It's undoubtedly a buyers' market in the commercial real estate sector. Values of commercial properties in the United States have fallen to levels not seen in seven years, according to Moody's Investors Service. The latest release of the Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Index shows a decline of 3.9 percent from August to September, with real estate values now 43 percent below the index's peak in October 2007. The fall of Taylor Bean & Whitaker has sent ripples through the mortgage lending industry. Even the nation's second largest mortgage company, Freddie Mac, is feeling the effects. The government-controlled mortgage financier says it has more than $1 billion in assets tied to the now defunct Taylor Bean and warns that losses related to the company's bankruptcy "could be significant." The overwhelming number of bank failures since the onset of the nation's financial crisis have pushed the FDIC's insurance fund into negative territory. The agency has announced that its reserve used to protect consumers' deposits when a financial institution goes under is $8.2 billion in the hole. But the hits didn't stop there. The FDIC also said in its quarterly assessment of the nation's banking landscape that banks' cut lending in Q3 by the largest amount since the government began tracking loan activity in 1984. In an effort to support neighborhood stabilization and provide owner occupants and public entities an advantage in purchasing Fannie Mae-owned foreclosed properties, the company has announced the launch of its First Look Initiative. Through Fannie Mae's First Look, only offers from owner occupants and buyers using public funds will be considered during the first 15 days a property is on the market. | | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment