James Kleimann

Breaker: Barry Habib outlined a plan suggesting that the FHFA adjust LLPAs for second homes and cash-out refis. “It’s not a whole revamp. It’s more narrowed — just second homes and cash-out refis,” he told me in an interview. He also noted that, at this point, nothing has been finalized. Later, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said he’s opening the discussion to other industry professionals. "While we appreciate Barry's deep experience and input, we want a full range of views as we review LLPAs. The first and foremost thing is we want to do no harm!" Check out my full coverage for HousingWire — the link is in the comments.

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New: City executives are planning to launch a new stock market for growth companies as soon as the second half of 2026. The so-called Global Growth Market is looking to raise funding to support its first year of operations, with the aim of attracting floats worth as much as $5bn. Financial News reported earlier this year that the same group had tried to acquire AIM from the London Stock Exchange.

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High interest rates. A dearth of listings. Plummeting home sales. The Hamptons appeared to be down and out—but Katherine Clarke's latest for The Wall Street Journal shows the East End is hotter than ever: https://on.wsj.com/4oPG2GT As of early October, the region had notched 74 home sales of $10 million or more and was projected to see at least 94 by the end of the year—the highest since real-estate appraiser Jonathan Miller started tracking the market more than two decades ago. Even 2021’s Covid-era buying frenzy produced only 54 such deals. What’s fueling this epic comeback? Lower interest rates have gotten buyers back into the game, says real-estate agent Kyle Rosko. Miller points to the strength of Wall Street, with fatter bonus pools and renewed optimism across trading floors. “The Hamptons is, for lack of a better term, kicking ass at the very high end of the market,” Miller says.

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Fannie Mae has a new board member — mortgage legend Barry Habib. Habib was at HousingWire's 2025 Economic Forum earlier this year and shared his 2025 forecast. 🛣️ Habib predicts that mortgage rates will end the year in the low 6% range, in-between HousingWire’s 2025 prediction that mortgage rates will stay in a range between 5.75% and 7.25%. 🛣️ Habib predicts that home price appreciation will be between 4% to 4.5% and that the 10-year yield to end 2025 in the 3.6% to 3.8% range. 🛣️ Inflation, as measured by PCE, is projected to decrease to around 2.6% from 2.8%. The unemployment rate is projected to reach 4.4 to 4.5%, leading to Fed rate cuts, Habib predicts. https://lnkd.in/eUx8SBsy

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In New York City, the Singer Bronx Multifamily Portfolio, comprising five properties and 291 rent-regulated units, moved into special servicing for payment default after several months of delinquency, according to Morningstar Credit. Though Morningstar didn't tie the Bronx property issues to a 2019 law that capped rent increases, a number of similar landlords have run into issues as operating expenses and debt costs have outpaced rental increases. https://lnkd.in/ekRphvQC

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Wall Street's three major indexes managed to close Tuesday's choppy session higher, marking quarterly and monthly gains, even as investors braced for a U.S. government shutdown, which would delay key economic reports and muddy the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy outlook. https://lnkd.in/gTpZ4Vgd Story for Reuters

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Column: Still undecided on Propositions 418 and 419? So am I! Here are the factors I’m considering in deciding whether to vote yes or no on RTA Next, from the bird-in-hand to the too-long term of the plan. https://lnkd.in/gW2m92nF

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New rental housing starts in D.C. last year totaled 932 units, a 79% drop from the prior year. I dug into why a decline in investment has made D.C.'s development slowdown sharper than other areas, and how the mayor and lawmakers aim to reverse the trend: https://lnkd.in/ebacSTNx

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My introduction to today National Mortgage News Origination Bulletin "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," is the opening line from A Tale of Two Cities; both are appropriate descriptions of the housing market. In 25 of 50 large markets home prices rose, while in the others they dropped in July, Zillow reported. Rising prices helps current homeowners but zaps affordability. But, while lower prices assist buyers, they are possibly signs of trouble. Monthly mortgage costs declined $19 year-over-year, but are nearly $1,000 more than before the pandemic. "It was a dark and stormy night" is something originators need to deal with.

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Nationally, the housing market is stuck in a deep rut.  “The biggest wild card for 2026 remains inventory,” Sam Williamson, a senior economist at First American, told MarketWatch. Here's one data point that reveals why inventory growth is so sluggish right now: Homeowners are living in their homes for a lot longer than before. Across the U.S., homeowners owned their homes for an average of 8.55 years before selling, up from 8.05 at the same time last year. That’s one of the longest tenure levels seen in at least 25 years. Read more from Aarthi S.: https://trib.al/hNStvoZ

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Veris Residential has agreed to be taken private in a $3.4 billion all‑cash deal led by Affinius Capital and Vista Hill Partners. The agreement follows Veris’ multi‑year shift toward a pure‑play multifamily portfolio, with shareholders set to receive $19 per share. The move comes as private investors increasingly target REITs trading below asset value. The deal is expected to close in second-quarter of 2026, pending shareholder approval. Affinius Capital and Vista Hill Partners bring strong real‑estate investment experience to the platform as Veris enters its next phase. Veris Residential to be taken private in $3.4 billion all-cash deal | Reuters https://lnkd.in/gJXUFtiw

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Congressional Republican's campaign to roll back Biden era banking reforms marched on today as the House voted 210-208 to nullify last year's merger rule from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The change, finalized in September, sought to make the application process more transparent, but critics say it only made it longer and more complicated. After an adjoining resolution passed in the Senate earlier this month, the Congressional Review Act initiative will go to the president's desk for final approval. American Banker https://lnkd.in/eS2Ak2xW

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I'm writing a story about Bilt, the company that offers credit cards for rent payments, and its transition to the Bilt 2.0 card. Customers have reported that their rent payments aren't going through and even losing money on the transactions. Bilt has proven difficult to reach, with many customers unable to speak with a real human or get their claims addressed promptly. If you or anyone you know is having problems with the Bilt card, please reach out to me at whicks@bizournals.com. This is a story for the San Francisco Business Times.

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New story for Octus w/ Caroline Hagood from last week - high-speed internet provider Cable One is working with Truist on issuing a new high-yield bond offering to refinance its debt maturing in 2026. Read more at Octus [details redacted for LI]: https://lnkd.in/e9byNm_T #leveragedfinance #highyieldbonds

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The commercial real estate industry was expecting a rebound in 2025 with increased sales and pricing. Optimism was so great that the slogan "survive until 2025" had become a popular catchphrase. Instead, new cracks are now beginning to show. In April, hotel and industrial warehouse sales plunged 52% and 34%, respectively, year over year, according to data from MSCI Inc. The decreases were an alarming sign that the sales market may again be faltering. The problems may be an offshoot of President Trump's whirlwind agenda. Tariffs could push up inflation, limiting the Federal Reserve Board's ability to trim interest rates. The potential extension of a more than $2 trillion tax cut has roiled the bond markets, pushing long term interest rates higher as well. "Rates aren't coming down," said Barry Sternlicht, the chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. Some see opportunity in the dislocation. Spencer Garfield, the co-head of US real estate debt at Fortress Investment Group, expects to lend out $4 billion this year, compared to $2.5 billion last year. "We've been very busy filling in where the banks have pulled back," Garfield said. Read the story at Business Insider: https://lnkd.in/ez-QR8rP #trumpslump #commercialrealestate #inflation

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Brevan Howard's Master Fund inches closer to positive territory. The firm's Master Fund ended June up 1.44%, narrowing its losses to 0.72% in the first half. Master fund's performance in the second quarter: April: +4.5% May: -0.72% June: +1.44% Full story: https://lnkd.in/ecG3AnCM

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It remains an article of faith among many investors that earnings can be faked, while cash flow never lies. But the second part of that adage isn’t true. Not all cash flow is created equal. Companies can burnish cash-flow metrics with financial engineering just like other metrics. And since last fall’s collapse of auto-parts supplier First Brands, some of these machinations have started to attract more scrutiny. They include the field known as “supply-chain finance,” widely relied upon by the biggest auto-parts retailers. As with a lot of financial engineering, it works fine until it doesn’t. But along the way investors sometimes may be getting a distorted picture of a company’s financial strength and liquidity. Read all about it in today’s Heard on the Street column at The Wall Street Journal. https://lnkd.in/gmTjMbi6 #Cars #Accounting #Supplychainfinance #Financialengineering

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