Here is yet another very significant indicia of the declining real estate market, as of April 2008, as reported by Inman News:
There has been a 28 percent decline in revenue which helped push title insurer LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. to a $24.2 million first-quarter loss, despite ongoing cost-cutting measures that include the elimination of the equivalent […]

So, what is the state of the commercial real estate market. That tis the question?
Here is perhaps a glimmer of understanding — and some hard data – at the end of April 2008. Once again, we are trying desperately to read the tea leaves as to what the future holds ….
US commercial real estate prices crept […]

In a sign of things to come, the Baltimore Business Journal’s Tierney Plumb just posted some sombering news …
The forecast for commercial construction this year looks bleak, according to the latest survey from the American Institute of Architects. The Washington, D.C.-based group’s monthly survey gives a glimpse into the future of nonresidential construction activity by showing a nine […]

For the last couple of months now, there has been talk in the commercial real estate industry that life insurance companies were or would be stepping in to fill the financing void left by the cessation of CMBS market activity.
In fact, just two weeks ago, on 4 April 2008, we posted a Blog about […]

Here is somthing to ponder. Is it possiblle. Will we still be talking about the mortgage meltdown and housing slump in 2018?
According to Matt Carter in his Inman Blog the answer is YES.
He highlights how analysts at JP Morgan say the credit crunch will affect the structure of financial markets and pricing for […]

Recently in SeekingAlpha, the noted trend tracker of the financial markets, we see a variety of troubling signs that things are starting to snowball, in a negative direction. Are they real or are they just red herrings? This post is an attempt at an academic, objective overview. What do you think? How do you read […]

I know. I too want to look for  positive news, but facts are facts, as they say.
Get a load of this news ….
In Jessica Swesey’s Blog on Inman News, she writes a mind blowing and incredibly scary article called: Hey subprime meltdown, I want my $143 back.
Check out these facts and projections:

The International Monetary Fundestimated […]

Getting a bead on commercial deal volume is something we all want to get a handle on, especially when the activity level is down to a trickle.
In terms of current data, The Maryland Daily Record, just provided us with an overview of the commercial real estate market in Maryland by summarizing the comprehensive report on the near […]

Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (otherwise know as “RESPA”) reform is back, and in a big way. On Friday, March 14, 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) published its proposed regulations to reform RESPA. 
Ironically, HUD partially titles its rule a “Proposed Rule to Simplify and Improve the Process of Obtaining […]

At MarylandCommercialTitle we actively track commercial real estate activity and the trending that is taking place in the market.  
We focus our attention on deal volumes, as this benchmark is a key threshold for all real estate professionals, for obvious reasons.
We first raised the CMBX Index issue – the little known London-based index that tracks the values […]