Yearly Archives: 2016

Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations increased 35 percent between the third and the fourth quarters of 2015, and were up 19 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. MBA's commercial/multifamily mortgage bankers' originations index provides a preliminary estimate that originations for the full year 2015 were 24 percent higher than in 2014.

Meridian, a full service real estate developer and owner of medical real estate, is pleased to announce that it has closed escrow on the purchase of Cotton Medical Center, a 115,000-square-foot medical office complex in Pasadena, California. The sale price was $37.5 million. This purchase represents the largest building acquisition for Meridian and Meridian’s eighth medical office building transaction in the last 12 months.

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Walgreens property located at 2075 US Highway 1 South in St. Augustine, Florida for $3,150,000.

The Subcommittee on Federal Lands held an oversight hearing on issues surrounding the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Draft Resource Management Plans (RMPs) for the Beaver Dam Wash and Red Cliffs National Conservation Areas in Washington County, Utah. The panel received testimony from the Mayor of St. George, the Chairman of the Washington County Commission, local stakeholders and a representative from the BLM

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that NXP Semiconductors N.V.’s $11.8 billion acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor Ltd. would likely harm competition in the worldwide market for RF power amplifiers.

Making businesses and homes more energy efficient is a win for jobs and economic growth, operating costs and bottom lines, and the President’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change. That is why, today, as part of the President’s Better Buildings Program, the Administration is announcing

Unusually tight credit standards in the current housing market may have prevented over 5 million borrowers from taking out a mortgage, according to an analysis released earlier this week by the Urban Institute. The analysis finds that, between 2009 and 2014, 5.2 million more loans would have been originated if credit standards had been similar to what they were in 2001.

January 28, HUD announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will reduce its multifamily insurance rates to stimulate the production and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing. These rate reductions, effective April 1, will apply to the FHA-HFA Risk-Sharing program and other FHA multifamily housing programs that help finance properties housing low-income families and developments installing energy-efficient systems or building within federal energy guidelines.

“The debate in the Senate on a comprehensive energy bill is off to an encouraging start. Early votes are providing important momentum that we hope will help propel this bill across the finish line in a bipartisan fashion. We were pleased to watch debate on the bill begin with the adoption of several amendments on a bipartisan basis. In particular, we applaud the vote in favor of dramatically increasing funding for ARPA-E

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency will help the City of Lawrence with of financial and technical guidance about making future investments in its drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. EPA’s new Water Community Assistance for Resiliency and Excellence (WaterCARE) program will assist in developing robust and resilient finance strategies for water infrastructure that meets long-term needs.

MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that the Supreme Court of New Hampshire affirmed its holding in an earlier decision that the language in a mortgage granted to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) as the mortgagee as nominee for the Lender and the Lender’s successors and assigns (MERS Mortgage) evidences an agency relationship between the assignee of a MERS mortgage and the note holder.

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Walgreens property located at 9300 East Gregory Boulevard in Raytown, Missouri for $6,000,000.

Pending home sales were mostly unchanged in December, but inched forward slightly, fueled by a large increase in the Northeast that outpaced declines in the other three major regions, according to the National Association of Realtors

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant Fresenius property located at 300 North 1st Street in Vincennes, IN for $3,795,447.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) commended the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which today voted 3-2 to continue net metering in California.

Realtors® not only help their clients achieve the American Dream by helping them buy and sell their homes, they also volunteer countless hours to help improve and develop their communities. For eight years, REALTOR® Magazine's Good Neighbor Society has helped Realtors® extend and enhance their charitable work through the Volunteering Works grant and mentoring program. The program, which assigns mentors to Realtors® who want to increase and expand their community service outreach, is now seeking entries.

Sales of new single-family houses in December 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 10.8 percent (±17.1%)* above the revised November rate of 491,000 and is 9.9 percent (±25.0%)* above the December 2014 estimate of 495,000.

Join the members of the National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) when they host the second annual BSSC Colloquium on “Seismic Design Update 2016: An Interactive Exploration of the 2020 NEHRP Provisions and Project 17 Issues,” Tuesday, March 8, 2016, at the Embassy Suites San Francisco Airport–Waterfront in Burlingame, California.

The Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA) hosted a record-breaking 800 attendees earlier this month for the group’s annual Forecast Conference, where about a dozen experts reviewed Maine real estate trends from 2015, and predicted what is in store for 2016. The event, which also included a robust business showcase and was sponsored by TD Bank, proved to be a veritable who’s who of development in Maine. Attendees listened with rapt attention and celebrated the market’s return to pre-recession, 2006 levels.

In an effort to help preserve and increase the amount of affordable, quality rental housing across the country, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today announced a multifamily insurance rate reduction designed to encourage capital financing of affordable and energy-efficient apartments. The rate reductions announced today will take effect on April 1, 2016, and will directly impact FHA’s Multifamily Housing Programs and properties housing low- and moderate-income families and/or developments installing energy-efficient systems or building within federal energy guidelines.