On March 19, the board of American Finance Trust Inc. approved an estimated net asset value per share of $23.56 for the company’s common stock as of December 31, 2017.

A mortgage default risk index that uses internet search queries such as “foreclosure help” and “mortgage help” that was developed by Chauvet, Gabriel and Lutz in 2016 and is called the “MDRI” has decreased 9.1% over the last 12 months according to the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate.

NAREIT Economist Calvin Schnure describes how he expects traded REITs to respond when and if the FOMC raises the target for short-term interest rates by 25 bps at its meeting on March 20-21, to a range between 1.50 percent and 1.75 percent.

Marcus & Millichap, in a March 19 Research Brief, report that core retail sales growth has been increasing across many categories, extending past the holiday season as rising discretionary income has strengthened retail spending.

According to a report in the Dallas News, last year Texas was the number one state for commercial real estate development contributions to the economy.

Blue Vault reports sales for Interval Funds and nontraded Closed-End Funds reported by 11 fund sponsors in February.

Sales by nontraded REITs reported to Blue Vault for February totaled $354.5 million, up 31% over the January total of $270.9 million.