Today’s News Synopsis:

Aaron Norris of the Norris Group gives this week’s Norris Group real estate headline roundup.  Think California is in a bubble?  A report from UBS doesn’t even have a US city in its top 5 they are concerned about.  Rent seems to be the thing about which the Fed is the most concerned.  The pace at which consumers are spending is at its lowest in 5 months.

In The News:

Yahoo Finance – “Commercial real estate prices are back to pre-crash highs but transactions are falling” (9-29-16)

“Commercial real estate transactions took a huge hit in August.  That month’s data, compiled by Real Capital Analytics, show transactions on income-producing properties dropped to $30.5 billion, a fall of 23%. Transactions consisting of multiple property portfolios fell 46%, while single asset deals declined 19% year-over-year.”

Quartz – “The biggest real estate bubble isn’t in London, San Francisco, or New York” (9-30-16)

“That’s not to say that housing in London, San Francisco, and New York isn’t extremely expensive, gouged by foreign demand and sparse on space for new buildings. But it could be worse—it could be Vancouver.”

Bloomberg – “The Fed Is Worried About the Rent” (9-30-16)

“When you think of the Fed, you think of Janet Yellen, or monetary policy, or the interest rate on your mortgage. Can we interest you in a little affordable housing?”

DS News – “SFR Vacancy Rate Rises Higher” (9-30-16)

“The vacancy rate across 23 single-borrower, single-family rental transactions reached 5.0 percent in August, the first time this metric has touched 5.0 percent since November 2015, according to the recent Single-Family Rental Performance Report from Morningstar Credit Ratings.”

CNN Money – “Punish Wells Fargo? Yes. Break it up? No.” (9-30-16)

“It looks like Americans have found the rusty pitchforks they last used in 2008 when we found out big banks were behaving badly.”

Yahoo Finance – “US consumer spending at weakest pace in 5 months” (9-30-16)

“U.S. consumers scaled back their spending in August to its weakest pace in five months, reflecting a drop in spending on autos. Income growth also decelerated as wages and salary gains slowed following four strong months.”

Bloomberg – “Manhattan Luxury Rent Prices Are Growing at Their Slowest Pace Since 2010” (9-30-16)

“Renters in the New York City area are finally catching a break. According to a new report from listings website StreetEasy.com, rental prices are rising much more slowly than in recent years, with luxury apartments leading the slump.”