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Homes sold by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development between January 2017 and August 2020 were 75 times more likely to be located in flood zones than other homes sold during the same period, NPR reported Sept. 13. Buyers of HUD homes received less information about flood risks and the cost of flood insurance than those who bought from private sellers.
Freddie Mac on Sept. 20 released a report based on data from the Uniform Collateral Data Portal that showed appraisal values are more likely to fall below the contracted sale price of a home in areas with a higher share of minority households. Appraisal Institute President Rodman Schley, MAI, SRA, said that he supports studies on this important issue in order to promote equity in homeownership for everyone.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Sept. 15 proposed amendments to rules governing credit risk transfer securities, which involve transferring the risk of mortgage defaults to private investors, Bloomberg reported. Under the proposal, Fannie and Freddie would receive additional capital relief when issuing securities that would allow them to better support the housing market.
LEED-certified office properties have generated a 21.4% higher average market sale price over the past three years, but their initial construction costs were 7.43% to 9.43% higher than traditional office buildings, Cushman & Wakefield reported Sept. 13 in its Green Is Good: Sustainable Office Outperforms in Class A Urban Markets report. LEED-certified properties also have historically performed better during recession-recovery periods.
The overall gross operating profit for hotels in July came in at 111% of its 2019 level, according to STR, but profits for hotels in large markets are mostly about 50% below 2020 levels, MBA NewsLink reported Sept. 14. The Global Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey from JLL revealed that investment activity hit $30 billion in the first half of 2021, up 66% year over year.
Prices for commercial real estate have risen for five consecutive months in secondary and tertiary markets, with values up in all property sectors, according to CoStar’s Composite Price Indexes released Sept. 15, MBA NewsLink reported. Prices were up 0.8% in July, with nearly 1,600 CRE transactions.
Life sciences real estate is enjoying a bull market with nearly 22 million square feet of lab space under construction, according to JLL’s Life Sciences Real Estate Outlook published Sept. 14, Bisnow reported. About three-quarters of the space is being built in San Francisco, San Diego and Boston, while construction is down in Los Angeles and Houston.
Data center construction in up 42% year-over-year with more than half of it in Northern Virginia, but that could change, according to semi-annual reports released Sept. 13 by CBRE and JLL, Bisnow reported. The reports predict that future growth will occur in regional hubs and secondary markets such as Phoenix and Atlanta.
Home sales fell 6% year-over-year in August, marking the first decline in 15 months, Redfin reported Sept. 16. Meanwhile, home prices rose 16% during the same period, with August marking the 13th consecutive month of double-digit price gains.
Median residential rental prices increased 11.5% year-over-year in August, with 28 of the 50 largest U.S. metros seeing rents skyrocket — some by as much as 30.6%, Realtor.com reported Sept. 16. Alternatively, rents have declined in big tech hubs like New York City, Boston and San Francisco.
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