WASHINGTON—On Nov. 27, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced it will raise the national conforming loan limit for 2019 by 6.9% from $453,100 to $484,350. In addition, the high-cost limit will rise from $679,650 to $726,525. As a result, loan limits will be higher in all but 47 counties or county equivalents across the country…
Read MoreELMSFORD, NY -- Hudson United Mortgage Services, LLC, a full-service mortgage banker/broker licensed in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Florida, is growing its footprint in Westchester County with the opening of a new office at 570 Taxter Road in Elmsford. The firm also reported it has brought on Donald Arace, a veteran of the…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Fannie Mae has approved the Community Preservation Corp., a leading nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company, as a Multifamily Special Affordable Lender to originate Multifamily Affordable Housing (MAH) and Small Mortgage Loans. Also, CPC reported that it will move its New York City operations into nearly 30,000 square feet of space at…
Read MoreToo often, developers can’t secure permanent financing upon a project’s completion. If it’s a condominium project will the condo project sell out? Then, there is construction gamble, as cost overruns, accidents, delays and other problems tend to occur on every job. Imagine, for example, a crane falling or dropping an expensive beam. Further, good labor…
Read MoreNEW YORK—TD Bank reported on Aug. 28 it had closed on an $18.4-million construction loan for MHANY Management Inc. and We Stay/Nos Quedamos, Inc. (Nos Quedamos) to develop the second phase of Phoenix Estates, a new eight-story, mixed-use building in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. The 111,000 square foot building will eventually become…
Read MoreNEW YORK—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Aug. 9th his intent to propose legislation to “decouple” state tax policy from the federal tax code if the Trump Administration follows through on a plan to enact a $100-billion capital gains tax cut. Gov. Cuomo in a press conference in New York City also called on…
Read MoreThe commercial real estate lending market came off of a record year in 2017, as mortgage originations totaled $530 billion. Fundamentally, rates, property values, credit policies and demand support the continuing strength of the CRE market. Technically, a large block of maturing CMBS loans will leave many CRE owners attempting to sell should they be…
Read MoreNEW CITY—In four years, Rockland County government has gone from having approximately $42,000 in the bank and $138 million in debt, to being in the black with a fund balance of more than $6 million. Rockland County Executive Ed Day announced the positive budgetary news relating to the county’s just released Comprehensive Annual Financial Report…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—With America’s homeownership rate struggling to match falling unemployment and increasing consumer confidence, protecting the benefits of the secondary mortgage market remains critical to the health of the overall housing industry. On June 22, the National Association of Realtors hosted a roundtable event examining the scope and status of comprehensive Government-Sponsored Enterprise, or GSE, reform,…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The U.S. House passed bipartisan legislation on Tuesday (May 22) that the National Association of Realtors believes will bring much-needed bank regulatory relief and consumer protections and is a step in the right direction for the industry. S. 2155, the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act,” contains several favorable provisions for housing, including…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Recently released mortgage finance activity data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association indicate mixed results during the month of April. The Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Applications Survey data for April 2018 released on May 10 showed mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 7.5% compared to April 2017. Compared to March 2018, applications decreased by…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Avison Young’s New York Capital Markets Group reports it has arranged a $120.3-million financing package for the acquisition and redevelopment of the Westchester Financial Center, a 571,000-square-foot office complex located at 50 Main St/ and 1-11 Martine Ave. in White Plains. The buyers, a joint venture comprising Ginsburg Development Companies, LLC and Robert Martin…
Read MoreNANUET—Hudson United Mortgage recently announced that it has been approved as a mortgage banker in New York. The new license will allow Hudson United to operate as a correspondent lender in its own name, control more of the process, and bring on additional investors with niche products. “This is a tremendous achievement and opens an…
Read MoreSANTA CLARA, CA—Rising interest rates and home prices will cause a resounding majority of millennials to modify their home search, perhaps prompting them to seek a smaller or less expensive home or even consider different neighborhoods, according to a survey released on April 4 by realtor.com. Two factors are contributing to market sensitivity from millennials—their…
Read MoreNEW YORK—New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced today (March 21) a $230-million settlement with UBS in connection with its packaging, marketing and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities to investors prior to the housing crisis in 2006. The settlement includes $189 million worth of consumer relief for New York homeowners and communities and…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Robert Withers, President and CEO of M1 Capital Corp., announced recently that M1 Capital Corp., a leader in real estate financing, has moved its offices to 50 Main St., Suite 1000, in White Plains. Withers also reported he has re-launched his popular blog, The Equity Strategist, in which he explores aspects of the real…
Read MoreALBANY—New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued a report recently that highlighted recent trends in property tax exemptions in New York State outside of New York City and the impact they have on local governments and school districts. “Property tax exemptions can be a valuable tool to improve housing affordability or fuel economic growth,”…
Read MoreSEATTLE—Proposed reforms to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that guarantee the majority of U.S. home loans could drive up monthly housing costs and diminish housing affordability for many Americans, according to Zillow. Congress is considering changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the risk to taxpayers if the housing market crashes again. The GSEs,…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Fannie Mae in its Home Purchase Sentiment Index released on March 7 points to falling key market metrics. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell 3.7 points in February to 85.8, reversing the previous month’s increase. The HPSI is down 2.5 percentage points compared with the same time last year. The decline can be…
Read MoreMost of us remember the Great Recession of 2007-2012 and, more specifically, the crippling financial crisis of 2007-2008. One of the largest—if not the largest—contributors to this event was the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. During this time, we experienced “a perfect storm” of falling real estate values, tightening mortgage lending practices, and the evaporation of…
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