By Eliot Brown of The Commercial Observer
When Democrats won control of the State Senate from Republicans in November 2008, the common sentiment was that New York City landlords were going to be in trouble. With Democrats controlling both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion, tenant activists expected to be able to pass a raft of new legislation that would add new protections for renters and restrict revenue for landlords.
But now, as the second legislative session under a Democratic Senate draws to a close in the next few days, no major tenant-backed bill has passed, and lobbyists involved with talks–particularly those who represent landlords—do not expect passage of a tenant-friendly legislative package…
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By Robert Knakal for The Commercial Observer
When it comes to today’s investment sales market, the biggest question on everyone’s mind is the sustainability of the market’s present momentum. Can the currently elevated price levels continue on their current trajectory, or are we in a mini-bubble at a low point in this cycle? In order to answer this question, we shall look at present conditions and what they might say about where the market is headed…
Perhaps the dynamic having the most significant impact on the investment sales market today is good old-fashioned supply and demand. The marketplace is always highly dependant upon the supply-demand relationship, whether discussing retail space, office space or investment sales. Today, more than at any time I can remember in the 26 years I have been brokering investment properties in New York, the market is being influenced by what is an extraordinarily acute imbalance between supply and demand.
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By Sam Chandan for The Commercial Observer
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac returned to the spotlight last week when the Federal Housing Finance Administration announced on Wednesday that it had directed the government-sponsored enterprises to delist their common and preferred shares from the New York Stock Exchange. The GSEs will likely trade on the over-the-counter market and will maintain their registrations with the Securities and Exchange Commission. They will both continue to file quarterly S.E.C. statements.
The F.H.F.A.’s move followed a notification from the exchange that Fannie Mae had fallen out of compliance with its minimum trading price guidelines. The GSEs’ stocks have continued to trade since they were seized by the federal government following a plunge in their share prices two years ago. In the time that has followed, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have received $145 billion in public support in the form of Treasury investments in senior preferred shares.
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