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.)
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.”
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 …
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.
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. …
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.
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.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has reported that 79.3 percent of apartment households have paid August rent as of Aug. 6. NMHC surveyed its network of 11.4 million professionally managed units as part of its Rent Payment Tracker metric. The latest figure is a decrease of 233,000 households, or 1.9 percent, from August 2019. However, the total number of those paying rent is an increase from July 6, 2020, in which 77.4 percent paid rent. President Donald Trump over the weekend signed an extension of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that provides unemployment benefits for citizens who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 outbreak. David Schwartz, NMHC chairman and CEO and chairman of Chicago-based Waterton, says that the CARES Act has been instrumental in helping millions of renters pay their rent. “Over the past few months apartment residents have largely been able to meet their housing obligations,” says Schwartz.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added nearly 1.8 million jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell 90 basis points to 10.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. The uptick on nonfarm payroll employment beat expectations as economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal anticipated just under 1.5 million jobs to be added. Though the latest job tally surpassed expectations, Ball State University economist Michael Hicks cautions against drawing sweeping conclusions. The employment-to-population ratio is more than 5 percent below the level from July 2019 and more than 3.5 million workers have exited the labor force in the past few months. Hicks says if those 3.5 million workers were included in the jobs report, the unemployment rate would be 250 basis points higher. “Permanent job losses continue to increase, but temporary losses appear to be nearly fully recovered,” he said. “This means roughly 10 percent of those working in January remain unemployed, with no evidence of improving prospects for re-employment.” Employment surged in the leisure and hospitality sector, having added 592,000 jobs, making up for one-third of the overall monthly growth. The sector lost 8.2 million jobs in March and April, though has begun to reclaim …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $19.1 million sale of Griffin Apartments at Petworth Metro, a 49-unit multifamily community in Washington, D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood. The property, which was built in 2011, offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include bike storage, an Amazon Hub package delivery system and 24-hour maintenance services. The property is situated at 3801 Georgia Ave. NW, one block from the Petworth Metro Station and three miles north of downtown D.C. Christian Barreiro and Marty Zupancic of Marcus & Millichap brokered the transaction between the seller, Donatelli Development, and the buyer, Virginia-based Viking Capital.