibilities to financial institutions in consumer financial markets including mortgages, credit reporting, credit cards, and prepaid cards. The seven rescissions, effective April 1, provide guidance to financial institutions on complying with their legal and regulatory obligations. With the rescissions, the CFPB is providing notice that it intends to exercise the full scope of the supervisory and enforcement authority provided under the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB is also rescinding its 2018 bulletin on supervisory communications and replacing it with a revised bulletin describing its use of matters requiring attention (MRAs) to effectively convey supervisory expectations.

The Appraisal Institute renamed their Lifetime Achievement Award to the J. Scott Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of the late Scott Robinson MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, MRICS, who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year.

The J. Scott Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an AI Professional who best demonstrates high ethical standards; contributed to the Appraisal Institute at the chapter, regional, national, and/or international level(s); provided service to his or her community, and contributed to the appraisal profession. A minimum of 20 years of service is recommended to be eligible for this award.

Originally published by Rose Quint on March 25, 2021, for the National Association of Home Builders.

A recent NAHB study* found that COVID-19 has impacted the housing preferences of 25% of home buyers. More specifically, the survey asked about location preferences both prior to COVID-19 and now: did buyers’ preferred location change as a result of the pandemic? Results show that a segment of home buyers have in fact shifted their preference towards the outlying suburbs due to the health crisis.

Originally published by Patricia Kirk on March 22, 2021, for WelathManagement.com.

Soaring demand and constrained supply have caused industrial property values to rise for the past decade. But with the pandemic accelerating an increase in online sales, the industrial commercial property price index (CPPI) rose 8.8 percent over the previous year, with warehouse values surging 10 percent and flex industrial values rising 6.5 percent, according to a recent report from real estate date firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA). 

Originally published on March 25, 2021, by Angela Waugaman for Freddie Mac

MCLEAN, Va., March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.17 percent.

Originally published on March 18, 2021, by Lauren Thomas for CNBC.com.

For the first time in years, retailers across the country are planning to open more stores than they are closing.

Originally published on March 18, 2021, by Erin Osgood for Redfin Press Center. 

Despite talk that businesses may move their offices from an urban location to a suburban one, or relocate to a state with more financial benefits, a new survey shows the shift may never happen as 67% of respondents to the Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey said they have no plans to pack up, the law firm Seyfarth reported March 15.

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Originally published on March 17, 2021, by Mike Sorohan for MBA Newslink. 

MISMO announces a 30-day public comment period ending on March 26, 2021 for recent enhancements to the Commercial Appraisal Dataset.  The commend period is intended to enable the public time to review and comment on recent dataset updates completed in response to feedback received during the initial comment period.   

This new dataset will facilitate the efficient exchange of commercial appraisal information, critical for underwriting and loss mitigation, between multiple industry participants. The new dataset was developed from a collaborative effort of the commercial real estate and technology professionals. Following the initial comment period, the dataset was updated to include new building level data points; additions for non-multifamily property types and parties; as well as refinements to various definitions and enumerations.

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Originally published on March 4, 2021 by Sanziana Bana for RentCafe.com. 

Vibrant Small Towns in America’s Heartland Are the Top Trending Locations for Gen Z

The downtown life in big coastal cities is so last decade. That’s according to the latest data that shows small towns in the heartland are newly trending for Gen Z renters. This is especially noteworthy because Zoomers were the fastest-growing active renter segment in the U.S. last year, and their locations of choice are just the opposite of their Millennial predecessors.

Originally published on March 11, 2021 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will extend temporary loan origination flexibilities until April 30, 2021. The temporary flexibilities are designed to ensure continued support for borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic. All temporary flexibilities were set to expire on March 31, 2021.

AI Answers, with Jeff Sherman, Steve Roach, Leslie Sellers, and Bill Garber, spotlights the newly released “The Appraisal of Real Estate,” 15th edition, a peer-reviewed Appraisal Institute text and an authoritative source of recognized methods and techniques for valuation practitioners.  

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The Annual Sponsorship program was created to support and enrich our chapter while offering appraisal professionals and organizations an opportunity to participate in, and get more out of, our chapter activities and services. Thank you to Compstak and Colvin, Sutton, Winters & Associates, LLC for supporting the NC Chapter and championing the appraisal industry in North Carolina!

Compstak (Chairman level)

Originally published on March 9, 2021 by Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry.

The Appraisal Institute on March 9 sent a letter to the House Committee on Financial Services expressing its support for the Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act of 2021. The legislation would establish an interagency task force to analyze federal collateral underwriting standards and guidance and provide resources for promoting diversity in the valuation profession.

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We’d like to welcome our newest members who joined in early 2021!

• Richard Bryson 
• David LaVigne          
• Caitlin Timmons McCain      
• Jay S. Navarro
• Ryan Shively
• Michael Sollitto
• Jessica Williams      

Originally published by Michael Tucker on March 1, 2021.

U.S. commercial property prices grew again in January, sector analysts reported.

Originally published by Rich Miller on February 19, 2021, for Bloomberg.com.

The Federal Reserve warned of significant risks of business bankruptcies and steep drops in commercial real estate prices in a report published on Friday.