Mortgage

Yonkers Senior Housing Property Secures Nearly $17-Million Refi Deal

November 13, 2023

YONKERS—Rockabill, a leading development partner and consultant to nonprofit owners of affordable, supportive, and transitional housing, and national commercial and multifamily mortgage banking company BWE, recently announced the refinancing of Monastery Manor, a 147-unit affordable apartment building for seniors in Yonkers. Monastery Manor is owned by the Finian Sullivan Corporation, a Yonkers-based not-for-profit whose mission…

Attorney General's Report Finds Deep Racial Disparities in Home Ownership, Access to Financing Across New York State

October 31, 2023

NEW YORK—New York Attorney General Letitia James released a scathing report earlier today on what she termed as a “stark racial gap” in homeownership rates and access to home financing across New York State. These disparities are a significant contributor to the racial wealth gap and result in higher housing costs for homebuyers of color,…

Veteran Mortgage Broker-Turned Playwright Debuts ‘The Oh Show’ at the Paramount Hudson Valley

October 13, 2023

PEEKSKILL—For the past 22 years, Irene Amato has been synonymous with A.S.A.P. Mortgage, based in Peekskill with six branch offices throughout the Hudson Valley and in the Bronx. However, in the past few years, the mortgage maven has expanded her career to include hosting her own workshops, speaking at real estate expos and networking groups,…

NAR Chief Economist Yun Predicts Better Times Ahead in 2024 for Residential Real Estate Market

October 10, 2023

WHITE PLAINS—After detailing a laundry list of problems that have caused a “difficult year” for the real estate markets thus far in 2023, NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun told a gathering of about 100 HGAR members and affiliates that he believes the home sales market will improve in 2024. In his first-ever appearance before…

Mortgage Applications Fall to Lowest Level in 28 Years

September 7, 2023

WASHINGTON—The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Sept. 6 that mortgage applications decreased 2.9% from one week earlier, according to data from the association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended Sept. 1, 2023. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week…

Westchester Medical Center’s New Patient Care Tower Secures $195M in Bond Financing from Westchester LDC

August 25, 2023

WHITE PLAINS—The Westchester County’s Local Development Corporation voted on Aug. 23 final approval of $195-million in tax-exempt bond financing for the development of a new 162,626-square-foot Patient Care Tower on the campus of Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. The $221.3-million Patient Care Tower project will feature a five-story, 128-bed structure with all of its inpatient…

Broad-Based Housing and Lending Coalition Warns FHFA Against Rent Control, Rent Stabilization Policies

August 11, 2023

WASHINGTON—A broad-based coalition of 18 associations representing housing providers, lenders and residents sent a letter on Thursday, Aug. 10 to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson warning that mandatory rent control and rent stabilization policies will increase rents, reduce the capital needed to boost the supply of housing, and ultimately hurt current and future…

MAG Partners Secures $196-Million Refinancing Loan for Ruby in West Chelsea

July 14, 2023

NEW YORK—MAG Partners announced on July 13 that it had secured a $196-million loan from funds managed by Elliott Investment Management L.P., in joint venture with an investment platform formed by Adi Chugh, to refinance Ruby, a luxury rental building in West Chelsea that began leasing in late March. The 480-unit luxury residential building, designed…

Regulators: Take Steps to Recognize Warehouse Lenders’ Important Role in Today’s Housing Finance Market

July 5, 2023

This is a difficult time for the housing industry, and those challenges extend to all corners—not only mortgage lenders but also the warehouse lenders, vendors, title companies, and real estate agents that support the housing and mortgage finance ecosystem. Over the past 24 months, there has been a sharp pivot from historically high origination volume—spurred…

Northpath Secures Refinancing Deal For White Plains Office Buildings

July 5, 2023

WHITE PLAINS—JLL Capital Markets announced on June 27 that it arranged a $17.5-million refinancing for 2 and 4 Westchester Park Drive, two office / medical office buildings totaling 218,372 square feet in White Plains. JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, New York City-based Northpath Investments, to secure the five-year, fixed-rate loan through Centreville Bank.…

$297M Financing Package Secured for Phase Two Of Peninsula Affordable Housing Project in Bronx

July 5, 2023

NEW YORK—The New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Development Corporation, in partnership with the development team Gilbane Development Company, Hudson Companies, and MHANY Management Inc. announced on June 29 the closing on $297 million in financing for the second…

Real Estate, Lending Industries Praise Decision To Rescind Upfront Fees Based on DTI Ratio

May 11, 2023

WASHINGTON—The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on May 10 that it had rescinded the upfront fees based on borrowers' Debt to Income (DTI) ratios for loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHFA had announced in March it would delay implementation in order to engage with industry stakeholders and better understand their concerns. “I…

Higher Rates Cause Mortgage Volume to Drop Nearly 6%

March 1, 2023

WASHINGTON—Mortgage applications decreased 5.7% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended Feb. 24, 2023, released by the MBA on March 1. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 6% from the previous…

GUEST VIEWPOINT: Why are Rates Rising and is There Some Light at the End of The Tunnel?

November 14, 2022

By now you have heard of or come face to face with the slowing real estate environment. The culprit is inflation, born of a post-pandemic fiscal stimulus intended to help the American economy recover. The unintended consequence was a 40% increase in the money supply of the U.S. economy. It also provided “seed money” for…

FHFA Eliminates Upfront Fees for First-Time Homebuyers

October 25, 2022

WASHINGTON—The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Oct. 24 targeted changes to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac's guarantee fee pricing by eliminating upfront fees for certain borrowers, including first-time homebuyers, and affordable mortgage products, while implementing targeted increases to the upfront fees for most cash-out refinance loans. As part of the pricing changes stemming from…

MBA: Rising Rates Cause Mortgage Applications to Continue to Fall

September 14, 2022

With inflation still high, mortgage application activity fell 1.2% for the week ended Sept. 9 as compared to a week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage activity is expected to continue to be adversely impacted by economic conditions and the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will hike rates by another 0.75%…

Mortgage Applications Continue to Decline; Rates Rise to Nearly 6%

September 7, 2022

WASHINGTON—Mortgage applications decreased 0.8% last week from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Sept. 2, 2022, the MBA announced on Sept. 7. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances increased to 5.94% last week. The…

HUD Increases New York Fair Rent Subsidies By Up to 14%; Smaller Increases in NY Metro

September 7, 2022

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on Sept. 7 it had published Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for Fiscal Year 2023. FMRs, published annually, are an estimate of the amount of money that would cover gross rents (rent and utility expenses) on 40% of the rental housing units in an area. Nationally, FMRs…

New York State Sets Tax Cap at 2% in 2023 for Local Governments, School Districts

July 14, 2022

ALBANY—Property tax levy growth will again be capped at 2% for 2023 for local governments that operate on a calendar-based fiscal year, according to data released on July 13 by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. This figure affects tax cap calculations for all counties, towns, and fire districts, as well as 44 cities…

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Release Equitable Housing Finance Plans to Address Racial Homeownership Gap

June 9, 2022

WASHINGTON—The Federal Housing Finance Agency released Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's Equitable Housing Finance Plans for 2022-2024 that the agency said are designed to complement initiatives that promote the Enterprises' safety and soundness and foster housing finance markets. The plans, which were released on June 8, are intended to provide equitable access to affordable and…