By Caroline Basile
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced late Friday that it will resume selling and renewing flood insurance policies, rescinding its initial ruling that the National Flood Insurance Program cannot be renewed amid the ongoing government shutdown.
The Appraisal Institute and 15 other organizations submitted a letter Dec. 21 to the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency requesting that they hold a public meeting as part of the process to determine whether to increase the residential appraisal threshold from $250,000 to $400,000.
Dear NCAI Member,
I hope 2018 was a great year for you, your family, and your business, and I wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year in 2019!
By Jessica Guerin
After months of uneven recovery following last October’s program changes, reverse mortgage volume has fallen to a low it hasn’t seen since 2004.
Commercial real estate activity was modest to moderate in most Federal Reserve districts, while residential activity was reported to be mostly flat or declining — although the majority of districts reported increased home prices, according to the Fed Beige Book released Dec. 5.
By Andrea Riquier
Commercial real estate in large urban areas will be the big winner from the tax scheme aimed at boosting investment in needy areas, according to an analysis released in November.
By Kelsey Ramirez
Many economists are predicting the next recession could occur in 2020 or even 2019, but that’s not what Goldman Sachs is predicting.
By Kelsey Ramirez
Buying and selling a home is about to get a lot more difficult in 2019, or so says one expert in her forecast for next year.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2019. In most of the U.S., the 2019 maximum conforming loan limit for one-unit properties will be $484,350, an increase from $453,100 in 2018.
Baseline limit
The limited supply of urban industrial inventory available for “last mile” e-commerce distribution space is causing investors and end-users to get creative by repositioning other types of real estate with failed uses or shrinking demand, according to a JLL report, Urban infill: the route to delivery solutions.” The report notes that annual total e-commerce deliveries have more than tripled over the past five years, but development of new urban industrial infill assets has remained relatively flat.
Despite dwindling opportunities in urban locations, investors remain interested in the 18 percent sales price premium last mile industrial assets command over “first mile” locations, and the higher rents users are willing to pay in order to be near their customer base.
The Appraisal Institute and the Land Trust Alliance co-signed a letter Nov. 29 urging congressional leaders to advance the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act, which would help maintain the integrity of conservation easement donations by closing an apparent loophole related to abusive syndicated tax shelters.
The Appraisal Institute designated 42 members in November, including 18 who received MAI designations, six who received SRA designations, 16 who received AI-GRS designations and two who received AI-RRS designations.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Nov. 8 appointed William Fall, MAI, SRA, to the state's Real Estate Appraiser Board for a term ending June 30, 2021. Fall is CEO of the William Fall Group, a nationwide valuation firm based in Toledo.
As you're aware by now, AI joined 17 other groups to submit public comments opposing NCUA's proposal to quadruple – from $250,000 to $1 million – the appraisal threshold for non-residential real estate loans. Our own state chapter (NCAI) has submitted public comments as well. Click the button below to read them.
A modest increase in interest rates and home prices kept housing affordability at a 10-year low in the third quarter of 2018, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today.
In all, 56.4 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of July and end of September were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $71,900. This is down from the 57.1 percent of homes sold in the second quarter that were affordable to median-income earners and the lowest reading since mid-2008.
By John Egan
Some commercial real estate observers might be a little worked up about how office REITs might be affected by WeWork and its co-working brethren. Yet is that consternation really warranted?
By Erika Morphy
With a Republican-controlled Senate and a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, no significant commercial real estate-related legislation is expected to pass, according to a GlobeSt.com analysis reported Nov. 7. Among the issues expected to stall: additional deregulation, further loosening of Dodd-Frank and more tax changes.
The Appraisal Institute designated 72 members in October, including; 1 who received MAI AND AI-GRS designations; and 34 who received MAI designations; 11 who received SRA designations; 17 who received AI-GRS designations; 9 who received AI-RRS designations.
