Weekly News (October 22, 2024)

Mortgage Interest Rates Review

United Mortgage Nation  10/22/2024

                  Federal Fund Rate: 4.75 -5.00%        Prime Rate: 7.75 – 8.00%  

Garden Communities moves forward in Englewood Cliffs 

가든 커뮤니티 개발사, 잉글우드 클립스 아파트 단지 개발중   

Myung Kuen Park  

• In Nov. 2022, demolition has commenced at 800 Sylvan Avenue in Englewood Cliffs, where Garden Communities will introduce a highly amenitized, luxury multifamily community atop New Jersey’s Hudson River Palisades. The project marks the first new multifamily development in more than four decades for this affluent, highly desirable Bergen County municipality.  
• According to the mayor of Englewood Cliffs, MyungKeun Park, modifying it’s original plan, the developer is constructing 450 luxury apartment units and 23 luxury townhome units, which will sell about at $3M each unit. 

In NY & NJ, New Influx from Overseas is 3 out 10

               뉴욕.뉴져지 신규유입 10명중 3명 해외출신

Korea Daily  10/21/24(Fri) 

• According to ACS, through 2023, 37% of new influx came from overseas in NJ,  and 35% of new influx came from overseas in NY.  The state with highest influx from overseas is 42% in California.
• Florida, Texas, and California are the states with high influx from states in U.S. For example, most influx in Florida came from NY, and most influx in Texas came form California.
• According to Census report, move out from NY is 481,544 and influx to NY is 302,835, and, therefore, population decrease in NY is 178,709 in 2023 while it was 244,137 in 2022.  Mostly they moved to Florida(71,138), to New Jersey(55,926), to Pennsylvania(42,637), to California(35,062), and to Texas(29,610), etc.   

Under Big Cut By Fed, Mortgage Rates is the highest in 6 months

  연준 빅컷에도… 모기지금리, 6개월내 가장 높아 

Korea Times    10/21/24(Fri) 

• Even the Fed carried on a “Big Cut on 10/18 by 0.5% and forecasted more cut is coming soon, the mortgage rates raised 0.2% sharply, partially due to the labor market’s speedy recovery and , therefore, treasury bond yield increased.    
• On 16th, According to Freddie Mac, 30year-fixed mortgage rates went to 6.32%, increased by 0.2% from the last week’s 6.12%, which is the highest increased since last April this year.  
• Accordingly, mortgage application dropped by 17% from the last week, and Re-Fi demand also dropped by 26% from the last week.

As Rates Fall, Builders Push Generous Deals on New Homes

 이자률이 내려가면서, 신축공사업계가 가격과 이자률 경쟁   

WSJ     10/16/24(Wed) 

• The builder offered a buyer in Dallas, GA mortgage product that lowered his payment by hundreds of dollars a month. His mortgage rate was just below 4% for the first year and 5% for the rest of the 30-year loan. 
• Now, with mortgage rates down nearly a percentage point from earlier this year, the math around mortgage rate buydowns looks more complicated and threatens to erode the advantage that home builders have enjoyed for the past two years.
• Earnings results at some of the largest home builders pointed to potential challenges ahead. Both Lennar and KB Home missed estimates in the latest quarter when it came to new-home orders
• New-home prices already had been on the decline, in part as home builders have reduced the square footage of floor plans—another way to lure buyers.

Many Class B Office Bldg Converting to Residential 

B 급 오피스 빌딩 아파트로 댁규모 전환

Korea Daily     10/17/24(Thu) 

• According to Business Inside on 13th, good number of B class office buildings will be converted to residential complex due to nearing mortgage maturity and inability to get office tenants. 
• CBRE Chief economist, Richard Barcham said that 80% of B class office buildings are vacant, and mostly they will be demolished or converted to residential within 10 years, especially some will be urgent sale or under short sale within 2-3 years. Total amount of commercial mortgage was $300B in the beginning of the year, and now it is reduced to $290B. 
• 55,000 office buildings are planned to convert to apartments in 2024, which is 357% increase from the 2021.   Ricard Barcham mentioned that office building take 20% of all commercial sector and 10% among them are in trouble.  Total 1.2B sf office spaces are forecasted to convert to residential. 

Young People of Color Hold Key in Georgia

           젊은 유색인종이 조지아 주  대선에 열쇠를… 

WSJ  10/22/24(Tue) 

• Georgia, one of the most critical states in the election, is emerging as a test for Trump’s and Harris’s strength with Black men, an all-important group the candidates.
• Democrats are blanketing new apartment complexes in Atlanta with get-out-the-vote efforts, looking to capitalize on growth that has come from young voters of color, including Black Americans. Trump’s campaign is holding meetings in Atlanta with Black men, and Trump last week stopped by Atlanta and sought to appeal directly to Black voters, alleging that migrants were stealing their jobs.
• Mike Carnathan, head of research for the Atlanta Regional Commission, said that since 2020, the region had grown “through immigration from places like New York and California.” With the white population of the Atlanta region aging and births overall decreasing, “All of our growth is going to come from populations of color” moving to the area through migration or immigration, he said.

Black voters for Harris or Trump

WSJ 10/22/24

Increase in Registered Voters

WSJ 10/22/24

 Bed Bath & Beyond Stores to Return

 Bed Bath & Beyond,새로히 재 개장  

WSJ     10/22/24(Tue) 

• Beyond and home-decor retailer Kirkland’s have entered a partnership that will bring back physical Bed Bath & Beyond stores more than a year after the retailer filed for bankruptcy.
• Midvale, Utah-based Beyond, which owns the Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock and Zulily brands, will invest $25 million in Kirkland’s in a combined debt and equity transaction, in exchange of a licensee agreement for new, smaller-format Bed Bath & Beyond locations across the U.S., the companies said Monday. Kirkland’s will become the exclusive bricks-and-mortar operator of Beyond while the companies work to cut costs and improve inventory management.
• As part of the deal, Beyond will provide Kirkland’s with a $17 million term loan credit that would allow it to repay its existing loan with Gordon Brothers. Half of the loan will be convertible into Kirkland’s shares.

A bed Bath & Beyond in Manhattan

WSJ 10/5/24

A Bed Bath & Beyond store in Manhattan in 2022. The retailer filed for bankruptcy in 2023. WSJ- ANDREW KELLY/ REUTERS