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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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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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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 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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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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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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Home Flipping Increased in 2022, Spurred by Investors, Data Shows

Originally published on March 23, 2023, by ATTOM.

ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its year-end 2022 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which shows that 407,417 single-family homes and condos in the United States were flipped in 2022. That was up 14 percent from 357,666 in 2021, and up 58 percent from 2020, to the highest point since at least 2005.

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GSE: Climate Risk Should Factor into Mortgage Underwriting

Originally published on March 20, 2023, by Diana Olick for CNBC.

Global warming has already caused irreversible damage to the earth’s ecosystems and communities, according to a critical report just issued from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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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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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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Welcome New Members

We’d like to welcome our newest chapter members:

  • Spencer Brown
  • Paul Chambers, Jr.
  • Adria Hardy
  • Wendell Helms
  • Corey Lewis
  • Michael Morris
  • Robin Perry
  • Claudia Ray
  • Melinda Webb
  • Jessica Williams

Median Rents Continue to Drop, Experience Smallest Increase in 2 Years: Redfin

Originally published on March 10, 2023, by Kenneth Applewaith for Redfin.com.

The median U.S. asking rent rose 1.7% year over year to $1,937 in February—the smallest increase in nearly two years and the lowest level in a year, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Rents were up nearly 10 times that much (16.5%) a year earlier.

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CRE Values and Volume Expected to See Significant Drop, Banking Firm Predicts

Originally published on March 13, 2023, by Erik Sherman for GlobeSt.com.

FHFA Delays Fee for Buyers with Higher Debt-to-income Ratios

Originally published on March 15, 2023, by Adam Russell for FHFA.

​​The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has taken a number of steps since January 2022 to update Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) single-family guarantee fee pricing framework with a special focus on upfront fees. In January 2023, FHFA announced redesigned and recalibrated grids for upfront fees in addition to a new upfront fee for certain borrowers with a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio above 40 percent. These updated pricing grids include the upfront fee eliminations announced in October 2022 to increase pricing support for purchase borrowers limited by income or by wealth.​

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Coworking Spaces are Growing in Popularity, Expanding Reach, Report Shows

Originally published on March 8, 2023, by Laura Pop=Badiu for CoworkingCafe.com.

Demand for flexible workspaces registered significant growth in recent years, mainly due to the wider availability of remote work and hybrid workstyles. At the same time, the uncertain economic waves led many businesses to downsize their office footprints and move past rigid, long-term leases toward more flexible and cost-efficient solutions. What’s more, according to a recent JLL report, the office sector remains under pressure in 2023, with tenants not only looking to increase efficiency and productivity but also to reduce their existing footprint and positively influence their bottom line.

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