A report from CNBC on New York. "The number of real estate contracts signed for Manhattan apartments plunged 84% in May compared with last year. The pain in Manhattan real estate will be felt most at the top — where…
A report from the San Francisco Chronicle in California. "The cost of renting an apartment in the Bay Area plummeted in May, as layoffs and the increased flexibility of working from home drove a double-digit drop in some of the…
A weekend topic starting with UCLA Anderson. "Given that home equity typically represents a serious chunk of a household’s net worth, the stakes are highly consequential when contemplating selling. While some decisions to sell are driven more by non-economic factors…
It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Founded in 2017 by CEO Yifan Zhang and cofounder Adam Stelle after she realized she could cover her mortgage by renting a room in her Seattle house on Airbnb, Loftium was expanding…
A report from the Wall Street Journal. "In April and May, 354 apartment and office properties started missing payments on $7.1 billion in mortgages, according to Trepp LLC, which only includes loans packaged into mortgage bonds. That is up from…
A report from WGBH. "Existing home sales fell nearly 9% in March, according to the National Association of Realtors, as millions of Americans lost their jobs to the coronavirus pandemic and millions more hunkered down to avoid getting sick. April's…
A report from WFTV in Florida. "It sounds simple and safe. Homeowners who lost jobs can skip mortgage payments now, then repay at the end of the loan. But some federal lawmakers, who helped pass the CARES Act that allows…
A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Mark Calabria, who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is resisting pleas for help from lenders seeking relief as millions of Americans stop payments on their home loans, sending tremors through the $11…
A weekend topic starting with the Globe and Mail. "So who is paying for this massive wave of purchases by the Fed, the Bank of Canada and others? For now, nobody. Central banks are simply crediting themselves with the funds…
A report from Lancaster Online in Pennsylvania. "Shifting borrowing requirements, sudden job losses and state-ordered restrictions on real estate activity meant to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania have complicated — and in many cases halted — home sales…