News

Investment bank KBW, Inc. is bolstering its real estate business with the addition of Michael Errichetti as managing director and head of its real estate investment banking team. Errichetti previously spent over 25 years at JP Morgan, advising clients and raising capital for large real estate transactions.

According to the Federal Reserve's well-recognized Beige Book, U.S. economic conditions have shown signs of improvement through the first part of this year. Data from nine of the 12 Federal Reserve districts indicated that economic activity improved, but in most cases the increases were ""modest."" Residential real estate markets improved in a number of districts, while nearly all characterized commercial real estate as weak. Stronger home sales were attributed to the federal tax credit for homebuyers.

One of the nation's most visible and vocal lawmakers has cast some doubt on the safety of doing business with the nation's two largest mortgage financiers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, issued a public statement Friday which essentially warns investors that have lent money to the two GSEs and those that have purchased their mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to expect to incur some losses.

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., a commercial real estate services firm headquartered in Los Angeles, announced Friday that is has promoted Gil Borok to CFO. He takes over the CFO responsibilities from Bob Sulentic, who will continue as president of the company.

The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) will receive nearly $700 million in new federal funding to help the state's most troubled homeowners stay in their homes. CalHFA is one of five housing agencies slated to receive a total of $1.5 billion in aid for states where unemployment is high and home prices have fallen more than 20 percent. CalHFA says it will submit its program plans to the federal government by April 16 and expects the new initiatives to be ready for implementation by mid-year or sooner.

University Financial Associates, LLC (UFA) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently released its quarterly Default Risk Index, showing that although mortgage risks are still elevated, they are quickly returning to normal levels.

For months, industry experts have lamented the nation's poor job market as a stranglehold on the housing market's recovery and a dead weight dragging down occupancy rates and new development in the commercial real estate sector. But according to data released by the Department of Labor Friday, the national unemployment rate was flat from January to February at 9.7 percent. Employers shed just 36,000 jobs during the month - far fewer than economists were expecting.

As mandated by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the secretary of HUD recently released a report to Congress addressing the root causes of the foreclosure crisis and made recommendations on actions that should be taken to mitigate the crisis and help prevent similar crises from occurring in the future.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair - a recognized champion of homeownership preservation whose loan modification model has set the standard for the industry - is throwing her support behind the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). She also points out that the nation's mortgage problem has evolved, and it's underwater mortgages that are now the biggest threat. Bair says the FDIC is actively looking at principal write-downs as one way to encourage borrowers to stick with their mortgages and help mortgage owners avoid costly foreclosures.

Desiree Patno Enterprises, Inc., a women-owned REO brokerage based out of Irvine, California, has announced the integration of a new department designed to provide assistance to homeowners in default at no cost. The company is now offering free information regarding loan modifications and short sales both in-office and online.