Industry News
Fed Likely to Preach Patience on Rate Cuts
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | March 18, 2024 | ReprintsAcross the United States, many people are eagerly anticipating the Federal Reserve’s first cut to its benchmark interest rate this year: Prospective home buyers hope for lower mortgage rates. Housing developers looking to get shovels in the ground.
Why Are So Many Voters Frustrated by the Economy? It’s Home Prices
By Josh Boak | The Associated Press | March 15, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkAt the root of this problem: America failed to build enough homes for its growing population. The shortage strikes at the heart of the American dream of homeownership – dampening President Joe Biden’s assurances that the U.S. economy is strong.
NAR Settles Commission Lawsuits
By James Sanna | March 15, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe National Association of Realtors abruptly reversed course Friday morning, announcing it was settling all lawsuits against it over real estate commissions for a substantially smaller sum than it would have paid under a preliminary verdict announced last year.
Report: Hartford Landlord Fights Landmark Tower’s Foreclosure
March 14, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkAdd another Hartford office tower to the list of those in trouble.
CT Housing Markets Missing Out on Inventory Bump
By James Sanna | March 14, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkNation-wide, a bump in new listings is giving hope to homebuyers and sellers alike. But not in Connecticut’s three biggest housing markets.
Bristol Land Sells for Mixed-Use Project
By James Sanna | March 13, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA piece of commercial land and a single-family home in Bristol has traded hands so a developer can build a mixed-use project.
Orange Retail Building Trades for $3.16M
March 12, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA prominent retail property in Orange has traded hands for $3.16 million.
Fintech Bank Opens Stamford HQ
March 12, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkEuropean fintech Banking Circle has placed its American headquarters office in Stamford, drawing Gov. Ned Lamont and state Banking Commissioner Jorge Perez to the ribbon-cutting.
Heat Pumps that Fit in Apartment Windows Promise Big Emissions Cuts
By Isabella O'Malley and Ingrid Lobet | The Associated Press | March 11, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkFor 27 years, the heat in Regina Fred’s Queens apartment building came from a noisy steam radiator that she couldn’t control and sometimes didn’t come on at all, leaving her shivering. Sometimes, the radiators ran so hot that residents had to keep their windows open...
$30M Infill Project Rises at Gateway to Windsor Center
By Steve Adams | Commercial Record Staff | March 8, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkAfter a stint as chief operating officer of New York developer Tishman Speyer’s operations in Brazil, Gregory Vaca returned to his native Connecticut during the pandemic to put his commercial real estate experience to work pursuing his own projects.
Biden Pledges More Funds, Regulatory Crackdown to Address Housing Costs
By James Sanna | March 8, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkAmong the many proposals and pledges included in his State of the Union speech Thursday night, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass a package of tax credits and other funding measures to help address the nation’s housing shortage.
Bristol Wants Developers for Prominent Ex-Factory
By James Sanna | March 7, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkBristol officials are hoping to interest housing developers in a large, city-owned industrial property near their city’s downtown.
TD Bank Gives $1M to Expand Affordable Developer’s Assistance Program
By James Sanna | March 7, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe Community Builders, a national nonprofit developer of affordable and supportive housing, now has $1 million courtesy of TD Bank to scale up its Home Room housing instability pilot program.
Bigger Office Properties’ Higher Vacancy Rates Persist in Fairfield County
By James Sanna | March 6, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA new analysis of occupancy data by commercial brokerage Avison Young finds that the bigger an office building is in Fairfield County, the more empty it continues to be.
Powell: Rate Cuts Still Likely, but More Evidence Needed that Inflation’s Tamed
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | March 6, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkChair Jerome Powell reinforced his belief Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate this year but that it first wants to see more evidence that inflation is falling sustainably back to the Fed’s 2 percent target.
Pandemic Boosted Hartford Homebuyer Income by $52K
By James Sanna | March 5, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA new analysis by economists at Zillow say the income a Greater Hartford homebuyer needs to afford the median home in the region rose by over $52,000 over the last four years.
CFPB Seeks $8 Credit Card Late Fee Cap
By Ken Sweet and Josh BOak | The Associated Press | March 5, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe Biden administration announced a rule Tuesday to cap all credit card late fees, the latest effort in the White House push to end what it has called “junk fees” and a move that regulators say will save Americans up to $10 billion a year.
State Makes ‘Progress’ in Rewriting Contamination Rules that Stymie Development
By James Sanna | March 4, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA much-hated state law that’s helped hobble reuse of industrial properties in cities across Connecticut is headed for significant changes.
Wells Fargo Plans Two More CT Branch Closings
By James Sanna | March 4, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkAdd New Haven and Bethel to the communities in line to lose a Wells Fargo branch this year.
One Year After Buying a Failed Bank, New York Community Bancorp Is Struggling
By Michelle Chapman | The Associated Press | March 1, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA New York bank is under severe pressure Friday close to one year after absorbing a large chunk of another bank 30 miles away that had failed.