Dees Stribling
Economy Watch: Retail Sales Up in April
U.S. retail sales increased 0.4 percent in April and 4.5 percent from the same time last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Retailers like electronic stores and building material suppliers had a good month, and even department stores eked out a small gain.
Economy Watch: Banks Tighten CRE Lending in Q1
Banks cited a less favorable or more uncertain outlook for CRE property prices, vacancy rates or other fundamentals, as well as reduced risk tolerance as important reasons for tightening CRE credit policies in the first few months of 2017, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Senior Loan Office Opinion Survey.
Boston Fed President Airs Concerns About Risks to CRE
Speaking at a recent NYU Stern School of Business conference, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren pointed to some favorable tailwinds accompanying rising CRE valuations, but stressed the importance of evaluating how a potential recession could affect the financial system.
Economy Watch: Construction Industry Loses Momentum in April
Despite April’s decline, the Dodge Momentum Index remains largely up, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. This suggests that construction activity still has room to grow in 2017.
Economy Watch: Top Rental Markets Still Seeing Price Increases
Despite talks of a pricing slowdown, the most expensive rental markets in the U.S. saw price increases in April, according to Zumper’s latest report. San Francisco and New York City remain the top two rental markets in the country.
Economy Watch: Economy Gains 211K Jobs in April
This month’s job growth was a nice change from the mere 79,000 jobs created in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The headline unemployment rate also dropped to 4.4 percent in April, reflecting the continual tightening of the labor market.
Economy Watch: Construction Employment, Costs Pushing Upward
The March construction unemployment rate was the lowest on record, matching the 8.4 percent rate in March 2001, according to Markstein Advisors Chief Economist Bernard Markstein, who conducted the analysis for Associated Builders and Contractors.
Economy Watch: Office, Hotel Investment Has Recovered; Retail Has Not
In the first quarter of this year, non-residential investment increased at an annualized rate of 9.4 percent, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. And while the hotel and office sectors have more-or-less recovered to their pre-recession levels, the retail category is facing challenges.
Economy Watch: Construction Spending Edges Down in March
While spending on construction projects declined for the month, the figure is above the March 2016 rate. Lodging and health care spending was up for the month, while office and other commercial spending was down.
Economy Watch: US Economy Turns in Sluggish First Quarter
U.S. real GDP increased only 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017, compared with 2.1 percent in last year’s fourth quarter. Commercial real estate investment also took a hit as lenders likely were more cautious to start off the year.