Rosen on the Housing, Mortgage, and CRE Markets

Kenneth Rosen, Chairman of the Fisher Center at UC Berkeley recently provided his take to the FCIC (Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission) on the current state of the market as it relates to housing, mortgages, and commercial real estate, as well as policy remarks on moving forward from here.
The entire document is embedded below, but on [...]

Sam Zell on CNBC Discusses Housing and More

…bottom already seen on residential, and fairly optimistic on the demand side of the equation for institutional CBD office space.

BAAQMD Seeking To Require Developers to Study Air Quality

The Mercury News reported yesterday on a proposal by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District that could require some housing developers to go study air quality as part of their entitlement process. According to the article, developments within 1,000 feet of major transportation corridors seem to be those affected.
The air district already has a [...]

Housing Market Not As Healthy As Low End Would Suggest

For months now we’ve been hearing of the housing market picking up, starting with the low end. We’ve seen a healthy uptick in volume, and even price increases, but we’ve been skeptical about the durability. The reason being is that home lending by the FHA has filled the vacuum left by the departure of the [...]

Unemployment Benefits and Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended

After weeks of partisan debate, the Senate voted on Wednesday to lengthen unemployment benefits by up to 20 weeks and to extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit.
The closely watched legislation would extend jobless benefits in all states by 14 weeks. Those that live in states with unemployment greater than 8.5% would receive an additional six [...]

Laugh or Cry? 4-Year Old Buys A House

Ah, the great american tax credit. Not a deduction, but a fully refundable tax credit. And when you can get into a house for 3.5% down or less (with seller or other first time home buyer program help) with the government’s help, what did you expect to happen? It seems we’ve come a long way since the [...]

Silicon Valley Apartment Rents Down

So says RealFacts.
On rents…

Rents on apartments in Santa Clara County dove by 10 percent in Santa Clara County in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, a report said Wednesday.
RealFacts said rents asked at large complexes fell to a two-year low of $1,536, down from $1,708 last year and $1,522 in the second quarter [...]

Starwood Gets Corus; Pays 60 Cents on the Dollar

A group led by Starwood Capital and TPG Partners officially won the auction for the Corus Bank assets. It was reported that the group paid about $500M more than the nearest competitor for the deal, which raised some eyebrows.
The deal has investors putting in about $550M for a 40% stake in a company that the [...]

Fallout

Hey, it’s Detroit, but still…..
Last week I read in the morning paper about a street here where 60 out of 66 homes were vacant or abandoned on a single block. The reporter called it a “ghost street.” Yesterday I found myself in the area. Other than an errant sofa, the street was completely empty, almost peaceful. I [...]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Lift Foreclosure Moratorium

GSE lender’s Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae had instituted a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions back in November, and on March 31st announced that they would be lifting that ban.
A full article on the lift can be read here but a ban is not a solution to any of the problems that are being faced. In [...]