Tag Archives: Moody’s

September marked the 20th consecutive month that distressed sales made up more than 20 percent of commercial property sales, according to Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Index. The index reported distressed transactions for the month accounted for 25.9 percent of all commercial transactions. While distressed sales were in keeping with recent trends, commercial property prices broke a four-month streak of increases with a 1.4 percent decline in September, according to Moody's.

Private investors in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) comprised of jumbo mortgage loans are dealing with a greater risk of strategic defaults, according to Moody's Investors Service. The company's analysts base this assumption on the fact that jumbo RMBS have large populations of current borrowers with high loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. In contrast, the subprime sector faces the lowest potential for future performance deterioration because its weaker borrowers are already delinquent or have defaulted.

Commercial real estate prices in the U.S. rose 2.4 percent between July and August, Moody's Investors Service reported Monday. The agency's index has risen in each of the last four months, and that monthly boost pushes its reading 15.3 percent above this cycle's low set in April 2011. Much of the improvement in August came from a reduction in the share of distressed deals changing hands, which were 21.7 percent of transactions. That's the lowest distressed reading since January of 2010.

The delinquency rate among commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) in the U.S. have been above 9 percent for nine consecutive months, according to Moody's Investors Service's Delinquency Tracker. Moody's says the rate is now 9.36 percent, up from 9.01 percent reported last month. In addition to rising at a national level, CMBS delinquencies rose in all regions except the Midwest. All property types saw an increase in past-due loans, though multifamily continues to fare the worst.

Amid a challenging environment for servicers, CitiMortgage, GMAC, and Ocwen have outperformed major competitors with regards to loss mitigation and foreclosure timelines, according to a recent report from Moody's Investors Service. The company's Servicer Dashboard rates major servicers on their performance from June 2010 to June 2011. Moody's notes that Bank of America's and Chase's performance assessments were affected by large servicing acquisitions and foreclosure moratoria.

If all of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's borrowers paying interest rates that are higher than the median rate were to refinance at 4 percent, the savings would total $63 billion. While such an option would not bring the total $63 billion in savings to fruition, Moody's chief economist, Mark Zandi, says ""even a fraction would be a big plus."" According to Zandi, the single most effective policy move for the housing market would be to facilitate more mortgage refinancing.

The delinquency rate on loans held in U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) fell 23 basis points in August to 9.01 percent, according to Moody's Investors Service. Even with a slip in the numbers, Moody's notes that August was the eighth consecutive month that delinquencies have been above the 9 percent mark. The resolutions of delinquent loans continued to exceed new delinquencies last month, with $4.1 billion in resolutions versus $2.6 billion in newly delinquent CMBS loans.

The nation's foremost securities regulator is considering a civil injunction against Standard & Poor's (S&P) for its rating of a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) linked to high-risk mortgages. S&P's parent company told investors Monday it received notice that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may proceed with enforcement actions and monetary penalties. At the center of the investigation is a $1.6 billion CDO from 2007, which has been cited as an example of why the financial crisis ran so deep.

Commercial real estate prices have increased for three consecutive months, according to Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Indices. Prices are now similar to levels recorded two years ago. In July, the national index posted a 5 percent increase. It's now 12.6 percent above its post-peak low, however, it is 42.5 percent below its peak. Moody's sees the latest gain more as a continuation of the bottoming process than as a harbinger of recovery. Sales of distressed assets made up 28 percent of the market in July.

The three major banks that received downgrades from Moody's this week responded with assertions of their value. Bank of America's and Wells Fargo's long-term credit ratings were downgraded, while Citigroup was hit with a downgrade of its short-term credit rating. Moody's says the downgrades stem from its belief the government is more likely now than during the financial crisis to allow a large bank to fail. The banks say that assessment is more a reflection on systemic support than their own liquidity profiles.