News Brief - May 2018
River Bluff Title, LLC keeps you up to date on what's happening in the real estate world.
What's in this issue:
- Why Aren’t More People Selling Their Homes?
- The Amount of Retail Space Closing in 2018 is on Pace to Break a Record
- Fannie Mae Now Allowing Lenders to Contribute to Borrower Closing Costs
- And more
Why Aren’t More People Selling Their Homes?
Demand for homes is skyrocketing, but lack of sufficient supply is driving high home prices ever higher, forcing some homeowners to stay in their current homes, thus exacerbating the problem even further.
By: David Wharton, DSNews, April 24, 2018
Read more: www.dsnews.com/daily-dose/04-24-2018/what-factors-are-fueling-thehousing-shortage
Fannie Mae Now Allowing Lenders to Contribute to Borrower Closing Costs
While it’s not quite the same as the down payment assistance that the government-sponsored enterprises used to allow, lenders now have a new way to help borrowers buy a home - closing cost assistance.
By: Ben Lane, HousingWire, April 4, 2018
Read more: www.housingwire.com/articles/43022
Blockchain Can’t Protect Property Rights, but Title Insurance Can
Blockchain technology holds infinite possibilities that could help make current processes in our industry and society more efficient; however, it will never be able to do what title insurance professionals do each day: provide peace of mind and protect property rights.
By: Zachary Kammerdeiner and Ashley Sadler, contributors, ALTA Title News Online, April 19, 2018
Read more: www.alta.org/news/news.cfm?20180419-Blockchain-Cant-ProtectProperty-Rights-but-Title-Insurance-Can
Instagram, Facebook Photos Spur Millennials to Become Homeowners
The “FOMO” — fear of missing out — has become one of the forces spurring many Millennials to finally buy a home, according to a Bank of America survey of 2,000 adults early this year
By: Paul Davidson, USA Today, April 11, 2018
Words That Will Help You Sell, And Words That Will Hurt You
Gong.io, a company which uses artificial intelligence to help B2B sales people be more effective, has analyzed more than 500,000 sales conversations and figured out the most effective words and phrases that help sales conversations be more successful.
By: Richard Kestenbaum, contributor, Forbes, April 15, 2018
Commercial
The Amount of Retail Space Closing in 2018 is on Pace to Break a Record
The amount of retail space going dark in 2018 is on pace to break a record, as companies with massive floorplans are either trimming back their store counts or liquidating entirely.
By: Lauren Thomas, CNBC, April 18, 2018
Read more: www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/the-amount-of-retail-space-closing-in-2018-ison-pace-to-break-record.html
Spring 2018 Real Estate Economic Forecast
The Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit education and research institute publish, published a 48-page informational document with results from a survey of leading real estate economists/analysts.
By: ULI Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate, April 2018
How the Experience Economy is Affecting Commercial Real Estate
The commercial real estate market is extremely competitive and enticing major brands to select one development over another is more than just “location, location, location.”
By: Bill Coan, National Real Estate Investor, April 26, 2018
Read more: www.nreionline.com/retail/how-experience-economy-affecting-commercialreal-estate
U.S. Industrial Vacancy Rate Hits Record Low in 2017
Industrial vacancies hit an all-time low in 2017, as changes in technology and consumer habits drove demand for distribution and warehousing space, according to Ten-X Commercial’s U.S. Industrial Market Outlook.
By: Camren Skelton, Rebusiness Online, April 24, 2018
Read more: www.rebusinessonline.com/u-s-industrial-vacancy-rate-hits-record-lowin-2017
The Beige Book
The Federal Reserve Bank’s latest Beige Book report offers a mixed-bag of observations for the commercial real estate sector.
By: Camren Skelton, Rebusiness Online, April 24, 2018
To access the April 18, 2018 edition, visit: www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/ beigebook201804.htm
