In this episode of “The Inside Look,” Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist Xander Snyder discusses the slowdown in commercial real estate transaction volume in the first quarter of 2024.For more insights on First American Title NCS, watch below and subscribe to the CRE Insider blog: Transcript: Hello, I'm Zander Snyder and this is First American's Inside Look. There's no escaping it. Commercial real estate transaction volume was sluggish in the first quarter of this year. Commercial real estate transaction volume in Q1 was only about $52 billion, the lowest quarter since Q2 2020. However, that was still in the early…
Author: Private Lending Agent
The U.S. office sector is still recovering. A recent Commercial Edge report found that the office construction pipeline has fallen by nearly 40% over the past two years, a trend that is likely to continue due to financing challenges, rising construction costs, and weak demand. Vacancy rates are still trending upwards in many markets, reaching 18.2% nationwide as of the end of March, according to the same source. Still, hybrid schedules that offer employees more flexibility and access to popular amenities are bringing some office dwellers back, especially in Class A office buildings. The flight-to-quality trend is spreading across the…
Kiavi, in collaboration with John Burns Research & Consulting and Sundae, published the results of its Fix-and-Flip study for Q1 2024. It found that the Fix-and-Flip market index rose to 66 in Q1 2024, from 64 in Q4 2023 and 62 in Q1 2023. The firm notes that an index value above 50 indicates market expansion, while a value below 50 indicates market contraction. With more than $16 billion in loans under its belt, Kiavi (formerly LendingHome) is one of the nation's largest private lenders to residential real estate investors (REIs). “Looking back at the fix-it-and-flip market in Q1, we…
When real estate broker April Strickland looks at her local housing market in Gainesville, Florida, she sees a mismatch: There are more than 1,500 local real estate agents, even though only a few hundred homes sell each month, according to industry data.Strickland has seen the ups and downs of the housing market since she started managing her parents' rental properties as a teenager in 1995. But she says the business environment over the past two years has been the toughest she can remember, even slower than the years following the 2008 financial crisis.”Frankly, Realtors are running out of money,” Strickland…
A North Carolina Senate bill passed its first committee step Tuesday that would give commercial real estate developers a lower-cost financing option available in 35 states.The proposed bipartisan bill has been sought for years by out-of-state developers looking to enter or expand their investments in North Carolina, including downtown Winston-Salem.Senate Bill 802, titled “C-PACE Program,” was recommended by the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee.A similar version of Senate Bill 42 was not heard out of committee during the 2023 session and must complete rigorous review by five committees before reaching the Senate floor.PACE is the abbreviation for the federal Program…
The commercial real estate market is currently facing an imminent crisis that experts predict could surpass the difficulties experienced during the 2008 financial recession. Morgan Stanley analysts have expressed concern for the industry, citing recent loan defaults by major office landlords and declining demand for office space as warning signs. Moreover, the situation is becoming increasingly precarious with a large number of commercial mortgages due for refinancing in the coming years. In this article, we will look at the various factors that could lead to a potential crisis and examine whether we could see a commercial real estate market crash…
For many restaurants and small businesses in Oakland, being the target of a break-in is an all-too-familiar reality. So far this year, the Oakland Police Department has received 379 reports of commercial burglaries citywide, a 47% decrease compared to the same time last year. But last year was an exceptionally bad one. Commercial burglaries across Oakland are up 9% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the Oakland Police Department's annual crime data. Whether you're a new Oakland business or have been in business for years, experiencing a break-in can be demoralizing and leave you feeling violated. To help you…
To buy an expensive home or live in an expensive location, many home buyers have to spend a lot of money. They need a jumbo loan.Most mortgage programs have strict government-imposed loan limits that change annually and vary by location, but are generally capped at just under $1 million. If you're after a more expensive property, you'll need to use a jumbo loan instead.Not all lenders offer jumbo mortgages, but those that do have much higher limits: Chase, for example, offers jumbo loans up to $9.5 million; Bank of America offers $5 million.Need a bigger loan to buy a home?…
Most people, especially home buyers, are aware that mortgage interest rates have been steadily rising from less than 3% in 2021 to recent highs of around 7%, but what they may not realize is that at the same time there has been a surge in borrowers paying to get a lower interest rate.About 45% of borrowers purchased mortgage points (also known as discount points) to reduce their monthly payments in 2022. This compares to 29% of borrowers who purchased mortgage points in 2021, 28% in 2020 and 27% in 2019, according to a recent analysis by Zillow Home Loans.”As soon…
213 Samantha Burns, International Banker The global commercial real estate (CRE) sector is currently under severe pressure as interest rates remain high in many parts of the world. Nowhere is this more pronounced or systemically important than in the United States, home to the world's largest commercial real estate market. With real estate debt maturing over the next three years, there is growing speculation that the U.S. banking sector could again slip into a major crisis if default rates on CRE loans rise to unmanageable levels. CRE loans represent roughly a quarter of the average lender's assets and a staggering…