WASHINGTON—The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Nov. 24 the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2021. For high-cost areas in which 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline CLL, the maximum loan limit will be higher than the baseline loan limit.…
Read MoreNEW YORK—The Community Preservation Corp. a leading New York City-based nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company, has announced the launch of the new Flex Small Loan program for small multifamily properties. The new program, which includes both construction and permanent financing offering loans as low as $100,000, was created to address the unique…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The Mortgage Bankers Association announced on Oct. 21 that purchase originations are expected to grow 8.5% to a new record of $1.54 trillion in 2021. After a substantial 70.9% jump in activity in 2020, MBA anticipates refinance originations will slow next year, decreasing by 46.3% to $946 billion. MBA's 2021 outlook was presented virtually at…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Commercial real estate finance firm Greystone reports it has arranged the closing of a $289,289,000 permanent Freddie Mac loan made to an affiliate of BLDG Management Company, Inc. (“BLDG”) for The Summit multifamily rental tower in Midtown Manhattan. The new 10-year, fixed-rate Freddie Mac loan refinances the original $251-million construction credit facility provided by…
Read MoreNEW YORK—SL Green Realty Corp reported on Sept. 8 it had closed on a new $600-million construction facility for its 410 Tenth Ave. project. SL Green is redeveloping the 636,000-square-foot office building that is anchored by Amazon and First Republic Bank. The loan was provided by a consortium of domestic and international banks led by…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The Board of Directors of Westchester County’s Local Development Corporation (LDC) recently voted to approve more than $340 million in bond financing for two major not-for-profits. At its August 20th meeting, the LDC board unanimously approved $300 million in bond financing for Westchester County Healthcare Corporation, the public authority responsible for governing the Westchester…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—A little over a week after first proposing a controversial 0.5% Adverse Market Refinance Fee on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Aug. 25 that it would delay the fee’s implementation until Dec. 1, 2020. The FHFA first announced the Adverse Market Refinance Fee on Aug. 12 and…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Aug. 17 that the share of late FHA loans rose to nearly 16% in the second quarter, up from about 9.7% in the previous quarter. The second quarter FHA delinquency rate was the highest level on record dating back to 1979. The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit…
Read MoreALBANY—While noting that July labor statistics are expected to be released soon, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued a report today that chronicled both the devastating impacts to the state’s labor force in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent inroads that have been made toward recovery since the state’s economy…
Read MoreALBANY—As the New York State economy continues its reopening process and the state continues to post low COVID infection numbers, local sales tax collections are improving, although still down compared to last year. Sales tax revenue for local governments in July fell 8.2% compared to the same period last year, according to New York State…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Fort Schuyler House, Inc., MDG Design + Construction, LLC, Smith & Henzy Advisory Group, Inc., Concord Management of New York, and partners recently celebrated the completion of the $52.7-million revitalization and refinancing of Fort Schuyler House, an affordable senior housing development in the Bronx. The project preserves the affordability of Fort Schuyler House’s 138…
Read MoreALBANY—The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected many local governments’ revenues and its impact will likely be severe for many municipalities’ finances, according to a report released on July 9 by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. As sales tax revenues fall by double-digits and state aid is reduced or delayed, DiNapoli called on the…
Read MoreEach commercial real estate asset class has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in one way or another. Many commercial lenders extended 90-day payment deferments to their borrowers as a way to help relieve immediate financial hardship in case the tenants (sometimes the borrowers themselves) were unable to pay rent. These deferments are ending in…
Read MoreAs we head into another re-opening phase, let’s take a moment to reflect on our current events as well as our present state of affairs. After enduring a three-month pandemic that stopped the world, it is only now that we begin to emerge from a “shelter in place.” The phrase itself, “shelter in place,” is…
Read MoreIt’s no secret that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the commercial real estate market in the Hudson Valley, the nation, and the world. Small “mom and pop” stores, restaurants, bars, hotels, landlords, developers and even major retailers were all slammed by the three-month shut-down mandate to curb the spread of the deadly disease. As a…
Read MorePEEKSKILL—A.S.A.P. Mortgage announced on June 8 it has relocated its corporate headquarters from Cortlandt Manor to Peekskill. Originally scheduled for mid-April, the opening of A.S.A.P.’s new headquarters was delayed until June 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The new headquarters is located at 2 South Division St., at the intersection of Division Street and Central…
Read MoreBy Mike Fratantoni and Joel Kan The extraordinary impact from COVID‐19 social distancing measures and business closings is impacting the economy and job market in unprecedented ways. While April economic data has been uniformly awful, more recent data on purchase applications indicate significant pent up demand for housing. Housing demand is strengthening as more states…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—A group of Westchester landlords who own rental properties in Elmsford, Port Chester and Yonkers filed suit on May 25 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District in White Plains against Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his extension of regulations that prohibits landlords from initiating or continuing residential evictions. The suit also contests the…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on May 19 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued temporary guidance regarding the eligibility of borrowers who are in forbearance, or have recently ended their forbearance, looking to refinance or buy a new home. Borrowers are eligible to refinance or buy a new home if they…
Read MoreBROOKLYN—To help commercial lenders minimize the future damage that the COVID-19 pandemic will inevitably inflict upon their balance sheets, Eastern Union has launched a Distressed Notes Initiative that will identify investors interested in purchasing lenders' troubled mortgages. The company will leverage its extensive database of investors to help community banks and private debt funds find…
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