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Real Estate

“The Real-Estate Downturn Comes for America’s Premier Office Towers”

“The highest quality office buildings have had much better success navigating the industry’s turmoil. Now, even premier towers are starting to wobble…” https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/the-real-estate-downturn-comes-for-americas-premier-office-towers-717477a9 The real estate crisis is not in the housing market. (yet?) It’s commercial real estate. The problem in… Continue Reading…

Economy

“From housing to energy to food, US inflation picks up…”

“…Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that overall prices rose 0.3% from November and 3.4% from 12 months earlier. Those gains exceeded the previous 0.1% monthly rise and the 3.1% annual inflation in November and were slightly above economists’… Continue Reading…

Economy, Real Estate

“Home affordability in 2023 tanked to lowest level in 40 years”

“…Only 15.5% of homes for sale last year were affordable for the typical US household, the lowest level since Redfin began tracking the data in 2013. That’s down from the typical level of 40% seen before the pandemic homebuying frenzy began and… Continue Reading…

Economy, Real Estate

“US office buildings face $117BN debt time bomb: Mortgages due this year threaten to sink US economy as thousands of workplaces remain empty”

“Billions of dollars in loans on office buildings that are about to come due could play havoc with the US economy after interest rates soared. About $117 billion worth is expected to be due this year and needs to be repaid or… Continue Reading…

Real Estate

“Mortgage rates have dropped below 7%”

“Mortgage rates continued to drop last week after hitting a 23-year high in October.  Between Dec. 1 and 7, rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from an average of 7.05% to 6.95%, according to mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. This marks the seventh straight… Continue Reading…

Real Estate

“Mortgage refinance demand jumps 14% as rates fall to… [7%]”

“After surging over 8% in October, mortgage rates are falling back toward 7% again, and that is jump-starting the refinance market… As a result, applications to refinance a home loan increased 14% from the previous week and were 10% higher… Continue Reading…

Economy, Real Estate

[China] “Country Garden’s entire offshore debt to be in default if Tuesday payment not made”

“Country Garden’s entire offshore debt will be deemed to be in default if China’s largest private property developer fails to make a $15 million coupon payment on Tuesday, the end of a 30-day grace period… With nearly $11 billion of… Continue Reading…

Real Estate

“Mortgage rates near 8%, an ‘inventory crisis’: Homebuyers face a ‘tricky’ market, expert says”

“…With fewer people selling their houses, she said, there is now an “inventory crisis.” “We’ve seen a crunch — our first-time homebuyers are struggling,” she added… Mortgage rates are currently approaching 8%, the highest level in decades, and have priced many first-time… Continue Reading…

Economy, Real Estate

“Evergrande [Chinese Real Estate] Investors Warn of ‘Uncontrollable Collapse’”

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/4860dae8-ef14-316e-b390-86f867d5e267/evergrande-investors-warn-of.html The article is behind a paywall so I’ll just comment on the subject. Pretty much all of the real estate in China is in trouble. Many of the major real estate companies were selling houses before they were build… Continue Reading…

Banking, Real Estate

“Wells Fargo CFO talks shedding real estate, cutting more staff”

“Wells Fargo & Co. sees more opportunity to trim expenses by unloading more real estate and cutting additional employees, Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo told investors. “We continue to believe we’ve got a lot more to do to make the… Continue Reading…