District of Columbia

DCHFA Provides $78M Financing for Affordable Assisted Living Development in D.C.

by Alex Tostado September 4, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) is funding the construction of The Residences at Kenilworth Park, an affordable assisted living community in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 7. DCHFA issued $58 million in bond financing and underwrote $20 million in 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing for the 157-unit development. Apartments at The Residences at Kenilworth Park will be reserved for seniors age 60 and above who require assistance with two or more activities of daily living. Residents must earn 60 percent or less of the annual median income (AMI), and includes Medicaid recipients. National Foundation for Affordable Housing Solutions Inc., Gragg Cardona Partners, The Carding Group and HallBridge Partners make up the development team constructing the five-story building. Total development costs are estimated at $85 million. A timeline for construction was not disclosed.

September 4, 2020

District of Columbia Southeast

Initial Unemployment Claims Dip to 881,000, Beating Expectations

by Alex Tostado September 3, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Initial unemployment claims dipped to 881,000 for the week ending Aug. 29, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The most recent figure is a decrease of 130,000 claims from the previous week. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected 950,000 claims. The week ending Aug. 29 was also the first time since Aug. 8 that unemployment claims were below 1 million. The four-week moving average stood at 991,750 claims, a decrease from nearly 1.1 million the previous week. Continuing claims, for which data is week behind, totaled 13.3 million, a sharp decrease from the previous week’s total of 14.5 million. The Department of Labor implemented a new methodology for this week’s numbers, changing how it calculates for seasonally adjusted data. The previous methodology used seasonally adjustments to account for normal disruptions while the new criteria is tweaked for virus-related conditions.

September 3, 2020

District of Columbia Multifamily Southeast

NMHC ‘Disappointed’ in Federal Order to Temporarily Halt Residential Evictions

by Alex Tostado September 3, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has issued a statement expressing its disappointment in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Trump Administration for ordering the temporary halt in residential evictions nationwide through the end of the year. “We are deeply disappointed that this moratorium is being enacted, particularly without the backup of a meaningful rental assistance program,” a statement from the Washington, D.C.-based organization read. The order, which was issued Tuesday, Sept. 1, applies to renters who make $99,000 or less per year or families making less than $198,000 per year. Additionally, to avoid eviction, renters must prove they are unable to pay rent due to COVID-19-related hardship and that being evicted would lead to them being homeless or living in close quarters with people from outside their household.

September 3, 2020

District of Columbia Southeast

Slightly Over 1M Americans File for First-Time Unemployment Insurance Benefits

by Alex Tostado August 27, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A little more than 1 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance benefits during the week ending Aug. 22, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday morning. The most recent figure is what economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected for the week. The total was a decrease of 98,000 claims from the previous week. It was the second consecutive week claims totaled more than 1 million after the week ending Aug. 8 snapped a 20-week streak of at least 1 million claims since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The four-week moving average also decreased for the week, falling by 107,250 claims to just under 1.1 million. Continuing claims fell by 223,000 to 14.5 million for the week ending Aug. 15. (Data for continuing claims is delayed by one week.)

August 27, 2020

District of Columbia Southeast

FHFA Extends Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Pandemic-Related Policies Through End of September

by Alex Tostado August 27, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has extended Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s coronavirus-related policies for their single-family properties through Sept. 30, 2020. The policies include the temporary policy allowing the purchase of qualified loans in forbearance, allowing alternative methods for documenting income and verifying employment and expanding the use of power of attorney and remote online notarizations. The new policies for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) overseen by the FHFA, were previously set to expire Aug. 31. Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued a statement supporting the FHFA’s decision. “MBA and its members appreciate FHFA and the GSEs extending these important features,” said Bob Broeksmit, CEO and president of MBA. “Both the origination flexibilities and the program to purchase loans in forbearance are providing important stability to the mortgage market during the pandemic. [The] announcement will enable lenders to continue to make low-rate mortgage financing readily available to consumers and avoid the inevitable credit tightening that would have resulted from their expiration.”

August 27, 2020

District of Columbia Hospitality Southeast

AHLA Calls on Congress to Pass New Legislation That Will Help Hotel Owners Pay Mortgages

by Alex Tostado August 20, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new national report compiled by Trepp shows that nearly one in four (23.4 percent) of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) in the hotel sector are 30 or more days delinquent, the highest percentage on record. By comparison, 1.3 percent of hotel CMBS loans were 30 or more days delinquent at the end of 2019. Nearly 4,000 hotel industry leaders signed a letter to the U.S. Congress imploring it to pass the Helping Open Properties Endeavor (HOPE) Act. The bill would provide assistance to small businesses, including hotel owners needing help to meet their debt-service obligations. “With record low travel demand, thousands of hotels can’t afford to pay their commercial mortgages and are facing foreclosure with the harsh reality of having to close their doors permanently,” says Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). “Tens of thousands of hotel employees will lose their jobs and small business industries that depend on these hotels to drive local tourism and economic activity will likely face a similar fate.” According to STR, occupancy levels across the country reached 50.2 percent during the week ending Aug. 15. It was the first time since mid-March that occupancy …

August 20, 2020

District of Columbia Southeast

First-Time Unemployment Claims Tick Back Above 1M

by Alex Tostado August 20, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 1.1 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims in the week ending Aug. 15, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday morning. The weekly total was more than the 923,000 claims economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected. The most recent figure is an increase of 135,000 claims from the previous week, which was the first time since the coronavirus outbreak that claims totaled fewer than 1 million. The four-week moving average decreased by 79,000 to just under 1.2 million claims. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, totaled more than 14.8 million for the week ending Aug. 8, a decrease of 636,000 from the previous week.

August 20, 2020

District of Columbia Retail Southeast

Retail Sales Rise 1.2 Percent in July, Says Commerce Department

by Alex Tostado August 14, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Retail sales in July rose 1.2 percent on a month-over-month basis, the U.S. Commerce Department reported in its advanced estimate this morning. Total sales for the month clocked in at $536 billion, up from $529.4 billion in June. The Commerce Department reported sales reached $527 billion in February, marking the first time during the pandemic that retail sales have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, the Commerce Department revised its May to June growth up 90 basis points to 8.4 percent. Despite the growth, the total volume of retail spending wasn’t as robust as economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected. Economists forecast a 2.3 percent increase from June. A major reason for the sales coming in lower than expected was due to auto sales falling behind. The Commerce Department reports that excluding auto sales, retail would have grown 1.9 percent. Though the growth is slowing, the National Retail Federation (NRF) says the July figures add to the turnaround seen since the spring’s decline, namely when sales dipped 16.4 percent in April. “Retail sales for July were another positive step in the right direction as our economy continues to slowly reopen,” says Matthew Shay, CEO and president of the NRF. …

August 14, 2020

District of Columbia Southeast

First-Time Unemployment Claims Fall Below 1M for First Time in Five Months

by Alex Tostado August 13, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the week ending Aug. 8, 963,000 people filed first-time unemployment claims, which marks the first time since the week ending March 14 that fewer than 1 million Americans filed for assistance, the U.S. Department of Labor reported this morning. The most recent figure is a 228,000 decrease on a week-over-week basis. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting 1.1 million claims for the week. The four-week moving average stood at nearly 1.3 million claims, a decrease of 86,250 from the previous four-week average. For the week ending Aug. 1, continuing claims — for which data is a week behind — decreased by 604,000 from July 25 to 15.5 million.

August 13, 2020

District of Columbia Retail Southeast

Retail Imports to See Lowest Annual Total in Four Years, Says NRF

by Alex Tostado August 11, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Retail imports at major U.S. ports are expected to see their lowest annual totals in four years as the coronavirus continues to affect the economy, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). The NRF forecasts year-end 2020 totals to reach 19.6 million TEUs, which would be a 9.4 percent decrease from 2019 and the lowest number seen since the 19.1 million TEUs of imports in 2016. The NRF and Hackett Associates released their monthly Global Port Tracker report, which found that U.S. ports handled 1.6 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in June, which was up 4.9 percent from May 2020 but down 10.5 percent year-over-year. “The economy is recovering but retailers are being careful not to import more than they can sell,” says Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy. “Shelves will be stocked, but this is not the year to be left with warehouses full of unsold merchandise. The more Congress does to put spending money in consumers’ pockets and provide businesses with liquidity, the sooner we can get back to normal.”

August 11, 2020

Newer Posts

Older Posts