New York (CNN Business)In a desperate plea for help, the hotel industry said it faces a default disaster, in which 25% of hotels are at risk of foreclosure.
The report, sent to Congress this week and compiled by Trepp, shows that the percentage of hotel loans 30 or more days delinquent is 23.4% as of last month — the highest percentage on record. By comparison, the percentage of hotel loans that were 30 or more days delinquent at the end of 2019 was just 1.3%.
“With record low travel demand, thousands of hotels can’t afford to pay their commercial mortgages and are facing foreclosure with the harsh reality of having to close their doors permanently,” said Chip Rogers, CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, in a statement Tuesday. He added that “tens of thousands” of hotel employees and other jobs in the industry are at risk if federal aid isn’t administered.
www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/business/hotel-industry-default-coronavirus/index.html
Demand for houses continues to skyrocket, according to a report from Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. Seasonally adjusted demand for houses during the week of June 1 through June 7 was 25% above pre-pandemic levels.
Kelman said that bidding wars have caused listings to move quickly, and sales prices are up 3.1% year over year. The percentage of newly listed homes to accept an offer within 14 days increased from 42% in May to 47% in June.
“Our abiding concern in May was about the number of homes for sale, but that’s improving too,” Kelman said. “After falling to 21% below last year’s level the week of May 25-31, new listings last week continued their recovery; last week’s new listings were 15% below last year’s level.”
One thing to come out of pandemic purchases is 3D tours and video-chat tours, as states placed restrictions on real estate practices while shelter-in-place order are in effect. According to the report, 15% of home tours are happening via video chat, which is 30 times higher than pre-pandemic.
Views of 3D scans skyrocketed on Redfin’s website, up 42% from April to May. According to the report, 25% of new listings in markets like Seattle and Orange County, California include a scan.
AC