by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt
It is nothing short of amazing how our government repeats past errors…and calls it change. Consider this history:
June 1973. While sitting with Max Eisenstein, an owner of Terminal Construction (aptly named), one of this column’s authors asked, “What market research and product planning did you do before starting [...]

by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt
Wonder why there are fewer ads promoting new homes for sale? Or, why more homebuilders are going out of business? The reason is the same all across the country; no one is buying new construction. According to the Greater Chicago Market Report, a 35-year old cooperative activity report [...]

by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt
Home builders are going into their third year of sales drought, with no rain on the horizon. When the entry level tax incentives expired, the market died.
Raw land builders have been holding is virtually worthless. Out-of-pocket costs for preparing it for construction is greater than a fire sale [...]

by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt
About the only place to find loans is through government insured programs from HUD. As a direct lender through our correspondent, we are seeing several problems. First, the backup at the regional HUD offices is absolutely staggering. Refinance loans that normally would have processed in 90-120 days in [...]

by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt
The word is that lending, or at least borrowing requests are gaining steam. Key funding sources with whom we speak regularly are reporting the same thing. They are seeing refinancing of existing debt and only a trickle of new production in either commercial or rental projects. However, we [...]

by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt
Municipalities The current recession has had an enormous impact on local municipalities. Local governments traditionally count on revenue from impact fees for residential and commercial real estate projects that are simply not happening. They also are getting hurt badly by reduced retail sales taxes as stores go out [...]

Over the past year, there has been very little additional liquidity available for loans and investments.

by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt
Mortgage foreclosures are the hottest news, second only to BP’s oil spill. However, the foreclosure coverage has certain flaws designed to be sensationalistic. For example:
1.   Those reporting the dramatic year-over-year increases are from relatively miniscule samples and were somewhat distortive, though sometimes right. First American CoreLogic, our [...]

by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt
Construction trades. The local buzz is that there is activity out there. Between public works and some minor improvements in conventional activity, the word from the labor unions is that they are now looking for a September pickup in activity.
New home builders. The major home builders are changing [...]

by Gary S. Meyers and L. Steven Platt

Economic Resurgence Beginning in Construction

Anecdotally, we are getting reports of increased activity all across the country. While bankers are at least talking about lending, they are making decisions about getting rid of their OREO, property taken back from their borrowers. Locally and elsewhere we also are seeing dormant [...]