February 2010

Commercial Loans Jeopardize Banks

The Congressional Oversight Panel reported Wednesday that commercial real estate loan failures could jeopardize bank stability.

The panel said most of the bad loans were made at the height of the real estate bubble and are concentrated at smaller banks, which make 40 percent of all small business loans.

“We haven’t seen the worst of the problems yet in terms of loan defaults. This is a large issue for a major portion of the banks out there,” said Matthew Anderson, a partner at research firm Foresight Analytics, which provided data for the report.

Source: MarketWatch, Josh Lipton (02/17/2010)

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Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta
315 West Ponce de Leon Ave., Ste. 100
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 431-2117
Web: www.elliottyouragent.com
Blog – www.elliottonrealestate.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/elliottrob

Construction Up Along With Builder Confidence

Construction of new homes rose to an annual rate of 591,000 in January, up 2.8 percent from December when the revised rate was 575,000, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the monthly home builder confidence scale rose two points in February to 17.

The National Association of Home Builders Chair Bob Jones said, “Builders are slightly more optimistic that the housing recovery is finally beginning to take root.”

Builder confidence was highest in the Northeast and the South, weaker in the West and lowest in the Midwest.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Meena Thiruvengadam (02/16/2010) and CNN, Blake Ellis (02/17/2010)

———————————————————
Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta
315 West Ponce de Leon Ave., Ste. 100
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 431-2117
Web: www.elliottyouragent.com
Blog – www.elliottonrealestate.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/elliottrob

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