After record multifamily mortgage-purchasing volumes by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2015, what can market-rate apartment owners, builders, and buyers—and competing lenders—expect from the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and their originations networks in the coming year? In a word: more… Read more »
The cost of shelter, as measured by the CPI, rose 3.2% in November from a year earlier for the third consecutive month—the fastest growth in eight years. But while rent (and its equivalent for homeowners) makes up nearly a third of the CPI basket and a smaller but still substantial share of the PCE index, it’s absent from the PPI. That may explain why the path for PPI looks a lot like the path of CPI if you exclude shelter costs from the latter index…Read more »
Could Arizona’s largest office development be up for sale? State Farm would sell the campuses for the right price, and strike a leaseback deal to still occupy the space. All that means the expansive Marina Heights development on Tempe Town Lake could be hitting the market if State Farm and its development partners opt for a leaseback path… Read more »
For the first time since late-’60s urban renewal chased Phoenicians from the city’s core and into the suburbs, sales of condominiums are passing those of single-family dwellings here. The Valley is home now to a record number of townhome, condominium, and loft developments. In 1997, Phoenix topped the nation’s list of cities with vacant landfill; today, builders are waging bidding wars to get hold of the same empty parcels. Likewise, older buildings — even the eyesores — are being snapped up for adaptive reuse programs that turn them into high-density infill developments… Read more »
“If you liked ’15 you’ll probably like ’16, there’s just a little more drama, as we’ve already seen,” said Elliott Pollack, a Scottsdale economist on the panel who pointed to imbalances in the economy. “I personally don’t think there’s anything strong enough yet to cause a recession. Recessions don’t just occur — they occur because there are things wrong with the economy. And there don’t appear to be enough things wrong to push us into recession right now”… Read more »