OverviewThis publication summarises intelligence from the Bank’s Agents considered by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its March meeting. The intelligence was gathered in the six weeks to mid-February. The Agents’ scores published alongside this document generally represent developments over the past three months compared with the same three months a year ago.Falling inflation and an up-tick in optimism – contingent on interest rates/financing costs following suit – are driving expectations of recovery among contacts. This is consistent with the MPC’s expectation of a gradual pickup in GDP growth over the next two or three years, as set out in…
Author: Private Lending Agent
Stay up to date with free updatesSimply sign up to the myFT Digest of Real Estate and have it delivered straight to your inbox.The plucky, somewhat unassuming Canadian insurance company known as Manulife doesn't get much attention, but it sent shock waves through the real estate world this week.Just before Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell announced that the central bank would keep interest rates unchanged at 5.5% from 5.25%, Manulife Chief Financial Officer Collin Simpson revealed that the company had written down the value of its U.S. office investments by 40% from their pre-COVID peak. “We believe our real estate…
Looking back at my 20+ years in real estate, if I could give advice to my 20-year-old self, I would give it with the wisdom I have gained from all the experiences I have had. Here is what I would share: Don’t give up your real estate: If I could do it over again, I would not give up all the real estate I own. Buy, buy, buy: Buy real estate early and often. It's like planting a seed that will grow into a money tree. Of course, you have to do it smartly: choose the right property, do your…
Investors are reselling homes at the slowest pace in 15 years, with investment returns from resales falling to the lowest since 2007. Two-thirds of resold homes are still purchased with cash. IRVINE, CA – March 21, 2024 – ATTOM, a leading curator of land, real estate and property data, today released its Year-End 2023 U.S. Home Resales Report, which found that 308,922 single-family homes and condominiums were resold in the U.S. in 2023. This represents a 29.3% decrease from 436,807 in 2022 and the largest annual decline since 2008. The report also found that as the number of homes resold…
The Federal Reserve opted to keep interest rates high on Wednesday as progress toward lowering inflation stalled.The move will delay the Fed's anticipated rate cuts this year, but the central bank stuck to its previous forecast of three rate cuts by the end of 2024.The federal funds rate is hovering between 5.25% and 5.5%, its highest level since 2001.The decision came about a week after the latest inflation data showed that inflation rose in February, the latest sign that efforts to rein in prices were hitting an uphill climb.Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of 9.1%, but is still…
Germany's commercial real estate crisis could pose problems for the country's banks, which have heavy exposure to the sector. advertisementThe rapidly worsening commercial real estate crisis in Europe could also have an impact on European banks. As of July 2023, European banks had committed around €1.4 trillion to lending to the commercial real estate sector, according to the European Banking Authority (EBA).Germany has been particularly hard hit and is currently facing its most severe real estate crisis in years, mainly as more property developers experience rising borrowing costs as interest rates soar.As a result, more developers are facing bankruptcy and…
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC on March 20, 2024. Following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Chairman Powell announced that the Fed will keep interest rates on hold but may cut rates three times later this year. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Hide caption Toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC on March 20, 2024. Following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Chairman Powell announced that the Fed will keep interest rates steady but may cut rates three times later this year. Chip…
A view from the balcony of the Trump Palace luxury condominium in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. [+] May 15, 2017 – More than half of Miami's foreign property buyers, 54 percent, are from Latin America, according to the National Association of Realtors. (Photo: RHONA WISE / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Leila MACOR, lifestyle, United States, luxury architecture, urban planning (Photo: RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images Blockchain technology continues to evolve despite all the debate, prejudice, regulatory mandates and speculation. An existing application of blockchain technology, tokenization, has recently seen real-world use in the…
The Army Corps of Engineers is working to secure access to the land during what is expected to be a difficult period in Maui's recovery. The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded Hawaii-based Hui Huliau Technology Services a $159 million contract to demolish hazardous structures and remove debris and ash from 140 commercial and public buildings destroyed by a fire that broke out Aug. 8 in Lahaina. Crews began work on the project last week, a key step in restoring the town's nearly destroyed economic center, but fewer than a third of the businesses are enrolled in the program, a…
Commercial real estate is in trouble. Skeptics need only look to Realty Income (NYSE:O), a perennial favorite “monthly dividend company” among income and REIT investors, for evidence. Shares of the top commercial real estate stock have fallen more than 11% since January 1, with limited upside potential. The reasons are as varied as you're likely to recognize: rising interest rates, permanent work-from-home arrangements, and weak consumer confidence.But Realty Income isn't the only one struggling. As you might expect, office space, once priced at a premium, has fallen sharply, and the REITs that own the real estate are following suit. Clients…