As skyrocketing prices soar above the condo high-rises that dominate the Miami skyline, investors money has receded to more oxygen-rich segments. Though condo sales are slacking, funds continue to pour into the Miami real estate market.

 

Commercial property seems to be the target rich area as 2016 came to a close and 2017 launches into view.

 

A recent interview with Alex Zylberglait, the senior vice president in charge of investments for Marcus & Milchap in Miami, exposed his experiences and opinions on this new trend.

 

Over the last two years, Miami has seen investor funds buying up commercial property grow from over $465 million to $1.75 billion. Although there was a bit of a drop off in 2016, those numbers are still impressive and still show substantial proof of a positive trend.

 

Luxury condos slowly started saturating the market in 2014 and investors were quick to pick up on this developing asset.

 

Although commercial sales were slightly lower in 2016 than in 2015, investors are still purchasing steadily. These investors are mainly from South America where they are looking to keep their funds clear from economic recessions and the turmoil in Venezuela.

 

Zylberglait sees a strong market in 2017 for commercial properties. He did temper his remarks by saying that by late in the year the market could see some slight price correction as economic and political conditions change in the United States.

 

Even if that is the case, Zylberglait went on with assurance, the equity and strength in the market are deeper than during the last correction. Adding in the maturity of the Miami marketplace, the city is poised to withstand a minor correction.

 

President-elect, Donald Trump has not officially been sworn into office, but Republicans in Congress are wasting no time in passing legislation that seems to foreshadow his political agenda.

Dodd-Frank was put into action by the Democrats in Congress, and with the full backing of President Obama, in 2010 for the sole purpose of trying to reign in financial institutions in hopes of avoiding any future economic downfall.

Trump has made it clear during his campaign that he feels that Dodd-Frank has put a strangle hold on economic growth and has vowed to have it reversed. His campaign promise seems to be on its way toward fulfillment.

At the current moment, there seems no way to get this billed passed as Congress is lame-duck and President Obama vowed to veto it. The future of the bill sits with the new Congress, led by a Republican majority and the soon to be Trump administration.

Trump and the Republicans in Congress see Dodd-Frank as a complicated and overly restrictive bill. The new bill would allow large banks with over $50 billion in assets to no longer be deemed as a threat toward a future financial crisis.

The ease would allow for these institutions to ease up on lending practices and make borrowing easier to those in small business and those living on Main St. This action would produce growth in the housing and business market.

Proponents of the legislation state that the reason the bill is being pushed is to give a payback to Trump supporting Wall Street financiers.

Whichever it is, one thing is clear, economic growth would be beneficial for commercial and retail America.

For many years, it has seemed that new home builders were ignoring first time home buyers to focus on the most lucrative demographics in the middle to high-end home market. The housing market had made it apparent that in this post-recession time that prices are rising quickly and first time home buyers have been priced out.

Well, that seems to be a thing of the past. Not that the market is not seeing tremendous upside growth, but that home builders might be changing their target.

By spending years building homes for those with easy access to funds, less credit restraint, and high-end tastes they have created enough homes to meet demand while creating a shortage of smaller, more affordable homes. Reports are apparently shedding light on the fact that sales of medium size, single-family home sales have decreased up to 70%, while homes under $200,000 have increased dramatically.

As one would expect from any keen business person, one should follow supply and demand.

Statistics show that the job market has produced more income and the demand for home buying is there. Couple that with the fact that the number of sales units are decreasing and it becomes clear that the buyers are not willing or able to afford the larger, higher priced homes that have quickly become available via new home builds focused on the medium to higher end buyers.

Smart money follows the trends. The smaller, single family new homes market has been ignored for too long. It is time to build and profit from the clear demand of this overlooked market segment.

 

H.R. 3700 is now law. The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act was activated by the signature of President Obama back in July 2016. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has lauded this bill as a significant step in creating more availability and removing road blocks in the obtaining of mortgage credit in the condo market.

The NAR and their nearly 140,000 members have been lobbying Congress for quite some time to encourage the passing of this legislation. The Association applauded the unanimous House vote back in February and was ecstatic upon the final approval by the Senate in mid-July.

NAR President, Tom Salomone was quoted expressing his relief in knowing that condo owners will now have fewer restrictions on obtaining FHA financing.

This bill will make the Federal Housing Administration’s process for re-certification less cumbersome and it also lowered the owner occupancy requirement rate from 50% down to 35%. The FHA will also be revamping its transfer fee policy it currently has in place. The new model will be far less restrictive and more in line with the current Federal Housing Finance Agency’s guidelines.

Finally, some relief is on the way for those in the condo market who have seen increased pressure brought on by rising prices, restrictive lending guidelines, and low inventories, Salomone went on to say.

This piece of legislation has done its job by removing the barriers of strict lending guidelines and putting the dream of home ownership back into the hands of deserving Americans.

Refinance numbers have launched up above the peak of 2012. Today, there appear to be more than 8.7 million refi candidates in the market. This seems to be the result of the U.S. Treasury bond market which has seen a significant bump as investors shifted their interest after Brexit.

Even though refinance rates have only dropped by 15 basis points, it appears that was enough to inflate the market with an additional 1.3 million borrowers. This means that there are more people in the market today then there were when mortgage rates hit rock bottom in 2015.

In South Florida, it appears the difference is equating to an uptick of 30% versus last year’s numbers.

Other experts do not believe it has anything to do with Brexit, but it is a result of limited housing inventory with low-interest rates. This is causing an increase in home prices. As millennials are searching for homes, and baby boomers are downsizing into well-appointed homes or condos at higher price points.

Homes are selling in a matter of days, and often over the listing price. This rise in values will show an increase in equity for those staying put. Add to the fact that credit scores are starting to improve and you have more qualified homeowners with the ability to refinance their homes.

It would appear that this is a perfect mixture to keep the refi market on fire and moving forward.

 

Court Deems Unconstitutional

The U.S. consumer watchdog’s structure has been deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Appeals Court. The court pointed out that too much power was put into the hands of one agency director.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, has been under fire since its creation following the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The Court went on to say that it is unconstitutional to limit the power of The President of the United States by not allowing him to remove an agency director.

The law creating this independent agency stated that the director’s removal could only be for cause and not over political differences. This conflicted the constitution, which says the president can remove a person for any reason.

The federal government disagreed with the court decision saying it was constitutional.

Richard Cordray, a Democrat, has been on top of the agency since it began in 2011. His term does not end until 2018, so his reign likely will not be affected unless Donald Trump were to become president.

The case, which brought about this decision, involved allegations that a mortgage lender in New Jersey was receiving illegal kickbacks from mortgage insurance company referrals. The CFPB ordered the company to pay back the ill-gotten funds, and the company challenged the bureau’s structure and believed their actions to be legal.

“The Bureau respectfully disagrees with the court’s decision,” CFPB spokeswoman Moira Vahey communicated in her statement. “The Bureau believes that Congress’ decision to make the director removable only for cause is consistent with Supreme Court precedent, and the Bureau is considering options for seeking further review of the court’s decision.”