Breaking News
Center Index Cited by CNBC
Posted July 3, 2009
The latest data from the Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Index (CPPI) is turning heads at major media outlets. CNBC was just the first to cite the index's April data, which shows the largest single drop in commercial property prices since the market peak in October '07. The previous record drop of 5.5% was in January of this year, suggesting that the decline is accelerating, and causing some to wonder if the market is finally bottoming out. Methodology for the Moody's/REAL CPPI was developed at the MIT Center for Real Estate.
Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Index (CPPI): June Update
June 22 , 2009
Update: The latest results of the Moody's/REAL CPPI (published by Moody's on June 22) show a price-change return of negative 8.6% in April for all properties in the national index. This reflects the same-property price change in realized round-trip investment for transaction closings in April compared to the previous month. This puts the Moody's Index 29.5% below its 2007 peak. Index methodology developed at MIT/CRE. Click here for Press Release on MIT-RCA index launch.
WSJ Cites MIT/CRE Research on Renting vs. Owning
May 30, 2009
In a column entitled "Why Your Mortgage Won't Make You Rich," Wall Street Journal writer Brett Arends refers to Center research to say that "home owners may end up earning less over the course of their lives than renters do." The work he cites is by MIT/CRE Professor Lynn Fisher, whose eye-opening research suggests that renting a home can sometimes be superior to owning it. Read WSJ column, and learn more about Professor Fisher's research.
Transactions-Based Index (TBI):
2009 Q1 Update
May 12 , 2009
Results for the 1st quarter of 2009 show a 5.8% decline in prices from the previous quarter for properties sold from the NCREIF database, placing this index 26% below its 2007 Q2 peak. The demand-side index fell a record 11.9%, placing this index of potential buyers' reservation prices at 39% below its 2007 Q2 peak. (Note: Indexes re-set to a starting value of 100. See links below....)
Click here for the latest Press Release, Commentary & FAQs
Click here to learn more about the TBI
Geltner Appears on Bloomberg Television
Posted April 16, 2009
David Geltner, MIT/CRE Director of Research, appeared on Bloomberg Television to offer a quantitative look at the downward pressure that residential markets are exerting on commercial properties. Citing two indexes developed by MIT/CRE as leading market indicators — the Moodys/REAL Commercial Property Price Index and the Transactions-Based Index — Geltner said that commercial property prices probably haven't bottomed out yet. See interview (3:21).
MIT/CRE's "Mainer" Study Shows Need, Prompts Legislative Action
Posted March 25, 2009
News outlets from USA Today to the AARP Bulletin, Exception Magazine, and Maine Public Broadcasting Network are citing a new study by the MIT/CRE's Housing Affordability Initiative (HAI). Developed in partnership with the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, the study reveals that more than 86,000 low-income families in Maine are spending more than 50% of their income on housing costs. Home prices and rents have risen faster than personal income since 2000, according to the study, creating a housing problem made worse by Maine's relatively high fuel costs and a loss of available rental units. HAI results are playing a key role in shaping legislation that seeks to promote affordable housing in Maine. Learn more about the Center's Housing Affordability Initiative.
National Media Quotes Geltner and Wheaton
March 12, 2009
Quoted in two different media outlets, Professors David Geltner and William Wheaton considered two different aspects of the current economic downturn.
In the Dallas Morning News, Geltner cited the Center's Transactions-Based Index (TBI) to conclude that the downturn for commercial property is "at least as severe as that of the early 1990s." Nonetheless, its decline of 22 percent from its 2007 peak "compares favorably to the stock market, which has lost more than 40 percent over the same period." (Read article.)
Wheaton, quoted in American Public Media's Marketplace, notes that while the apparatus for delivering relief to mortgage-distressed homeowners is already in place, a tricky part remains. "The thing that causes me to cringe is you do have to decide who deserves it," he said. (Read transcript.)
More News > > >
Highlights
Thriving in the Downturn: New Short Courses Offer Innovative Tools
Markets under stress demand innovation, and that innovation in turn stimulates the economy. The generous new suite of courses from MIT/CRE's Professional Development Institute (PDI) is designed to facilitate innovation among real estate professionals, fueling both short- and long-term gains. With subjects ranging from loan workouts in the current economy, to methods of accessing capital, to the ins and outs of LEED-certification
, the Center's new PDI courses give practitioners the competitive edge they need in today's market.
Read course preview
First-Time Home Buyers Could Save the Housing Market
May 30, 2009
Citing a research paper he wrote with fellow researcher Gleb Nechayev, MIT/CRE Director William Wheaton said that the key to the U.S. housing market rebound -- which may take another two years -- could be first-time home buyers and property investors. In an interview with the MIT News Office, Wheaton outlined this scenario for market recovery. Read interview.
When (and How) Will the Recession End? AACRE/ULI Spring Symposium Finds Light at the End of the Tunnel.
Posted May 2, 2009
If the current recession was a baseball game, which inning would we be in? Onetime Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis said, "We'd be in the sixth inning, but with Tim Wakefield pitching. He could be terrific, or not so terrific. And I'm a fan of Wakefield's." Dukakis offered his wry assessment on Friday, April 24th in his keynote address for the 2009 Spring Symposium of MIT's Alumni Association of the Center for Real Estate (AACRE). In partnership with the Urban Land Institute of Boston (ULI-
Boston), AACRE invited some of brightest minds in real estate to tackle the question, "Is there light at the end of the tunnel?" Read full account of symposium.
Feature: Center's Globetrotting Chairman Takes MIT/CRE to the World
March 18, 2009
Last November, Center Chairman Tony Ciochetti met MIT alum Kier Riemersma for breakfast in Dubai, on a deck at the world's largest manmade marina. Despite the gathering clouds of worldwide recession, the UAE real estate market was sizzling. "In the one-mile radius surrounding us," said Riemersma said, "there are perhaps 100 high rise towers that have been completed or started in the past 36 months." It's exactly that kind of economic optimism that inspires Ciochetti to travel the world, connecting MIT/CRE with the people, projects, and ideas that keep vitality in the global real estate market. Read feature article.
Fellowship Honors Industry Icon
Blake Eagle has been called the father of the real estate investment industry. He has also been praised for greatly expanding the Center's reach in his tenure as Chairman, meanwhile serving as a devoted mentor to its students. To honor his contributions and to establish a living legacy that supports students of the Center, the Blake Eagle Fellowship Fund has been created to provide tuition support to a candidate for MIT's Master of Science in Real Estate Development. Read full story.
