Originally published on February 7, 2022, by Lester Davis for NFHA.

Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 20 fair housing organizations throughout the country reached a landmark $53 million agreement with Fannie Mae (formally known as the Federal National Mortgage Association). The settlement resolves the groups’ claims that Fannie Mae treated homes it owned in majority-Black and Latino communities unfavorably. The settlement will help rebuild and strengthen communities of color in 39 metropolitan areas. In the case, the plaintiffs alleged that Fannie Mae maintained and marketed its foreclosed homes in predominantly White neighborhoods while allowing homes in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods to fall into disrepair and that this differential treatment exacerbated the damage caused by the 2008 mortgage crisis and impeded recovery from the crisis in neighborhoods of color. The case was the first time a federal court confirmed the nation’s fair housing laws cover the maintenance and marketing of Real Estate Owned (REO) properties.

Originally published by The Boulder Group on February 2, 2022.

Cap rates in the single-tenant net lease retail and industrial sectors increased to 5.88% and 6.77%, respectively, during the fourth quarter, a slight increase from the historically low rates reported during the previous quarter, The Boulder Group reported Feb. 3 in its Q4 2021 Net Lease Market Report. Cap rates for net lease office properties remained at 6.8%.

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Originally published on January 20, 2022, by Haley Luther for STR Global.

The U.S. hotel sector reported an average daily rate of $124.67 per available room in 2021, which is still 4.8% lower than what was reported pre-pandemic, but an improvement over 2020, STR reported Jan. 20. In terms of occupancy, Tampa, Florida, reported the nation’s highest annual rate of 68.4% while Minneapolis had the lowest rate of 44.4%

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Originally published on January 19, 2022, by Phil Hall for Benzinga.

In this year’s U.S. Multifamily Index – which ranks 46 major markets on a criteria mix including the local labor market, vacancies, construction and affordability – Orlando and Las Vegas placed first and second thanks to a high-level of job creation and household formation rates – which, the report predicted, will lead to higher rates of rent growth.

Originally published on Janaury 6, 2022 for ATTOM.

ATTOM, curator of the nation’s premier property database, today released its 2022 Rental Affordability Report, which shows that owning a median-priced home is more affordable than the average rent on a three-bedroom property in 666, or 58 percent, of the 1,154 U.S. counties analyzed for the report. That means major home ownership expenses consume a smaller portion of average local wages than renting.

Originally published on January 13, 2022, by Angela Waugaman for Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.45 percent.

Originally published on January 13, 2022, by Angela Waugaman for Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.45 percent.

Originally published on January 11, 2022, by Michael Tucker for Mortgage Bankers Association.

Green Street, Newport Beach, Calif., said its commercial property price index increased 24 percent in 2021 with robust price appreciation occurring in virtually every corner of the CRE market.

Originally published on January 11, 2022, by Michael Tucker for Mortgage Bankers Association.

Yardi Matrix, Santa Barbara, Calif., reported student housing sector fundamentals remain strong as pre-leasing for the 2022 fall semester ramps up.

Originally published on December 7, 2021, for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Renters were three times more likely than homeowners to miss payments during September and October, according to updated research released Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America.

Retail real estate continues to recover, with growing interest in the Sunbelt states and the suburbs; urban retail is expected to rebound once office workers return and tourism picks up, JLL reported Dec. 6 in its Retail Recovery report. Open-air shopping centers remain the sector’s strongest assets, and as for indoor malls — the good ones are here to stay.

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Originally published Q3 2021 by the Boulder Group.

Cap rates for the single-tenant, net lease medical sector compressed 55 basis points during the third quarter to 5.95% when compared to the same point a year ago, The Boulder Group reported Dec. 2 in its Q3 Net Lease Medical Report. The overall net lease market, comprised of retail, office and industrial, was down 23 basis points year-to-year.

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Originally published on November 30, 2021, by Patrick Sisson for Bisnow National.

A majority of commercial real estate employees expect to be working “completely or partially virtually going forward,” according to a new survey and report released by Deloitte. 

Originally published by Patricia Kirk on December 1, 2021 for WealthManagement.com.

Through most of the pandemic, the U.S. industrial sector has been performing so well that both rents and prices have been nearing records. But a recent report from the logistics giant Prologis highlights just how intense the competition for space has become, noting that the logistics space in the U.S. is “effectively sold out.”

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 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 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 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.

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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