Archive for July, 2008

Finally: Some Good RE News!

By: Myles, July 31st, 2008

Is there finally some positive real estate news to report on? Looks like it. As we drill down on the raw data, and move away from a macro view, there just maybe activity that is starting to turn positive.

As reported in The Mortgage Reports, for the third straight month, at least 15 of the nation’s 20 largest […]

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Update: Most Important Housing Bill in a Generation?

By: Myles, July 30th, 2008

The omnibus housing bill, otherwise officially know as Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, passed  in a 72-13 vote Saturday (July 26, 2008), the Senate concurred with previous House amendments to HR 3221.
In effect, the passing of this bill, grants the Bush administration’s request to give the Treasury Department the temporary authority to buy an unlimited amount of the […]

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NO CMBS deals: Now what?

By: Myles, July 24th, 2008

When searching for answers regarding the workings of financial markets – past, present and into the future – it is often wise to turn to The Wharton School, one of the most well respected academic institutions, for insights.

In a thoughtful piece entitled, Collateralized Damage: Commercial Mortgage Securities Are at a Standstill, the on-line journal, […]

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Largest Monthly U.S. CRE Decline ….

By: Myles, July 22nd, 2008

As we have said on many occassions, commercial real estate is a lagging economic indicator. We have seen the strain in other areas like residential property (sub-prime crisis), rising food and gas prices, and a tightening of consumer finance options (Home Equity Lines Of Credit (HELOC), Credit Card Defaults, etc.).
Now the tail is finally starting to wag the […]

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Are we in a CRECESSION?

By: Myles, July 21st, 2008

According to Noah Rosenblatts post in UrbanDigs,
we are currently in a CRECESSION. 

Noah coins an interesting term that describes the odd economic state that we currently find ourselves in. He calls this state a – Crecession. Here is the formal definition: 
A period of economic activity where available credit is contracting and the cost of credit is rising, leading to […]

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Could things get worse?

By: Myles, July 20th, 2008

Here’s the potential $2.8 trillion dollar question. In a revealing article in the New York Times, they investigate the question of how bad could things get? Since World War II, there have been 18 banking crises in industrial countries. The worst five were caused by changing lending standards or real estate bubbles (often both) and […]

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When truth is stranger than fiction: A CRE Microcosm

By: Myles, July 18th, 2008

The Wall Street Journals Jonathan Karp provides a fascinating expose’, entitled HARD MONEY: Real-Estate Financier’s Death Hints At Trouble for Lenders, detailing a griping personal tale of Scott Coles and his company Mortgages, Ltd., that outlines a bizarre set of facts even greater than what fiction could believably spin.  
Unfortunately this story is true, and arguably representative […]

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The Fed Statement: What WAS NOT said …

By: Myles, July 15th, 2008

We never sugar coat the news, but rather provide the latest installments of information, unfettered, and in a timely fashion.

Our mission is to evaluate events and provide our clients and strategic partners with critical information that will immediately become valuable assets in their business and personal lives. Todays entry is no exception ….

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testified before the U.S. […]

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The State of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Mid-Year 2008

By: Myles, July 10th, 2008

As just reported in InmanNews, shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hit 17-year lows today (July 10, 2008) as investors’ fears about the companies’ ability to raise additional capital fueled speculation of the possibility of a government bailout.
Along these lines, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) has issued a statement on the […]

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Home Prices and Net Worth are Dropping … Fast

By: Myles, July 9th, 2008

What will 2009 do to our home values and networth? Read on, and see what some experts predict.
 BofA sees additional 15% drop in real estate prices: Bank of America expects home prices will fall an additional 15 percent nationwide and 20 percent in California, BofA Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis said in an interview with […]

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