Real Estate News – March 16, 2011




Last week’s Federal Reserve update on loans at commercial banks in the U.S. reports the fourth straight monthly rise in C&I loans in February. The monthly dollar value of those loans (seasonally adjusted) continues to slip, however, increasing by $2.3 billion, well down from January’s $5.3 billion advance. Meantime, real estate loans continue to retreat. Last month’s drop accelerated, posting the biggest monthly decline in a year in seasonally adjusted dollar terms (via WallStreetPit.com): http://bit.ly/ihXvAj


The percentage of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans paying off on their balloon date held steady last month according to the Trepp February payoff report. Overall, 38.4% of the loans reaching their balloon date paid off in February, Trepp noted Tuesday (via nreionline.com): http://bit.ly/feN9Uh


Lurking in a proposed mortgage fraud settlement with the state attorneys general is a clause that could be worth billions for the big banks (via NYTimes.com): http://nyti.ms/fUn3yZ


A California state assemblyman is introducing legislation that would bill banks $20,000 for every home foreclosure they execute in the state (via MercuryNews.com): http://bit.ly/e3tKuQ


Seattle-based real estate information service Zillow has hired Citigroup to manage its initial public offering, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing three people with knowledge of the company’s plans (via seattlepi.com): http://bit.ly/hbysgE