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☆ Empty office buildings won't be the solution to the US housing shortage
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US housing market faces an inventory shortage, but empty offices don't offer a solution. Goldman Sachs strategists say that offices can't be cheaply or easily converted into residential units. Goldman Sachs Investment Research, CoStar dataIn the same stretch, a combination of high mortgage rates and home prices with limited housing inventory has frozen the US housing market. Residential housing affordability has declined for the last 15 years and hit a historical low in 2022. "Our analysis implies that only 0.8% of US office inventory is currently priced at a level that makes conversion to multifamily housing financially feasible," the bank maintained.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, —, it's, Goldman, Jan Hatzius Organizations: Service, Goldman Sachs Investment Research, Goldman, San Locations: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle

☆ Here’s where the price of rent is dropping in the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The national median price of rent for apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments fell 0.3% year-over-year to in January. Still, prices are over 18% higher than pre-pandemic levels, due to continued strong demand and limited supply in some markets. The national median rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $1,892 in January, down 0.6%, while rent for a one-bedroom was essentially flat at $1,591. Still, even with the uptick, Chicago’s median rent of $1,852 is almost $1,000 less than coastal big cities like New York at $2,844 and Los Angeles at $2,829. But the supply of new multifamily housing is growing, which helps to bring down rental prices, according to the report.

Persons: That’s, Realtor.com, ”, Danielle Hale, Hale, weren’t Organizations: DC CNN, Kansas, Las Locations: Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City , Missouri, New York, Angeles, Memphis , Tennessee, Atlanta, Austin , Texas, Louis , Missouri, Miami, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston

☆ An Incredible New Housing Map Could Help Bring Down Home Prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Which means there are more than 30,000 different sets of zoning rules in America. AdvertisementFor the first time, a team of researchers is compiling every city's zoning rules into a National Zoning Atlas. Cities and towns in both states, they could see, penalize or outright prohibit duplexes and other forms of housing that bring down prices and help prevent urban sprawl. Enacting a more permissive set of zoning rules gave everyone something they wanted. "The state of California has been passing zoning change after zoning change," Freemark says, "but it's still facing low housing construction statewide."

Persons: you've, nix, we'll, Sara Bronin, It's, Bronin, we'd, Kendall Cotton, Lefty, Cotton, Montana, Yonah Freemark, Freemark, Italo, Marco Polo, Kublai Khan, Polo Organizations: America, Zoning, Cornell University, Big Sky, California ., Urban Institute Locations: America, we're, Milford , Connecticut, Montana, California, California . Cities, Los Angeles, Missoula, LA

☆ New home construction in the US plummeted to a 5-month low in January
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Yuheng Zhan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Housing starts collapsed 14.8% month-over-month in January to a five-month low, according to Census Bureau data released Friday. The decline in new construction flies against the trends of strong and rising demand throughout 2023 and into this year. It also marks a reversal from a period of rising supply seen recently, with new housing starts jumping 14.8% last November. David Rosenberg, economist and president of Rosenberg Research, said in a note that it's hard to determine how much seasonal factors like inclement weather played a part in sending construction starts tumbling last month. Rosenberg added that a strong pipeline of multifamily construction will continue to impact the market for the foreseeable future.

Persons: David Rosenberg, West . Rosenberg Organizations: Business, Rosenberg Research Locations: Midwest, West

☆ Why it’s so hard to find an apartment you can afford
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington, DC CNN —Finding a new apartment to rent can be a slog. In New York City, the rental vacancy rate, which is the share of habitable unoccupied units, has dropped to a record low 1.4%. In Boston, the rental vacancy rate was a very tight 2.6% at the end of last year, according to the Census Bureau. However, the most recent vacancy rate is also lower than the more typical 3.6% from prior to the pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%.

Persons: Maria Torres, ”, Orphe Divounguy, “, that’s, Lawrence Yun, Yun Organizations: DC CNN, New York City Department of Housing Preservation, Development, Census, New York City, Springer, Real Estate Investment Services, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, National Association of Realtors Locations: Washington, Northeastern, New York, Boston, New York City, Yorker, Manhattan, Northeast, Southern, Austin , Texas

☆ Investors bought a record 26% of the affordable houses in the US last quarter
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Yuheng Zhan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US property investors snapped up 26.1% of low-priced homes in the fourth quarter, a record share. Single-family homes accounted for more than two-thirds of investors' purchases in Q4, at 68.6%. Zooming in, low-priced homes accounted for 46.5% of investor purchases, with mid-priced homes at 24.6% and high-priced homes at 28.8%. Inventory is still low across the country as sellers cling to lower mortgage rates they locked in years ago. It's worth noting though that big institutions make up a small percentage of investors in the market buying homes.

Persons: —, Redfin, Carrie Caruthers, Sheharyar Organizations: Service, Department of Housing, Urban Development Locations: California

☆ The number of new commercial mortgages plummeted 47% last year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Mortgage originations in commercial real estate fell 47% through 2023, Mortgage Bankers Association said. AdvertisementMortgage originations for commercial properties dropped 47% in 2023, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. The drawdown came as weak confidence bears down on commercial real estate. Despite these obstacles, MBA previously anticipated that commercial mortgage lending would climb into 2024, gaining 29% to an expected volume of $476 billion. Advertisement"2023 is likely to go into the record books as the slowest year for commercial real estate borrowing and lending in roughly a decade," MBA Head of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell said in January's report.

Persons: —, Jamie Woodwell, Woodwell, Morgan Stanley Organizations: Mortgage Bankers Association, Service, Healthcare, Real

☆ Commercial real estate investment plummeted to the lowest level since 2012 last year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Yuheng Zhan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThe US commercial real estate market saw a steep drop in investment last year, with capital flows into the market plummeting by more than 50% to the lowest level since 2012. That brought the full-year investment total to $348 billion, a 52% decline from 2022, according to CBRE. CBRE noted a 91% year-over-year drop in direct real estate company investments to $1.4 billion in Q4, citing increased financing costs. New York took the lead with $33 billion in investment, followed by Los Angeles at $30 billion. AdvertisementThe dimming outlook for commercial real estate —offices in particular — is linked to the tighter financing conditions that many commercial landlords now face.

Persons: —, CBRE, Barry Sternlicht Organizations: Service, Business, New York, Los, Starwood Capital, Capital Locations: Los Angeles

☆ NYCB's slide sparks fears of more banking and commercial real estate turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The regional bank reported disappointing earnings, stoking fears of commercial real estate trouble. AdvertisementA smaller lender is facing a firesale of its stock fueled by concerns about its stability, echoing the regional-banking problems last year that stoked fears of a full-blown financial crisis and commercial real estate meltdown. AdvertisementThe increases hit the value of their fixed-income and commercial real estate portfolios. In particular, commercial real estate is under pressure from ongoing remote working, tighter credit availability as lenders have pulled back, and higher debt costs, all of which have weighed on asset values. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers this week she expects the commercial real estate pressures to "put a loss of stress" on property owners, although she expected it to be manageable, Bloomberg reported.

Persons: stoking, —, stoked, NYCB, Banks, Moody's, Wall, Thomas Cangemi, pare, Janet Yellen Organizations: Community Bancorp, Service, New York Community Bancorp, Flagstar Bank, Signature Bank, Valley Bank, Silvergate, Bloomberg, Federal

☆ 18 million rental units are at risk as climate disasters get more common, Harvard study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

More than 18 million occupied rental units are exposed to climate-related risks, Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies said in a new study. This could strain rental stock supply, boost prices, and cause a jump in evictions. Specifically, about 18.2 million units are at risk of substantial loss damage, whether from hurricanes, wildfires, floods, earthquakes and similar hazards. "Notably, newer rental units are much more likely to be vulnerable to weather- and climate-related hazards. US rental supply is now at its oldest level ever, with millions of rental units deficient in some form.

Persons: It's, DeltaTerra's Dave Burt Organizations: for Housing Studies, Service, Harvard's, NOAA National Centers for Environmental, Street Foundation

☆ New York Community Bancorp’s credit rating downgraded to junk on real estate concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Embattled regional bank New York Community Bancorp suffered another blow Tuesday evening as Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its credit rating to junk status. Shares of New York Community Bancorp tumbled 17% in after-hours trading Tuesday evening after the downgrade. Moody’s is keeping New York Community Bancorp’s credit rating on review, signaling further downgrades are possible. New York Community Bancorp did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen declined to specifically comment on New York Community Bancorp’s troubles during a hearing on Tuesday.

Persons: Moody’s, ”, Wall, ” Moody’s, Janet Yellen, Yellen, “ I’m, ” Yellen Organizations: CNN, New, New York Community Bancorp, Moody’s Investors Service, Community Bancorp, New York Community, Silicon Valley Bank, York Community Bancorp, Financial Services Committee Locations: New York, New, Silicon

☆ Rent is unaffordable for over half of US tenants, but the cost is cooling
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The median asking rent was $1,713, which was down $4 from November and down $63 from the July 2022 peak. However, median rent is still $309 higher than the same time in 2019, before the pandemic. What’s more, 12 million of those renters are severely cost burdened, which means they are paying more than half of their income on housing. Following changes in housing needs during the pandemic and an already existing low supply of multifamily housing in some markets, rents surged in 2021 and 2022. Without continued new supply in addition to enhanced rental support, the Harvard report concludes affordability will remain a critical concern for many renters.

Persons: Chris Herbert, ”, Whitney Airgood, Douglas Elliman, Miller Samuel Real, “, Anthemos Georgiades, ” Georgiades Organizations: DC CNN, Harvard University’s, for Housing Studies, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard, Census Bureau, Builders, National Association of Home Builders, Baby Boomers Locations: Washington, United States, Manhattan

☆ Frustrated by healthcare's failings, the rich are investing in biotech to live longer and healthier
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementWinter is part of a growing group of family office principals, including heirs like himself and first-generation entrepreneurs, who are making direct investments in pursuit of longer and healthier lives. They are in good company; longevity startups drew global investment of more than $5.2 billion in 2022 , according to a venture capital firm, Longevity Tech Fund, which used PitchBook data. She and some of her clients are investors in Maximon, a Switzerland-based longevity fund that includes "healthspan clinics" in its portfolio. Eric Becker, cofounder of wealth manager Cresset , and his two sons founded a family office and picked Blue Zone Foods as its first investment. Courtesy of CressetFor Becker, whose daughter died of leukemia at 21, and his family, longevity is not an abstract topic.

Persons: Maximilian Winter, doggedly, Lyme, Fritz Winter, Peter Thiel, There's, Peter Fioretti, David Sinclair, Kathrin Genovese, ultrarich, Genovese, Eric Becker, Cresset, Dan Yadegar, Becker, Johnny Walker Organizations: Longevity Tech Fund, Harmonix, Biotech, UBS, Winter's Harmonix Fund, Blue, Foods, Becker Venture Partners, Newpath Partners Locations: Santa Barbara, Quinta , California, Maximon, Switzerland, Zurich

☆ American's housing shortage won't be solved for years to come
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThe tight housing market has shown recent signs of easing, but Moody's Analytics still anticipates Americans will face inventory snags for years to come. Based on data from the end of December, the monthly sales pace implies 3.2 months' of housing inventory, according to the National Association of Realtors. That shortage suggests a recovery in the housing market remains years away, the researchers said. "One good year of 'excessive' supply was only in its relative term when compared with affordability-constrained demand," Moody's researchers said. Ultimately, to Moody's, increasing housing inventory and rebalancing the market will take years of "joint effort and creativity" across the public and private sectors.

Persons: —, Nick Villa, Moody's Organizations: Service, Business, National Association of Realtors, NAR

☆ Renters on a budget should look in these 27 cities where apartment prices are plunging
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

One-bedroom rent rose by less than 1% for the fifth-straight month after rising for 12 consecutive months starting in October 2021. Rent growth in the US is far from its pandemic peak, according to the January rent report from @Zumper. pic.twitter.com/3QhWPCyaUp — James Faris (@JamesFaris_) January 25, 2024Apartment prices have been driven down by surging supply, Zumper noted. Many renters are now enjoying perks that would've been unheard of during the pandemic, including waived security deposits and a free month of rent, Zumper found. Below are 27 metropolitan areas where the going rental rate for a one-bedroom apartment is at least 5% lower than it was last January, according to Zumper.

Persons: 3QhWPCyaUp — James Faris, @JamesFaris_, Zumper, Anthemos Georgiades Organizations: Business Locations: @Zumper

☆ More Tenants Can Now Add Rent Payments to Their Credit Score
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Ann Carrns | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

As it stands, few landlords routinely report rent payments to credit bureaus. (Negative rent information can end up in credit files if a landlord reports delinquent accounts or sends them to a collection agency.) But in recent years, policymakers have been exploring whether consumers can benefit from having on-time rent payments included in credit scores, just as payments for mortgages, car loans and credit cards are. Reporting on-time rent payments is viewed as a way to reduce disparities in homeownership. TransUnion has been able to include rent payments in its credit reports since 2016 and has seen increasing interest from property managers, said Maitri Johnson, vice president of tenant and employment screening at the credit bureau.

Persons: isn’t, Fannie Mae, TransUnion, Maitri Johnson, Johnson Organizations: Self Financial, Urban Institute Locations: homeownership

☆ It's not just you: It's getting harder and harder to find cheap rent across the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Eliza Relman | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

If you've been struggling to find a cheap rental, you're not alone: Low-rent apartments are harder to find than ever. And homes with rent between $600 and $799 fell from almost 9 million to 5.8 million units. Meanwhile, the number of homes that rent for at least $2,000 per month more than doubled, climbing from about 3.2 million to 7.3 million homes. This is just more evidence of the housing affordability crisis many cities and towns across the country are facing. Middle-income renters — those who make between $30,000 and $74,999 annually — saw the most dramatic increase in housing costs between 2019 and 2022.

Persons: you've, — Organizations: Service, Business, Harvard's, for Housing Studies, Harvard Locations: California

☆ Blackstone is gearing up for a real-estate buying spree. Here are the types of properties it's eyeing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Blackstone sees a light at the end of the tunnel for the troubled commercial real estate market — and the private equity giant is not waiting for things to settle down before it starts picking winners. "While it will take time, we can see the pillars of a real estate recovery coming into place." Gray noted that the firm made three major real estate transactions in the past two months, including its $3.5 billion deal to take Canadian real estate firm Tricon Residential private. He said the company sees further buying opportunities in residential real estate, including single-family rentals and multi-family rentals. The Tricon transaction, he said, was focused on single-family homes for rent: "That space, because of the shortage of single-family homes, has been much stronger."

Persons: Blackstone, Jonathan Gray, Gray, we've Organizations: Business, Signature Bank, Savings, Loans, Invitation Homes

☆ Commercial mortgage lending to jump 29% in 2024 after slowest year in a decade, Mortgage Bankers Association says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Commercial mortgage borrowing will rise 29% this year, the Mortgage Bankers Association estimates. AdvertisementCommercial and multifamily mortgage borrowing and lending is forecast to surge 29% from last year's estimated total of $444 billion, the Mortgage Bankers Association estimates. "2023 is likely to go into the record books as the slowest year for commercial real estate borrowing and lending in roughly a decade," MBA Head of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell said in the report. AdvertisementTighter monetary policy since 2022 has pushed up borrowing costs across the commercial real estate market, and resulted in stricter lending standards among mortgage originators. Raichura expects prices to drop off another 10% this year, while a December outlook from NBER outlined that total commercial real estate losses could amount to $160 billion.

Persons: —, Jamie Woodwell, Kiran Raichura, Woodwell Organizations: Mortgage, Association, Service, Real, Federal Reserve

☆ Office properties lead surge in commercial real estate delinquency rates
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Aruni Soni | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Delinquency rates on loans backed by office properties jumped to 6.5% in the fourth quarter, an MBA survey found. Out of all the commercial real estate loan delinquency rates tracked by the survey, office loans led the pack. AdvertisementFinancial troubles continue to plague the office market, which led an increase in commercial real estate loan delinquency rates. Zooming out, the commercial real estate sector has been in a pinch ever since interest rate hikes made borrowing money a lot more expensive. AdvertisementStill, MBA's survey found that while the office market segment of commercial real estate is still wobbling, other slices of the sector are recovering.

Persons: —, multifamily, Jamie Woodwell Organizations: Service, Financial, Mortgage Bankers Association, Capital Economics

☆ Here are 3 ways Gen Zers can build credit before renting their own place
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Fg Trade | E+ | Getty ImagesRising inventory is helping push rent prices down. Many Gen Zers are still living with their parentsWhile some older Gen Zers were able to become homeowners during the Covid-19 pandemic, most did not. Gen Z includes those born between 1996 and 2012, according to Pew Research Center's definition, and the youngest members of that cohort are still teens and tweens. Of the Gen Z adults who currently rent, 27% say they can no longer afford the cost, the firm found. In the meantime, there are ways Gen Z adults can prepare, especially those at home saving on expenses.

Persons: Gen, Daryl Fairweather, Jacob Channel, It's, Zers, Intuit Credit Karma, Melissa Lambarena Organizations: Pew Research, Intuit Credit, Finance Locations: U.S

☆ The state of the US housing market in 5 charts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-05 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThe US housing market is facing historic unaffordability and it's kept countless Americans sidelined or forced to face hefty monthly home payments. This lock-in effect has created a tale of two markets: those who have been crushed by high mortgage rates and those who have mostly gotten by unaffected. Many Americans secured lower mortgage rates during the pandemic. AdvertisementBut in 2023, that dearth of supply for existing homes was a boon for homebuilders — and Wall Street took notice. William BlairFreddie Mac Multi-family Home Serious Delinquency Rate William Blair, Freddie MacUltimately, in 2024 William Blair forecasts supply to improve, mortgage rates to fall, and existing homeowners to return to the market out of necessity.

Persons: —, it's, William Blair, Richard de Chazal, homebuilders, William Blair's, de Chazal, William Blair Freddie Mac, Freddie Mac Organizations: Service, Industry, Business, National Association of Realtors, Federal, Wall, Bloomberg

As a financial planner, I have clients asking about investing in real estate on a regular basis. Real estate shouldn't be seen as passive income — it takes a lot of work and a lot of risk. But most people who are curious about investing in real estate have a lot of false assumptions and little knowledge or experience. Start Investing in Real Estate without Getting a Mortgage Fundrise is one of the best real estate investing apps for non-accredited investors looking to make long-term investments in real estate. But virtually no real estate investment is truly passive income.

Persons: shouldn't, — Organizations: Service Locations: Real

☆ Inside the chaotic Thanksgiving-weekend collapse of homebuilder startup Veev that left employees shocked and worried about their jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But for workers of Lennar-backed homebuilder Veev, they were spent scrambling to determine if they would still have jobs come Monday. Speaking to the "Veev Family," he wrote: "Family will stay in touch and together forever, even if it is going to be only within our hearts." The company has about 250 employees, according to news site Calcalist. "We call it the Veev family," Haller said. On a very personal note, for me Amit Haller, Veev was my personal journey in the past 15 years, half of my professional career and about ⅓ of my entire life.

Persons: Amit Haller, Veev, Haller, doesn't, we're, homebuilder, Kleiner Perkins, Bond, Lennar, Linda Keala, Ami, Amit Organizations: Business, Dragonfly, Wall, Center, Real Estate, Technology Innovation, Employees, Dafna Locations: California, Tel Aviv, Hayward , California, Haller, Reali, @nicollsanddimes, .

☆ It's never been a smarter time to rent instead of buying a home — especially in these 32 US cities where landlords' asking prices are plummeting back to earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Buying a home has never been more expensive relative to renting, according to new research from online rental platform Zumper . Rent was up at the slowest year-over-year pace this month since December 2020, according to Zumper. 32 cities where rent is down meaningfullyFortunately for renters, declines in apartment asking prices are both significant and widespread. Below are the 32 cities where the median rent for a one-bedroom setup is at least 3% lower now than it was in 2022, according to Zumper. Along with each metropolitan area are its year-over-year and month-over-month rent changes, average rent price, and national rent ranking among the largest 100 US cities.

Persons: Zumper, Anthemos Georgiades Organizations: Business Locations: Sun

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