The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a statement in May requesting information about the collection of data on small business loans. The Bureau’s request states that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (part of the Dodd-Frank Act) has been amended to “require financial institutions to compile, maintain, and report information concerning credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses” and that the Bureau “seeks to learn more about the small business financing market, including understanding more about the products that are offered to small businesses… as well as the financial institutions that offer such credit.”

The CFPB has also requested public comment regarding possible complications in reporting this data, both in terms of how data is collected and what difficulties they may cause to financial institutions.

The Independent Community Bankers Association immediately opposed the mandate. In an official statement by the ICBA, the President and CEO Camden R. Fine said, “The CFPB’s data collection and reporting mandates will compound existing regulatory and paperwork burdens, to the detriment of economic and job growth.”

Furthermore, the statement claimed that the regulations would “disproportionately harm community banks with little benefit” and that the “ICBA also strongly urges the CFPB to use its authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to exempt community banks from any reporting rules it issues and to limit mandatory data points to those required by statute.”

Reporting on small business loans is inherently more complicated than reporting on something more uniform like mortgage loans, as every small business loan is different. While the regulations are intended to combat discrimination, it could be difficult to compile enough data for small banks, which only make up 8 percent of the industry’s assets, to infer anything conclusive.

 

 

Sources:

Request for Information Regarding the Small Business Lending Market. (2017, May 10). Retrieved from https://www.consumerfinance.gov/policy-compliance/notice-opportunities-comment/open-notices/request-information-regarding-small-business-lending-market/

Mandelbaum, Robb. The CFPB Wants Data On Small Business Loans. Bankers Are Outraged. (2017, May 29). Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/robbmandelbaum/2017/05/29/the-cfpb-wants-data-on-small-business-loans-bankers-are-outraged/#53a84fcebc3f

ICBA Strongly Opposes CFPB Reporting Mandates. (2017, May 10). Retrieved from http://www.icba.org/news-events/press-releases/2017/05/10/icba-strongly-opposes-cfpb-reporting-mandates

 

 

Photo by Ted Eytan, https://www.flickr.com/photos/taedc/12140164325 Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

South Florida multi-family property sales increased to over $3.6 billion in 2016, which tops the record of $3.3 billion set in 2015. Strong fundamentals prevail, and growth is expected to continue.

As the region’s population continues to rise and the price of single-family homes steadily increases, the demand for rentals is high. According to Cushman & Wakefield, “In the past five years South Florida’s population increased by 333,000. During the same period, 30,093 new apartment units were built. This means one unit has been built for every 11 net new residents. Over the next five years, South Florida is expected to see a positive net migration of 7.5% or 503,260 people. Using the same ratio, the region would need over 45,000 new rentals to keep pace with the population growth for the next five years.”

The home ownership rate in South Florida (62.1%) is one of the lowest in 30 years, and the price of home ownership has outpaced the cost of renting. Cap rates are meager, and investors are interested in the rental market, which promises high cash returns.

Due to the rising costs of land and construction, development is primarily geared towards the A+ market. Fortunately, South Florida saw income levels rise in 2016. Options in the B and C markets continue to be sparse; however, many investors are looking at value-added properties as opportunities in those markets, which have seen the strongest growth in the past year.

 

 

Sources:

Record-Breaking $3.6 Billion Multifamily Sales in 2016 in South Florida. (2017). Retrieved from https://cld.bz/bookdata/WIDjss/basic-html/page-1.html

LeClaire, Jennifer. Record-Setting Pace Marks South Florida Market. (2017, May 12). Retrieved from http://www.globest.com/sites/jenniferleclaire/2017/05/12/record-setting-pace-marks-south-florida-multifamily-market/

Millennials and empty-nesters are moving in droves to city centers nationwide, but there are few places where the urban renaissance is more obvious than Miami.

 

The push has transformed the city into a multi-dimensional metropolis: Neighborhoods that were once overlooked are getting newfound attention from tourists, residents and real estate developers alike.

 

“The Miami of 20 years ago versus today is night and day, and what it’s going to be in 20 years is night and day,” said Martin Pinilla, co-founder and managing partner of the Barlington Group, a Miami company actively investing in Little Havana, west of downtown Miami and the home of the Miami Marlins stadium.

 

Pinilla was one of five speakers on a panel focused on emerging Miami neighborhoods during a CREW-Miami luncheon Wednesday.

 

He was joined by other real estate leaders, including Shari Neissani, vice president of asset management for New York’s RedSky Capital, a major real estate owner involved in Wynwood’s striking transformation from an industrial base.

 

RedSky found in Wynwood what it initially saw in its Brooklyn home of Williamsburg years ago. The group began investing in the Miami enclave about four years ago with hopes to enhance and preserve its artsy, eclectic culture by revamping its dated real estate, Neissani said.

 

RedSky plans to soon break ground on its first local development, CUBE Wynwd, the first office building to rise in the community. It plans another office building at 2700 NW Second Ave., which was purchased for $31 million last year.

 

But it’s not easy to develop property in Miami, especially in up-and-coming neighborhoods like Wynwood, Little Havana and Allapattah, the panelists said.

 

The city sees the desire to build but sets high hurdles, Neissani said.

 

RedSky’s strategy has been to work with Wynwood property owners to design projects that fit with the neighborhood to improve their chances of city approval.

 

The biggest challenge faced by developers entering these neighborhoods are policy issues, said Carlos Fausto, president of Fausto Commercial. He applauds the real estate community for working toward the zoning code changes needed to unleash neighborhood development.

While the city adopted the Miami 21 zoning overhaul in 2009, it’s already archaic, said Tony Cho, founder of Metro 1 Properties.

 

The code fails to address resiliency, sea-level rise or affordability issues, Cho said.

 

Character

 

In Wynwood, stakeholders have successfully established the Neighborhood Revitalization District, or NRD, with a zoning code specific to the neighborhood that opened the door for development while keeping its arts orientation intact.

 

Fausto said Little Havana property owners are pursuing a similar initiative.

 

While plenty of high-end buildings have risen in Miami, few affordable options have been delivered. The historic Little Havana neighborhood has small parcels dominated by one- to four-unit homes for middle- to low-income residents. It’s walkable with mass transit access, and it remains affordable compared with the pricey Brickell district to the east and Coral Gables to the south.

 

But zoning is a major impediment. Fausto said density restrictions and parking requirements limit developers’ ability to build affordable homes.

 

A zoning overlay similar to Wynwood’s NRD would help bring affordable development.

Cho commends the effort: He supports less restrictive parking requirements as well as smaller and more affordable spaces across these neighborhoods.

 

Many homes in Little Havana date back to the 1930s and “require a lot of love” but hold a lot of promise, Pinilla said.

 

Cho sees Little Havana and Allapattah as home to Miami’s future creative workforce. It’ll be tough to attract companies to the area if their employees can’t afford a place to live.

Mass transit is also key, said Mitch Patel, CEO and senior managing principal of Platinum Cos. If the neighborhoods aren’t interconnected, residents and employees will have a hard time getting around.

 

Patel warned a lack of reliable transit options may deter people from moving to urban centers and reverse the trend responsible for the re-emergence of these neighborhoods.

Cho, a relative Wynwood pioneer who arrived in the neighborhood 17 years ago, said it’s important for each community to preserve its character.

 

“Wynwood was about street art,” he said. “Each neighborhood needs to have its own defining principle, its own characteristic.”

 

As land prices escalate in Wynwood, investors have started looking elsewhere. A number of high-profile deals has thrown Allapattah into the spotlight. The working-class neighborhood sits north of Little Havana and west of Wynwood.

 

“I love the neighborhood because it’s a working neighborhood, and it’s an ambitious neighborhood,” Fausto said.

It has a strong industrial core — “similar to what Wynwood looked like 10 to 15 years ago” — and a solid housing base.

 

When asked about Miami’s next frontier, Patel answered, “Every neighborhood is game.”

 

 

 

 

Carla Vianna, Daily Business Review

March 16, 2017

Original Article

Above Image: Rendering of the office tower to be built in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Credit: RedSky Capital

 

Airbnb, which has already been feeling the squeeze in cities like New York, San Francisco and Seattle, are now facing further crackdowns in two additional major tourist destinations: Las Vegas and Hawaii.

 

Las Vegas property owners interested in renting out their properties for brief periods will have to comply with new rules passed Wednesday meant to crack down on a booming short-term rental industry that has raised concerns among some residents and local officials. Owners now need a special use permit, proof of liability insurance for US$500,000 and letter-sized placards outside the properties with contact information and maximum allowed occupancy.

 

The new requirements were approved as complaints over raucous parties at short-term rentals have mounted over the years and following more than three hours of debate among city officials and comments from dozens of residents.

 

City officials were split on the ordinance. While some council members strongly favor the regulations, others, including the mayor, questioned whether they will truly put an end to the use of rentals as “party houses” since enforcement of the existing regulations has not been efficient.

 

“Everything I’m hearing is exactly the same. It’s party houses and party houses and party houses, and none of us wants them in our neighborhood,” Mayor Carolyn Goodman said. “But this isn’t going to do anything, in my opinion, to stop the party houses.”

 

Figures released in February by the San Francisco-based home-sharing service Airbnb show people in Las Vegas who listed their homes through the company hosted more than a quarter of a million people last year and earned $35.5 million.

 

Las Vegas drew a record number of visitors for a third straight year in 2016, attracting almost 43 million tourists. Unincorporated Clark County – which includes properties near the Las Vegas Strip – does not allow short-term rentals in residential areas.

 

Short-term rentals were already required to pass a safety and minimum property standard inspection, obtain a business license and pay an annual $500 permit fee. Short-term rentals may not be within 660 feet of each other as measured from their property lines.

 

The new special-use permit carries a fee of $1,030. It also requires units with more than 5 bedrooms to have one additional parking spot for every two additional bedrooms.

 

Airbnb spokeswoman Jasmine Mora in a statement said the council’s decision “is a step in the wrong direction that threatens an important economic lifeline for thousands of Las Vegas families.”

 

Meanwhile, officials on the Hawaii island of Oahu are looking for ways to cut down on subleasing as its popularity rises with the advent of businesses such as Airbnb.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that renters have been cashing in on the profitability of the island’s vacation rental market through online rental sites. But Honolulu officials are working on a way to curb the trend by strengthening the city’s subleasing enforcement strategy.

Hawaii real estate analyst Stephany Sofos says she once had a tenant who was renting from her for $1,500 per month, but was subleasing for $1,000 per week through Craigslist and Airbnb.

Elizabeth Churchill, owner of tourism consultancy Churchill Group LLC, called the practice “brilliant” for tenants, but says those who are making money should follow regulations and pay their share.

 

Airbnb has run into regulatory battles in some cities, including New York and San Francisco. In some cities, local officials have complained that the boom in short-term rentals, led by Airbnb – which boasts millions of rental listings around the world – is reducing long-term housing for residents.

 

In May, Seattle officials and Airbnb reached a deal in a lawsuit stemming from the city’s efforts to prevent the website from including housing units that violate city restrictions on who can list properties and for how long. Under the settlement, residents have to provide their registration number to list a rental on the website.

 

 

 

With file from The Associated Press via Travel Week

 

A tight housing market has pushed prices out of reach for a large chunk of would-be buyers across the U.S., forcing millions into an apartment market that digs deep into monthly paychecks for rent, especially in high-cost markets like Miami.

 

Nearly 39 million U.S. residents live in homes they can’t afford, according to a national housing report released Friday by Harvard University. The findings point to a growing concern over housing affordability and shines a glaring light on Miami-Dade County’s pricey market.

 

Miami was one of 11 large metropolitan areas where more than 40 percent of households were cost-burdened, meaning over 30 percent of their income was gobbled up by housing costs.

 

“While the recovery in home prices reflects a welcome pickup in demand, it is also being driven by very tight supply,” said Chris Herbert, managing director of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. “Any excess housing that may have been built during the boom years has been absorbed, and a stronger supply response is going to be needed to keep pace with demand — particularly for moderately priced homes.”

 

Apartment dwellers have it worse. Among Miami renters alone, 62 percent were considered cost-burdened while 35 percent spent more than half their income on rent.

 

The report also highlighted Daytona Beach, where 57 percent of renters spent over a third of their income on rent in 2016. The least affordable cities were not ranked.

 

The affordability struggle is a function of rising demand for housing combined with limited — and costly — supply.

 

Fewer residential units were built in the U.S. over the past decade than in any 10-year period since the 1960s. A large portion of the new homes tend to cater to higher-end purchasers, not first-time homebuyers.

 

“Construction of smaller starter homes is particularly low,” the report said.

 

The for-sale inventory hit a record low at the end of 2016, further squeezing supply of homes on the market. The result? More and more people are renting rather than buying. The national rental vacancy rate dropped to its lowest level in three decades last year.

 

However, most apartment units built are considered luxury. Twelve of the 20 rental developments with 50 or more units built in Miami-Dade in 2015 were high-end with the average rent swaying near $2,100, according to a study by RentCafe.

 

The total number of units renting for less than $800 in Miami declined by about 20,000 to 131,000 from 2005 to 2015. The number of apartments renting for over $2,400 more than doubled since then to 42,000.

 

The U.S. housing market hit a significant milestone last year when home prices reached their pre-recession peak. This helped reduce the number of homeowners underwater on their mortgages to 3.2 million from 12 million in 2011.

 

While Miami-Dade home prices have risen 74 percent since 2000, they’re still below their peak. About 16 percent of homeowners remained underwater on their mortgages in 2016, more than double the national rate.

 

 

Carla Vianna, Daily Business Review

 

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Miamiboyz at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide.
In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so:
Miamiboyz grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Wikimedia commons

Developers and lenders in the seniors housing sector have for years only allowed new construction to proceed at a modest pace. The development community’s aim was to avoid the mistakes made in past booms, when too many inexperienced operators built too much new product. However, developers have recently picked up the pace a bit as an aging population has steadily boosted demand.

 

And according to a new report from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, the seniors housing annual inventory growth rate in the first quarter of 2017 was 3.4%, up 0.2 percentage point from the prior quarter and the fastest pace since at least 2006.

 

“It was another active quarter for inventory growth, with nearly 4,800 units added to the seniors housing stock” in 31 primary markets, says Beth Burnham Mace, chief economist for Annapolis, MD-based NIC. “At the same time, demand slowed during the quarter, as is typically the case in the first quarter due to the seasonal effects of the winter months. Some of the slowdown in net absorption may also reflect the severity of the 2016/2017 flu season.”

 

The pace of new construction helped push down the US occupancy rate for seniors housing properties, according to NIC. The rate in the first quarter averaged 89.3%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from the prior quarter and was down 0.6 percentage point from one year earlier.

 

That was 2.4 percentage points above its cyclical low of 86.9% during the first quarter of 2010 and 0.9 percentage point below its most recent high of 90.2% in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Seniors housing annual absorption was 2.8% as of the first quarter of 2017, up 0.1 percentage point from the fourth quarter of 2016 and up 0.2 percentage point from one year earlier, NIC adds.

 

The expansion of the nation’s inventory has not hurt rental rates. During the first quarter of 2017, the average rate of senior housing’s annual asking rent growth was 3.3%, up from 3.1% in the first quarter of 2016.

 

“Considering the continued strong inventory growth and sustained levels of construction, this solid same-store rent growth is notable,” says Chuck Harry, NIC’s chief of research and analytics.

 

 

As reported in GlobeSt.com APRIL 17, 2017 | BY BRIAN J. ROGAL