In Case You Missed It: Week of May 16 – 20
New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily caps should drive sales in 2016; NYC’s zoning code turns 100; rent growth slows in larger markets.
Forty Percent of the Buildings in Manhattan Could Not Be Built Today
The New York Times – The Upshot – May 20, 2016
“New York City’s zoning code turns 100 this year. That may not sound like cause for celebration — except maybe for land-use lawyers and Robert Moses aficionados. Yet for almost every New Yorker, the zoning code plays an outsize role in daily life, shaping virtually every inch of the city.”
How to Stop Our Cities from Turning into Gated Communities for the Super Rich
MarketWatch – May 18, 2016
“It’s a long way from the days when cities were grappling with an exodus of people and their wealth; now they fear becoming too exclusive. A recent analysis by real estate information company Zillow Group Inc. Z, +1.10% shows many homeowners spending at least a third of their income on mortgages in some cities, while renters in general spend an even bigger percentage of their income on housing.”
New Caps for Fannie and Freddie Should Help Drive Growth in Multifamily Sales in 2016
National Real Estate Investor – May 18, 2016
“The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on May 4th that it has increased the 2016 multifamily lending caps for Fannie and Freddie from $31 billion to $35 billion each, effective immediately. That is a substantive move higher from caps that were set at $30 billion and $25.9 billion for both 2014 and 2013. Add in the uncapped business, and the combined agency lending could approach $100 billion this year.”
Larger Apartment Markets Push Down Rent Growth
MultifamilyBiz – May 17, 2016
“Increasing moderation in larger markets pushed national annual effective rent growth down to 3.9% in April 2016, the first time the rate has been below 4.0% since July 2014, according to Axiometrics, the leader in apartment and student housing market intelligence.”
New Freddie Mac Apartment Index Helps Determine if It’s a Good Time to Invest
Freddie Mac – May 16, 2016
“How does investing in Multifamily properties today compare to past quarters? Is it a favorable time to invest in Multifamily properties? The New Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index (AIMI(SM)) is a free online analysis tool that combines key multifamily-specific economic indicators to spot trends and provide insight into investment conditions in select major metros and nationally over time.”
And now for something completely different…
Can a 700 M.P.H. Train in a Tube Be for Real?
The New York Times – May 19, 2016
“I went to Las Vegas recently to view the first test of Hyperloop. As someone who experiences aging infrastructure daily and desires something better, I was ready to be convinced of the feasibility and future of this idea, which has become one of the purest expressions of techno-optimism.”