Pursuits
Yellen Eyes Commercial Real-Estate Froth as Fed Weighs ’17 Risks
- Property prices have doubled, leading to repeated Fed warnings
- The boom creates anxiety even as supervision is main defense
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A decade after the U.S. housing market collapsed, Federal Reserve officials are watching rising apartment towers as the next potential asset-price bubble, which could add to the debate about the pace of interest-rate hikes this year.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen cited commercial real estate prices as “high” in a speech at Stanford University on Jan. 19. That message has been echoed by Governor Jerome Powell, who warned “low rates may lead to a reach for yield,” as well as Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, who cited luxury housing in his city.