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The Energy Star ratings system and the Home Star program are likely to be joined by Building Star, which will provide incentives to improve energy efficiency in commercial and multi-family residential buildings.  Legislation to establishe Building Star was introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR). If the legislation becomes law, the […]

Two massive earthquakes in a single month – an 8.8 trembler in Chile and a 7.0 quake in Haiti – have raised the question of whether engineers can design buildings that don’t crumble when the earth’s tectonic plates crash against one another. Although the simple answer is that the technology exists to make buildings almost […]

A little-noticed bill was introduced in Congress in January that could bring a new source of liquidity to the commercial real estate sector – foreign investment.  Legislation introduced by Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY) called the Real Estate Revitalization Act of 2010 would cut taxes that were introduced as part of the Foreign Investment Real Estate […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may get all the headlines, but the retirement of Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn is giving President Barack Obama the historic opportunity to reshape the nation’s central bank. Kohn is one of seven Fed governors who set U.S. monetary policy and regulate the financial system. The change comes at a […]

The rate of mortgage delinquencies – borrowers who are one payment late – fell slightly between the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2009 from 9.64 percent to 9.47 percent.  According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), a fourth quarter decline is unusual — even when there is no recession — because winter and the holidays typically […]

After the success of the “Cash for Clunkers” and “Cash for Caulkers” programs, the Obama administration has rolled out “Cash for Appliances”, with the goal of replacing aging washers and refrigerators with new ones that consume less energy.  Funded by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus bill, “Cash for Appliances” is a […]

The last 30 years have seen a boom for skyscraper construction because the cost of borrowing money had declined significantly. When investors borrow money to purchase assets, they send prices higher.  The problem is that this borrowing makes the markets susceptible to busts when investors sell assets to pay their debts.  The recent financial crisis […]

Eleven American banks that received money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) originated 13 percent more loans in December than they had the previous month. The Department of the Treasury released this information in its monthly survey of loans made by recipients of the $700 billion government bailout money. According to the Treasury Department, […]

Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) are expected to remain below $15 billion in 2010 as borrowers cope with falling property values.  According to Alan Todd, a JPMorgan analyst, debt sales backed by CBD office, hotel and shopping center loans could be as low as $10 billion this year.  Aaron Bryson of Barclays Capital is more optimistic, […]

An independent audit released by the bipartisan Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) has found the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to be effective, so much so that the Department of the Treasury has extended it to October 3, 2010.  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to use the remaining funds to assist families facing foreclosure […]