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The Federal Housing Finance Agency on May 23 released its 2017 Report to Congress, revealing net income drops for the government-sponsored enterprises, mainly due to one-time tax provision expenses. Freddie Mac annual net income was down 28.2 percent for the year while Fannie Mae was down 79.6 percent.
A report from the Tax Foundation urges lawmakers to correct a drafting error regarding cost recovery for qualified improvement property that was included in last year’s tax overhaul legislation, the Real Estate Roundtable reported June 1. The mistake has resulted in longer cost recovery periods for qualified commercial interior improvements.
Investors report that commercial real estate is getting riskier and therefore question whether returns outweigh concerns — despite CRE being among the best performers from a risk-adjusted return perspective compared to stocks, bonds, cash and other investments, according to real estate advisory firm Situs RERC, MBA NewsLink reported June 7.
Around 120 homes so far have been destroyed by Kilauea as the volcano’s month-long eruption continues, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, Reuters reported June 4. Scientists say they are unsure how long the activity may last.
The shortage of affordable homes is expected to vex the nation for a few more years, driving prices up faster than inflation and wage growth, according to a Reuters poll released June 6. Property market analysts who participated in the poll expect prices to rise 4.3 percent next year and 3.6 percent in 2020.
Mortgage rates and Treasury yields dropped slightly during the past week, spurring a 4 percent increase in purchase applications, Freddie Mac reported June 7 in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
More than half the nation’s largest housing markets were overvalued in April, meaning home prices have topped long-term, sustainable levels, according to analytics firm CoreLogic, CNBC reported June 5.
Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on June 6 eliminated three CFPB advisory boards, HousingWire reported. Mulvaney disbanded the Consumer Advisory Board, the Community Bank Advisory Council and the Credit Union Advisory Council, as part of an overall agency restructuring.
The volume of commercial real estate transactions during the first quarter totaled $107 billion, up 6.7 percent compared to the same point a year ago, which shows a “resilient” CRE sector, according to analytics firm Real Capital Analytics and online real estate firm Ten-X, MBA NewsLink reported June 7.
Rising interest rates are making it difficult for some borrowers to secure large permanent loans for multifamily properties, hampering investor purchases of new real estate or the refinancing of existing buildings, according to real estate services firm JLL, National Real Estate Investor reported June 5.
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