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The Appraisal Institute on Nov. 20 submitted a letter to Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery in response to the FHA’s requirement in certain situations of a second appraisal for its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, asking that the FHA reevaluate eligibility requirements for placement on the FHA Appraiser Roster.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve on Nov. 20 released a proposal to increase the threshold at which residential home sales require an appraisal to $400,000 from $250,000.
Banks continued to ease lending standards on both residential and commercial real estate loans in the third quarter but overall demand for those products was weak, according to the Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices released Nov. 15, HousingWire reported.
Cap rates have mostly declined since 2000, but market indicators suggest the era is ending and likely leading to moderate cap rate expansion, according to real estate advisor RCLCO, MBA NewsLink reported Nov. 15. Real estate owners must account for the cap rate changes by readjusting their value creation methods.
Amazon’s selection of New York City and Arlington, Virginia, as its new headquarters likely will have a “muted impact” on home prices because both locations already have healthy economies pushing up prices, and housing supply should be sufficient to absorb future needs, according to ratings agency Fitch, MBA NewsLink reported Nov. 15.
Five large multifamily real estate investment trusts have invested $108 million in a venture capital fund that will be used to help finance disruptive real estate technology in the multifamily space, HousingWire reported Nov. 14. The investors in Real Estate Technology Ventures own or manage about one million rental units.
The national office market held steady during the third quarter with office absorption reaching 22.7 million square feet and vacancy remaining at 10.1 percent, according to commercial real estate company Transwestern, MBA NewsLink reported Nov. 15. Year-to-date net office absorption is 17.1 percent higher than at the same point last year.
The multifamily sector has beaten expectations this year, but loan performance and originations could plateau in 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, Scotsman Guide reported Nov. 12. Market fundamentals, such as rental growth and low vacancy rates, are expected to continue into next year.
Seventy percent of prospective buyers hoping to purchase a home within the next year said they expect house hunting to remain challenging or even get harder, mainly due to lack of homes available in their price range, the National Association of Home Builders reported Nov. 15 in its Housing Trend Report.
Three quarters of Americans say their local housing market is cooling off, following five consecutive quarters of consumers reporting overheated markets, according to a Nov. 13 report from down payment insurance firm Value Insured. Despite the cooling, 72 percent believe home prices are still too high.
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