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The aggregate value of the nation’s residential mortgages at the end of the second quarter was $10.6 trillion, an $80 billion increase from the first quarter, according to the Q2 Federal Reserve Flow of Funds report released Sept. 21, the National Association of Home Builders reported. The aggregate value of household market values reached $30.8 trillion, an increase of $450 billion.
The sales of existing homes climbed for the third consecutive month in August, reaching the highest level since December 2006, the National Association of Realtors reported Sept. 22. Home sales are expected to continue their upward trajectory through the end of the year.
El Dorado Country in California, near Sacramento and the Bay Area, is the nation’s hottest market as homebuyers seek more affordable areas outside of major metros but still within driving distance of them, real estate marketplace Redfin reported Sept. 21. Homebuyer interest is also heating up in Camden County, New Jersey, and Columbia Country, Oregon.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Sept. 23 released for comment a draft of its strategic plan for 2021-2024. The plan focuses on oversight for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac once the government-sponsored enterprises exit conservatorship; new reforms to foster competitive, liquid, efficient and resilient national housing finance markets; and enhanced safety and soundness measures for Federal Home Loan Banks.
Nearly 11 million households fell behind on their mortgage or rent during the second quarter, according to a report released Sept. 18 by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America. The report revealed that 65% of borrowers received permission from their lenders to delay or reduce their monthly payments.
Philadelphia was the nation’s only market where multifamily properties experienced growth in net operating income during the second quarter, Freddie Mac reported Sept. 21 in its Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index. Freddie Mac noted that the second quarter typically is strong, and the last time that a second quarter experienced negative NOI growth was 2009.
The U.S. office market could shed 145 million square feet of space during the next two years, with the coronavirus pandemic causing more harm to the sector than did the 2008 Great Recession, real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield reported Sept. 22 in its Global Office Impact Study & Recovery Timing Report.
Investors spent around $75 billion on industrial and logistics properties during the first half of the year, accounting for 20% of all commercial real estate investment, according to brokerage firm Savills Plc., National Real Estate Investor reported Sept. 23. The deals and demand are attributed to the growing e-commerce boom as the coronavirus lockdown continues.
Nonresidential construction could decline up to 15% this year, due to both the disruption from shutdowns and decreased demand for new projects in sectors heavily affected by the pandemic, real estate firm JLL reported Sept. 23 in its newest construction outlook. Recovery across sectors is expected to be uneven, but construction volume should increase in 2021.
The Federal Reserve Board on Sept. 21 issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking inviting public comment on modernizing the regulations that implement the Community Reinvestment Act so they reflect the current banking landscape. Comments are due 120 days from the release of the notice.
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