Today's Real Estate Investing Pulse
Housing Prices Slip 2.4% as Buyers Return, Pending Sales Rise 4.3%
Median list prices dropped 2.4% year‑over‑year to $429,500, the steepest decline since 2017. Pending sales climbed 4.3% YoY, extending a six‑month growth streak. New listings rose sharply in the Northeast (+8.6%) and Midwest (+4.7%) while remaining flat in the South.
Also developing:
Marcus & Millichap Closes Sale of Apartments Near MBTA Station
Marcus & Millichap closed a $4 million sale of the Pine Street Apartments in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The 19‑unit, mixed‑size complex sits less than half a mile from the Attleboro MBTA commuter rail station, offering transit‑oriented appeal. The seller’s diligent upkeep and the property’s solid cash flow attracted the buyer, who sees upside through targeted renovations of a few un‑rehabbed units. The transaction underscores the continued appetite for small multifamily assets in suburban, transit‑rich locations.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac's Total Portfolio at Multiyear High
Government‑sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pushed their combined retained portfolio to a multiyear high of $278.45 billion in January, up from $271.69 billion the month before. Fannie’s retained assets rose to $141.64 billion, while Freddie’s mortgage‑backed securities holdings increased to $49.46 billion despite...
Learn Where AI Is Creating Demand, Risk and Opportunity in Commercial Real Estate, with Cushman & Wakefield’s Data-Driven Tool
Cushman & Wakefield has launched the AI Impact Barometer, a data‑driven platform that quantifies how artificial intelligence is reshaping commercial real estate. The tool aggregates economic, capital‑market and property indicators into “AI momentum scores” that reveal demand trends across data...
Canadian Mortgage Delinquencies Just Made A Rare, Historic Jump
Canadian mortgage arrears surged to a five‑year high of 0.219% in December 2024, marking the fastest monthly increase since the pandemic’s early days. The number of mortgages 90 days past due rose 4.2% month‑over‑month, adding roughly 520 delinquent loans and...
A Condo Surge? As Rates Enter 5s, Veteran Investor Reveals the Hottest Markets for Brokers
Mortgage brokers targeting investors are scouting hot markets as rates dip below 6%. Veteran investor Danny Fishman highlights South Florida’s condo boom, driven by international buyers, as the top opportunity. He also points to strong fundamentals in Nashville, West Palm...
Sprouts Coming To Vacant Highland Park 99 Cents Only Store
Sprouts Farmers Market has signed a lease for the former 99 Cents Only store at 6235 York Blvd. in Highland Park, Los Angeles, with plans to open a new grocery outlet in 2027. The existing 21,000‑square‑foot building will be demolished and...
Multifamily Lender Says Texas ICE Raids Taking Bite Out Of Occupancy
Arbor Realty Trust, a major multifamily bridge lender, reported that ICE immigration raids have sharply reduced occupancy in its REO apartment assets, now averaging 45% occupancy. The enforcement actions have hit properties in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta and parts...
Chicago Industrial Is Having A Moment — Some Investors Want In
Chicago’s industrial market is demonstrating steady fundamentals, with vacancy holding at 4.6% in 2025 and leasing activity climbing to 40.5 million sq ft, while rents rose 4.6% to $8.97 per sq ft. Mid‑market investors Matterhorn and SparrowHawk each secured $300 million in equity, giving Matterhorn...
U.S. Home Prices Stagnate, Punta Gorda & Austin Plunge
Freddie Mac House Price Index Decreased in January; Up only 0.4% Year-over-year Punta Gorda House Prices Down 22% from Recent Peak, Austin Down 18% https://calculatedrisk.substack.com/p/freddie-mac-house-price-index-decreased
What Lenders Should Consider when Evaluating Small Landlords
Small landlords are an expanding segment of the rental market, but their limited scale creates underwriting challenges for lenders. To gauge creditworthiness, lenders must scrutinize the borrower’s financial stability, including cash flow, tax returns, and debt ratios. Portfolio performance—occupancy rates,...
Coliving Developers Are Finding Funders — But They May Have To Wait For Profits
Institutional investors are increasingly financing UK coliving projects, especially in London, with typical deal sizes of £50‑150 million. Developers are now required to contribute meaningful equity, pushing any profit upside to the back‑end and tying returns to IRR hurdles. The funding...
Hotel Executives Highlight Benefits of Asset-Heavy Ownership at Industry Event
Hotel executives at a recent industry forum championed asset‑heavy ownership, citing control over development, favorable debt terms, and stronger ESG execution. Whitbread, Fattal and Essendi disclosed that a majority of their portfolios are owned outright, enabling rapid market entry and...
Gains for Student Housing Construction in the Last Quarter of 2025
Private fixed investment in student dormitories rose 1.5% in Q4 2025, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $3.9 billion. The gain follows three quarters of decline but remains 1.3% below the same quarter a year earlier. Pandemic‑induced drops had pushed investment...
HVS Las Vegas Casino & Hotel Market Outlook 2026 - By Shannon S. Okada
Las Vegas’ casino and hotel market showed modest declines in 2025 visitation compared with 2024, yet resilience persisted thanks to a robust calendar of major events and sports‑driven traffic. Per‑visitor spending rose, shifting performance drivers from sheer volume to premium...
HVS Europe Hotel Transactions Bulletin Week Ending 20 February 2026
The HVS Europe Hotel Transactions Bulletin for the week ending 20 February 2026 lists a series of high‑profile hotel deals across the continent. Indian conglomerate SanRaj, via Clearsense Ventures, bought three Accor‑branded hotels in the UK (478 rooms) from Ares and EQ....
AI-Driven Recession Threatens Benefits of Lower Mortgage Rates
Cheering for lower mortgage rates has always been a delicate balance of hoping for payment relief w/o a wider economic downturn. In other words, getting a cheaper 30-year fixed without a big increase in unemployment or a stock market crash. The fact...
NewMark Merrill Building Retail Center: The Los Angeles Deal Sheet
NewMark Merrill, World Premier Investments and R.Y. Properties secured entitlements for Desert Sky Plaza II, a 30‑acre, 297,000‑sq‑ft retail center in Victorville anchored by Target and Burlington. The project, slated to break ground in Q2 2026 and open in fall...
Automation, Reshoring Trends Expected to Boost Industrial Real Estate Activity
Industrial real‑estate activity is rebounding after pandemic‑induced vacancies as reshoring, automation and third‑party logistics (3PL) demand drive a flight to higher‑quality space. Vacancy absorption has accelerated, and CBRE projects renewals to exceed 35% of total leasing volume, well above the...
Canada's Red Tape Stalls Projects for Decades
Canada Is Being Destroyed By Bureaucracy & Over Regulation It takes an average of 19 years to get an approval to build a new Mine Australia's shipping Liquid Natural Gas to Canada's East Coast: Canada has 300 years of Gas Reserves Let's look...
Lawmakers Push Tax Reforms to Curb Investor Housing Advantage
Lawmakers eye tax changes to tackle institutional investors in housing: Semafor "this is not a free market for the American family, because investors… have special tax write-offs… that aren’t available to single families" -Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind. https://t.co/4JRvuFhZMv
Fairway Moves Into Home Insurance at Origination
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. announced a partnership with The Baldwin Group to launch Fairway Home Insurance Agency, offering homeowners insurance at loan origination. The collaboration embeds Baldwin’s proprietary technology into Fairway’s workflow, allowing real‑time policy quotes during the mortgage application....
Medical Office Starts Plunge 26%, Prompting Conversion Challenges
Medical office building starts are set to drop 26% in 2026 ... the lowest level in ten years. Developers are turning their attention to office conversions. But even then, the building's design and the math have to be spot on...
Housing Market Trends Outpace Presidential Influence
Home prices were already slowing down before Trump took office, and many markets went negative last year. I don’t think any president can really control the direction of the housing market. https://t.co/LoaiFTlI85
Marcus & Millichap Announces Sale of Best Western Swiss Clock Inn
Marcus & Millichap announced the sale of the 107‑room Best Western Swiss Clock Inn in Pecos, Texas, to a private investor group. The exclusive listing, managed by senior managing director Allan Miller, represented seller Catering of Central Texas, LLC, and...
MBS Spread Re
After the White House confirmed that Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac would increase their retained MBS by $200B, the 'spread'—which had already been compressing—slipped sub 200 bps for the first time in more than 3 years Today is first +200 bps spread since...
Luxury Builds Reduce Affordable Housing, Not Trickle‑down
As Max and others often point out: The more apartments you build for the wealthy, the fewer wealthy people living in moderate- and lower-priced apartments... thereby creating more affordable supply. It's not "trickle down economics." (Different thing.) It's just common sense.
The Cost of an Interior Office Build-Out
The article outlines current interior office build‑out costs for a typical 25,000‑sf floor plate in Houston, breaking down basic, mid‑range, and high‑end tenant improvement (TI) allowances. It provides per‑square‑foot cost ranges—$83‑$104 for basic, $107‑$140 for mid‑range, and $158‑$280 for premium...
Buyers Favor Fresh Listings Over Last Year's Inventory
Buyers are liking new supply. So many of the stats right now are showing spring vibes as crusty listings from last year expired, and buyers are focusing on the new stuff. https://t.co/OoyH4E4hAI
As 'Shockwaves And Shenanigans' Recede, Investors Move Fast To Snap Up UK Retail Bargains
UK retail property is re‑emerging as a high‑yield asset class, with prime shopping centre yields near 8% and secondary assets offering double‑digit returns. Transaction volumes in 2025 were modest at £5.83 bn, but the market saw a flurry of marquee deals,...
This “Hybrid” Rental Strategy Is a No-Brainer for Rookies in 2026 (Rookie Reply)
The Rookie Reply podcast outlines a hybrid real‑estate strategy that blends house hacking, flipping, and the Burr rehab‑while‑living approach to generate cash flow, appreciation, loan paydown, and tax benefits within five years. It advises new investors to leverage modest capital...
America’s Most Expensive ZIP Codes – 2026
The 2026 luxury housing report shows the median entry price for the nation’s top 10 % of homes steady at about $1.2 million, while the elite “ultraluxury” ZIP codes now start at $5.5 million. Newport Coast, CA (92657) displaced Fisher Island, FL to...
CPP Investments, Equinix Ink $4bn Deal for Nordic Data Center Platform atNorth
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and global data‑center operator Equinix have signed a $4 billion agreement to develop the atNorth platform across the Nordics. The partnership will fund the construction of multiple hyperscale facilities, targeting the region’s growing demand...
No More 'Easy Trades': REIT Take-Privates Could Slow in Reshaped Market
The episode examines the recent slowdown in REIT take‑private activity as market conditions improve, highlighting the $3.4 billion Affinius Capital acquisition of Varus Residential REIT as a benchmark. Guests Jonathan Brass, Sarah Marks, and Matthew Norris explain that higher valuations, abundant...
Is Your HELOC Rate Actually Competitive? Here’s How to Tell
The article breaks down how Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) rates are calculated, emphasizing the prime‑plus‑margin formula. It shows competitive margin ranges by credit tier—prime + 0‑1% for excellent scores and higher for fair credit. It also warns that introductory rates...
SB 1216 Rewards Cities Actively Building Housing
All of the bills we're sponsoring are great, but I'm especially excited about this one: after years of state mandates to plan and adopt policies, SB 1216 will recognize cities that are actually building housing and afford them warranted flexibiltiy/grace...
Former Housing Secretaries to Give Evidence on Leasehold Reform
Former housing secretaries Angela Rayner and Lord Michael Gove will appear before the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on 3 March to give evidence on the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. The session will also hear leasehold campaigners, the Residential Freehold Association...
Upsizers Are Back and Are Buying Bigger Homes
Upsizers reclaimed dominance in the UK housing market, accounting for 70.3% of all property moves in Q1 2026 – the strongest share since May 2021. Mortgage usage rose to 82.5%, the highest level in eight years, reflecting renewed borrower confidence as borrowing...
Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc (SHO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Sunstone Hotel Investors (SHO) reaffirmed its full‑year earnings outlook despite a choppy operating environment and a government shutdown. Third‑quarter RevPAR rose 2% year‑over‑year, led by strong performance in San Francisco and Miami Beach, while adjusted EBITDAre reached $50 million and adjusted...
Product-Level Demand Separates Winning Industrial Deals
The real opportunity right now? Understanding product-level demand. Not all industrial is equal in 2026. If you’re evaluating an industrial deal in California and want a disciplined underwriting perspective, DM me “INDUSTRIAL.” #CaliforniaCRE #IndustrialInvesting #WarehouseSpace #CREStrategy #CommercialInvestor
‘Stupid’ Albanese Negative Gearing Plan Will Hurt Renters, First-Home Buyers
The Albanese government has asked Treasury to examine limiting negative gearing deductions to a maximum of two investment properties. Data from the ATO shows fewer than 100,000 Australians currently own three or more negatively geared homes, but the figure has...
Camber Property Group Sells Rent-Stabilized Portfolio For $80M
Camber Property Group sold a rent‑stabilized Brooklyn portfolio for $79.9 million, nearly matching its 2020 purchase price of $81.5 million. The eight pre‑war buildings comprise 387 units and benefit from a Section 610 rent‑subsidy amendment and a 40‑year Article XI tax abatement. The deal...
From Lender to Fintech: Tapping $13T Mortgage Market
Big quarter for figure: - 50% marketplace → they've become a fintech platform, not a lender - 19% first lien → they've entered a market 32x larger than their original one (HELOCs are $400 billion Market. 1st lien mortgages are $13...
Rental Market Mirrors Resale: Lower Rents, Slower Turnover
I spoke at a property management event today, and the general consensus is the rental market is somewhat like the resale market. Slightly lower rents, it’s taking longer to market properties, the good stuff goes quickly, and overpriced listings sit.
Talonvest Structures Permanent Loans for Self-Storage Trio
Talonvest Capital arranged $42.6 million of permanent financing for three Class A self‑storage properties owned by The William Warren Group. The largest loan, $25 million, funds a 1,261‑unit facility in Hawthorne, California, with a five‑year interest‑only structure. Two additional loans of $9 million and...
Permits
Permits and builders' confidence data would be more solid if that were the case. https://t.co/N1nLoES68j
Institutional Home Ownership Boosts Rental Diversity, Not Affordability
The only empirical finding I've seen on the effect of institutional ownership of single-family homes is that it makes neighborhoods slightly more diverse, to the extent that rentals are more accessible to more households. The issue is an affordability red...
Foreclosure Starts Surge to Early 2020 Levels
The national delinquency rate slipped to 3.65% in January, yet foreclosure starts surged to 42,000, matching early‑2020 levels. Late‑stage delinquencies rose 104,000 year‑over‑year, pushing the count of borrowers 90+ days delinquent to a July 2022 high. While mortgage rates fell, pre‑payment...
Michigan Boosts Home Construction—But Whitmer Says Red Tape Still Blocks Affordability
Michigan reported adding almost 87,000 new or rehabilitated housing units, completing its 2022 statewide housing plan a year early. Governor Gretchen Whitmer set a new target of 115,000 units for 2024 and called for zoning reforms and a state affordable‑housing...
Real Estate Investment Platform Addy Enters Restructuring One Year After Fine From Regulators
Vancouver‑based fractional real‑estate platform Addy announced it is restructuring its business, engaging Dentons and Crowe MacKay to guide an orderly transition. The move follows a 2025 $100,000 fine from the British Columbia Securities Commission for trading $26 million of securities without...
What Is the HELOC Cooling Off Period and How Does It Work?
The Truth in Lending Act grants a three‑business‑day right of rescission for HELOCs on a primary residence, allowing borrowers to cancel the loan without penalty. Cancellation must be submitted in writing before the deadline, and the lender has 20 calendar...