I always cringe when I see a press release that “regulators” have a solution! FHA has yet another new proposal that sounds great on the surface, but as typical misses some very important items that will cost taxpayers millions or considerably more as government...
US labor productivity tumbled by 7.5% in the first quarter of 2023 – the largest decline in worker output per hour since 1947, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. What does declining productivity mean for interest rates, commercial and residential...
Although the market rejoiced in the recent fed “skip”, as you dig into the numbers more the outcome is a lot less sanguine. Why does inflation continue running hotter than anticipated? What does this mean for interest rates and real estate? What happens when...
Big changes are ahead for automated appraisals. The government feels that automated models show bias in valuation so they have proposed a new rule that will radically alter appraisals. Unfortunately, the new rules will have some large unintended consequences for...
Interesting times we are in. Consumers keep spending big on services like travel and eating out, but on the flip side Home Depot just reported its first drop since the pandemic. On the other hand Target tops earnings estimates. What is driving the continued...
Households added $148 billion in overall debt, bringing the total to $17.05 trillion, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday. Balances are now $2.9 trillion higher than just before the pandemic. What categories are...
US commercial real estate prices fell in the first quarter for the first time in more than a decade, according to Moody’s Analytics, heightening the risk of more financial stress in the banking industry. What property types are declining? (hint not just office...
A lot has changed since my year end update, four major banks have collapsed, and the market is now signaling a recession with interest rates beginning to fall. What does this mean for real estate in the second half of the year? Are there any big changes to my...
Although the spring real estate market has slowed drastically from the pandemic days, the bottom has not fallen out. Quite the opposite has occurred, in suburban markets and sunbelt cities, real estate keeps charging higher. A good example is Boulder, CO, a...
The share of Americans who say they live paycheck-to-paycheck climbed last year, and most of the new arrivals in that category were among the country’s higher earners (greater than 100k), a new study shows. Furthermore 24% had issues paying their bills in...
No this is not a joke, I had to read the recent Fannie Mae press release multiple times to actually believe what I was reading. Who would have ever thought that someone with a high credit score above 740 would be penalized for having a high score. Under a new rule...
US bank lending contracted by the most on record in the last two weeks of March, indicating a tightening of credit conditions in the wake of several high-profile bank collapses. Why the sharp pullback in lending? What does this mean for commercial and residential...
Inflation continues to stick around with core CPI running near record highs. This will keep the federal reserve on a likely path to hike rates once again in May. What does this mean for interest rates and real estate? What happens when interest rates finally...
Presidential nominee Biden has rolled out his proposed tax plan with two major pillars that will impact real estate: 1) Elimination of the 1031 exchange provision 2) elimination of long term capital gains. These two changes, if passed, will have huge implications for...
As the banking crisis unfolds, the media continues to focus on depositors and shareholders. Although both are important, there is an even bigger issue that is not being discussed. According to the FDIC, community banks made 67% of all commercial real estate loans in...
Last week, the president announced an action that will save homebuyers and homeowners with new FHA-insured mortgages $1500 per year (assuming a 500k home), lowering housing costs for an estimated 850,000 home buyers and homeowners in 2023. On the surface, the change...
As a private lender, my call volume and closings the first quarter have been off the charts as borrowers fall out of more conventional products. This trend is now playing out with the Mortgage Credit Availability Index showing substantial tightening of credit for all...
We are looking for a full-time associate in our fast-paced commercial lending office in Sandy Springs, Georgia; this is not a remote position. This position will focus on loan servicing and light accounting. QuickBooks experience required. Real Estate/Banking...
Wow, a few weeks ago rates had fallen from a peak of over 7% to almost 6%. Unfortunately the party was short lived as rates are now heading much higher. The recent jobs report was another blow out upping the odds of another half point increase at the next Fed...
We are looking for a full-time associate in our fast-paced commercial lending office in Sandy Springs, Georgia; this is not a remote position. This position will focus on loan servicing and light accounting. QuickBooks experience required. Real Estate/Banking...
Over 48 hours two banks failed for very different reasons. There is a saying in banking that when rates rise and easy money runs out, we will find the skeletons that have been lurking in plain sight. Are we in for a 2008 rerun? What caused the sudden...
In only a couple of months, the world has changed substantially. In December, inflation was supposedly decreasing rapidly and the odds of a soft landing were non existent. Fast forward a few months and inflation is running hot, consumers are spending like crazy,...
Beginning in March of 2023, Freddie Mac, the largest buyer of mortgages is drastically changing the seasoning requirements for any loans it purchases which basically means any new conventional conforming loan will have to follow the new rules. What big changes are...
Purchasing power from paychecks fell 2.9% for middle-income households in 2022 compared with 2021, while rising 1.5% for the bottom fifth of households and 1.1% for the top, according to the Congressional Budget Office study. Furthermore, nearly 40 percent of...
I always cringe when I see a press release that “regulators” have a solution! FHA has yet another new proposal that sounds great on the surface, but as typical misses some very important items that will cost taxpayers millions or considerably more as government...
US labor productivity tumbled by 7.5% in the first quarter of 2023 – the largest decline in worker output per hour since 1947, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. What does declining productivity mean for interest rates, commercial and residential...
Although the market rejoiced in the recent fed “skip”, as you dig into the numbers more the outcome is a lot less sanguine. Why does inflation continue running hotter than anticipated? What does this mean for interest rates and real estate? What happens when...
Big changes are ahead for automated appraisals. The government feels that automated models show bias in valuation so they have proposed a new rule that will radically alter appraisals. Unfortunately, the new rules will have some large unintended consequences for...
Interesting times we are in. Consumers keep spending big on services like travel and eating out, but on the flip side Home Depot just reported its first drop since the pandemic. On the other hand Target tops earnings estimates. What is driving the continued...
Households added $148 billion in overall debt, bringing the total to $17.05 trillion, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday. Balances are now $2.9 trillion higher than just before the pandemic. What categories are...
US commercial real estate prices fell in the first quarter for the first time in more than a decade, according to Moody’s Analytics, heightening the risk of more financial stress in the banking industry. What property types are declining? (hint not just office...
A lot has changed since my year end update, four major banks have collapsed, and the market is now signaling a recession with interest rates beginning to fall. What does this mean for real estate in the second half of the year? Are there any big changes to my...
Although the spring real estate market has slowed drastically from the pandemic days, the bottom has not fallen out. Quite the opposite has occurred, in suburban markets and sunbelt cities, real estate keeps charging higher. A good example is Boulder, CO, a...
The share of Americans who say they live paycheck-to-paycheck climbed last year, and most of the new arrivals in that category were among the country’s higher earners (greater than 100k), a new study shows. Furthermore 24% had issues paying their bills in...
No this is not a joke, I had to read the recent Fannie Mae press release multiple times to actually believe what I was reading. Who would have ever thought that someone with a high credit score above 740 would be penalized for having a high score. Under a new rule...
US bank lending contracted by the most on record in the last two weeks of March, indicating a tightening of credit conditions in the wake of several high-profile bank collapses. Why the sharp pullback in lending? What does this mean for commercial and residential...
Inflation continues to stick around with core CPI running near record highs. This will keep the federal reserve on a likely path to hike rates once again in May. What does this mean for interest rates and real estate? What happens when interest rates finally...
Presidential nominee Biden has rolled out his proposed tax plan with two major pillars that will impact real estate: 1) Elimination of the 1031 exchange provision 2) elimination of long term capital gains. These two changes, if passed, will have huge implications for...
As the banking crisis unfolds, the media continues to focus on depositors and shareholders. Although both are important, there is an even bigger issue that is not being discussed. According to the FDIC, community banks made 67% of all commercial real estate loans in...
Last week, the president announced an action that will save homebuyers and homeowners with new FHA-insured mortgages $1500 per year (assuming a 500k home), lowering housing costs for an estimated 850,000 home buyers and homeowners in 2023. On the surface, the change...
As a private lender, my call volume and closings the first quarter have been off the charts as borrowers fall out of more conventional products. This trend is now playing out with the Mortgage Credit Availability Index showing substantial tightening of credit for all...
We are looking for a full-time associate in our fast-paced commercial lending office in Sandy Springs, Georgia; this is not a remote position. This position will focus on loan servicing and light accounting. QuickBooks experience required. Real Estate/Banking...
Wow, a few weeks ago rates had fallen from a peak of over 7% to almost 6%. Unfortunately the party was short lived as rates are now heading much higher. The recent jobs report was another blow out upping the odds of another half point increase at the next Fed...
We are looking for a full-time associate in our fast-paced commercial lending office in Sandy Springs, Georgia; this is not a remote position. This position will focus on loan servicing and light accounting. QuickBooks experience required. Real Estate/Banking...
Over 48 hours two banks failed for very different reasons. There is a saying in banking that when rates rise and easy money runs out, we will find the skeletons that have been lurking in plain sight. Are we in for a 2008 rerun? What caused the sudden...
In only a couple of months, the world has changed substantially. In December, inflation was supposedly decreasing rapidly and the odds of a soft landing were non existent. Fast forward a few months and inflation is running hot, consumers are spending like crazy,...
Beginning in March of 2023, Freddie Mac, the largest buyer of mortgages is drastically changing the seasoning requirements for any loans it purchases which basically means any new conventional conforming loan will have to follow the new rules. What big changes are...
Purchasing power from paychecks fell 2.9% for middle-income households in 2022 compared with 2021, while rising 1.5% for the bottom fifth of households and 1.1% for the top, according to the Congressional Budget Office study. Furthermore, nearly 40 percent of...
