In Case Your Missed It: Week of June 6 – 10
Rent Affordability; Luxury Slowdown (Outside of Manhattan); CRE Prices at a Historic Peak; Who Pays to Keep the Lights On?
Buying or renting, housing affordability just gets worse
CNBC — June 09, 2016
“Mortgage rates may be hovering near record lows, but it’s not enough to counter the sky-high, and still rising, prices in many of the nation’s largest housing markets.”
Manhattan’s luxury market is sputtering back to life
The Real Deal — June 09, 2016
“After getting pummeled in the first quarter, Manhattan’s luxury condominium market looks to be getting off the mat. Brokers say they have seen a rise in sales activity since April, spurred by lower asking prices, stabilizing financial markets, and warmer weather.”
In large metros, apartment rent slowdown more acute in luxury zip codes than metro wide
Zillow — June 7, 2016
“After growing at a blistering pace for much of 2015, apartment rents across the county are growing at a slower pace thus far in 2016 – and the slowdown has been particularly dramatic on luxury apartment rent in higher-end ZIP codes.”
Wall Street Said to Plan First CMBS to Meet Risk-Retention Rules
Bloomberg — June 6, 2016
“Three U.S. banks are planning to sell the first commercial mortgage bonds to comply with new rules designed to make securitization markets safer for investors, according to a person familiar with the matter.”
Commercial real estate prices hit historical peak
Housing Wire — June 6, 2016
“Whereas the residential real estate market continues to recover gradually, the same cannot be said for the commercial real estate market, where prices rose much quicker, according to a study by Goldman Sachs.”
And now for something completely different…
No Escape From Black Holes? Stephen Hawking Points to a Possible Exit
The New York Times — June 6, 2016
“In a paper to be published this week in Physical Review Letters, Dr. Hawking and his colleagues Andrew Strominger of Harvard and Malcolm Perry of Cambridge University in England say they have found a clue pointing the way out of black holes.”