Originally published on December 1, 2021, by Michael Robinson for The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today announced that the 2022 threshold for exempting loans from special appraisal requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans will increase from $27,200 to $28,500.

Originally published on November 22, 2021, by Jeff Andrews for Zumper.

Notable Trends

1. Rent has been rising at an alarming rate all over the country throughout 2021, but Zumper’s National Rent Index for November shows for the first time this year a slower pace of rent growth that more closely resembles historical norms. Is this a sign that the rental market is finally cooling off just a blip after months of unsustainable growth?
2. Large cities in Florida have experienced some of the most rapid rent growth in the country. In particular, rent in Tampa and St. Petersburg has grown so much since the pandemic that both cities have risen substantially on Zumper’s 100 most expensive markets in the United States.
3. Like a lot of places on the West Coast, the Seattle metropolitan area saw rent drop after the pandemic hit in March 2020. But now 18 months later, Seattle and its neighboring areas are posting sizable year-over-year gains in rent, and rent in Seattle itself is almost back to where it was prior to the pandemic.

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Originally published on November 24, 2021, for Realtor Magazine.

This winter is expected to be unseasonably hot for the housing market.

Originally published on November 19, 2021, by Georgia Kromrei for HousingWire.com.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will raise appraisal fees and lengthen allowable turnaround times in select markets across the country in response to the high demand for appraisals.

Originally published on November 30, 2021, by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the conforming loan limits (CLLs) for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) in 2022. In most of the U.S., the 2022 CLL for one-unit properties will be $647,200, an increase of $98,950 from $548,250 in 2021. 

Originally published on November 18, 2021, by Christine Stricker for ATTOM.

ATTOM, curator of the nation’s premier property database, today released its third-quarter 2021 special report analyzing qualified low-income Opportunity Zones established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (see full methodology below). In this report, ATTOM looked at 5,402 zones around the United States with sufficient sales data to analyze, meaning they had at least five home sales in the third quarter of 2021.

Originally published on November 17, 2021, by Michael Tucker for Mortgage Bankers Association.

CBRE, Dallas, reported commercial real estate lending activity surged in the third quarter, reflecting rebounding property acquisitions activity.

Originally published on November 17, 2021 by Prashant Gopal for Bloomberg | Quint.

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. apartment building sales have jumped to record levels, outpacing all other forms of commercial real estate. Deals totaled $241.9 billion in the 12 months through September, up 27% from the same period in 2019, according to a RealPage Inc. analysis of data from Real Capital Analytics Inc. going back to 2001. Apartments accounted for 44% of all transactions, the most for any commercial-property type. 

Originally published on November 17, 2021, by Adam Russell for the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released the 2022 Scorecard for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), and Common Securitization Solutions, LLC (CSS). The purpose of the 2022 Scorecard is to hold the Enterprises and CSS accountable for fulfilling their core mission requirements by promoting sustainable and equitable access to affordable housing and operating in a safe and sound manner.

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors at its Nov. 11-12 meeting in Chicago approved the Strategic Plan strategies that will guide the organization’s efforts in 2022, and beyond.

Originally published on November 11, 2021, by Rachel Conner for Realtor.com.

After sitting on the sidelines as low mortgage rates fueled homebuyer demand and listing price growth throughout the pandemic, the majority of prospective sellers1 are eager to enter the housing market within the next six months, according to a new Realtor.com® Survey released today. Although sellers' expectations for bidding wars and fast-paced sales have only gotten higher since the spring, the potential uptick in new listings offers holiday hope to buyers challenged by the shortage of for-sale homes.

Originally published on November 17, 2021, by the Appraisal Institue.

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors voted to adopt three 45-Day Notice items during its Nov. 11-12 meeting in Chicago. The 45-Day Notice items address Designated Member Status, Compensation Committee, and Standards of Valuation Practice.

Commercial real estate tenants say they are more likely to increase their space next year than decrease it, with around 70% reportedly looking to expand, the Visual Lease Data Institute reported Nov. 10 in its new commercial real estate outlook. Most tenants and landlords expect rent prices to be the same or slightly higher next year.

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Originally published on November 3, 2021, for Bloomberg.com.

Ivy Zelman, the housing analyst famous on Wall Street for calling the top of the market in 2005, less than two years before the collapse, sees warning signs once again.

Originally published on November 1, 2021, by Frank Nothaft for CoreLogic.com.

Much like other parts of the U.S. economy, commercial property sales fell when the pandemic began.  By the second full month of the pandemic, settlements on commercial real estate transactions were about one-half the prior year’s level, hitting a 10-year low in May 2020 and down nearly 50% from one year earlier.

Originally published on November 3, 2021, by Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir for Reuters.com.

The Federal Reserve threw its weight back behind the drive for a full U.S. jobs recovery on Wednesday, restating its belief that current high inflation is "expected to be transitory" and, despite risks to that view, arguing that price pressures will ease and pave the way for stronger employment and economic growth in the months to come.

Originally published on November 3, 2021, by Isabelle Novak for Redfin.com.

The supply of America's most affordable homes for sale jumped a record 13% year over year in the third quarter as mortgage forbearance programs came to an end, prompting many owners of low-cost homes to put their properties on the market, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

Originally published on October 27, 2021, by the Urban Land Institute. 

The Fall 2021 ULI Real Estate Economic Forecast for 2021 to 2023 gives high-level projections of recovery to pre-pandemic levels for many U.S. real estate indicators by 2023, but with reasons to celebrate for equity REIT investors and significant disappointments for the hotel sector.

Originally published by The Boulder Group in Q3 2021.

Cap rates in the single-tenant drug store sector decreased by 59 basis points to a new historic low rate of 5.80% in the third quarter of 2021. New historic low cap rates levels for CVS and Walgreens of 5.15% and 5.40% respectively were the primary driver of the compression. Rite Aid cap rates were compressed by 40 basis points to 7.40% but did not reach their prior historic low (2008). Investor demand for essential retailers carried over from 2020 into 2021, propelling cap rates for all three major tenants in the single-tenant drug store sector lower.

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