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Changelog, page 15

What shipped, and when.

A day-by-day record of what landed in Underwrite, kept by hand. Page 15 of 23.

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2026-05-14
15 entries

Phase 3 begins: live market data overlay (FRED Treasury / SOFR / CPI / inflation expectations) + 18 more institutional analytics. Live macro frame, deal-vs-market positioning, deterministic engine guarantee preserved (Cherry Street regression byte-identical with seeded fallbacks). 90 modules shipped today.

  1. Synthesizes live macro signals into a composite CRE-lender-appetite score (0-100, higher = tighter standards). Proxy for the Federal Reserve's quarterly SLOOS survey on bank CRE lending standards. Contributing signals: real policy rate (SOFR - CPI, restrictive policy = tighter), 10Y Treasury level (higher pricing benchmark = more cautious), curve inversion (historically precedes credit contraction), CPI elevation (stagflation worry = banks pull back). Bands: accommodative (banks competing for deals), neutral (standard pricing), cautious (narrower pool, higher spreads), restrictive (credit contraction, deals struggle to refi). Combined with the deal's senior loan structure (term < hold = in-hold refi event), surfaces refi-window risk: deals with mid-hold refi events face amplified execution risk in tight conditions. Critical for evaluating the implicit refi exposure baked into the underwriting against the current credit environment.

  2. Classic CRE finance metric: how strongly does the asset class respond to inflation through lease structure? Asset-class institutional betas: Multifamily 1.10x (annual mark-to-market), Industrial 1.15x (CPI-indexed escalators), Hotel 1.70x (daily pricing), Mixed-Use 0.90x, Retail 0.65x (5-10yr fixed escalations), Office 0.45x (7-15yr fixed escalations, worst pass-through). Hedge quality classifier synthesizes asset class beta with current CPI regime: natural-hedge (beta >=1.0 + rent growth >= CPI), partial-hedge (moderate pass-through), weak-hedge (rent lags CPI materially), capacity-mismatch (high CPI + low-beta asset = structural real-return compression regardless of operating execution). Cherry Street: Mixed-Use 0.90x beta, current CPI 3% (seeded), modeled rent growth 3% = partial-hedge, real rent growth flat. Material for LP allocators choosing asset class allocation in the current inflation regime.

  3. Synthesizes the macro regime + cap rate comp library + forward rate environment into a single 'what should the exit cap be?' target, then compares to the deal's modeled exit cap. Base: current comp average for asset class × market. Plus regime adjustment: early-cycle -50 bps, mid-cycle -10 bps, late-cycle +75 bps, recession +150 bps, early-recovery -100 bps. Plus rate-shock adjustment when forward 10Y > spot 10Y by 100+ bps (curve forecasts rate-driven cap expansion). Positioning: below-target (aggressive cap compression assumed, IRR depends on macro support), near-target (reasonable for cycle), above-target (conservative cushion baked in). The single most-loaded assumption in CRE underwriting is the exit cap; this module makes its cycle-adjusted reasonableness explicit. Cherry Street: 6.5% modeled exit cap vs target ~7% (Ithaca Mixed-Use 7.0% comp avg, mid-cycle regime, no rate shock) = ~50 bps below target, modestly aggressive but within cycle range.

  4. Per-market × asset-class new supply pipeline as % of existing inventory. Critical context for the rent growth thesis: a 4% rent growth assumption in a market with 8% supply pipeline is fundamentally fragile (oversupply suppresses rents); the same in a market with 1% supply is defensible. Bands: constrained (<1%, supply tailwind), balanced (1-3%, standard), moderate-oversupply (3-5%, headwind), heavy-oversupply (>5%, materially at risk). Plus net absorption trend (positive / balanced / negative) and 12-month forward delivery volume. Cross-references the deal's modeled rent growth against the supply environment and classifies consistency: supported (constrained + 3.5%+ rent growth), neutral, stressed (oversupply + aggressive rent), inconsistent (red flag, supply doesn't support thesis). Seeded library: 20 institutional metro × asset class combos covering Sunbelt oversupply concentrations (Austin MF 8.5%, Nashville 7.2%, Phoenix 6.8%) vs supply-constrained gateways (NYC MF 1.2%, SF 1.8%). Cherry Street (Ithaca NY MF Mixed-Use, 2.0-2.5% pipeline): balanced supply environment, 3% modeled rent growth = consistent. Production Phase 3 hooks into CoStar / Yardi Matrix / Witten Advisors live supply tracking.

  5. Synthesizes live yield-curve shape, CPI level, SOFR, and inflation expectations into a single institutional cycle classifier: early-cycle expansion, mid-cycle, late-cycle / overheating, recession / risk-off, or early-recovery. Each regime carries an explicit cap-rate outlook (compressing / stable / expanding) and recommended hold strategy (lengthen / neutral / shorten). Signal table shows 2Y-10Y slope, CPI YoY, SOFR, real policy rate (SOFR - CPI). The IC underwrites every deal INTO a macro regime; surfacing the regime explicitly anchors the underwriting and exposes timing assumptions that are otherwise implicit. With seeded mid-2026 inputs (CPI 3%, flat curve, neutral real rate), defaults to mid-cycle framing.

  6. Compares the deal's underwritten rent against the institutional rent comp library for the asset class × market tier. Routes by asset class: Multifamily / Mixed-Use → $/unit/month, Office / Retail / Industrial → $/SF/year, Hotel → handled via forthcoming hotel-ops ADR/RevPAR module. Surfaces positioning (below-market = conservative thesis with mark-to-market upside, in-band = standard, above-market = aggressive thesis needing justification), spread to comp midpoint, and the broker-quoted band. Seeded mid-2026 library covers NYC Gateway, SF, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, Ithaca, and secondary/major defaults. Cherry Street: $2,400/unit/month vs Ithaca NY Mixed-Use comp band ($1,700-$2,900, midpoint $2,200) = in-band, ~9% above midpoint. Production Phase 3 integrates CoStar / Reonomy / Compstak rent feeds.

  7. Per-market institutional metro fundamentals: population growth (YoY + 5Y trend), median household income, income growth YoY, unemployment rate, job growth. Composite fundamentals score (0-100) weighted across five signals (population 30%, income growth 25%, job growth 20%, unemployment 15%, 5Y trend 10%) with band classification: weakening / stable / growing / robust. Plain-English notes on dominant signals (e.g. 'population declining 0.5% YoY, secular headwind, rent growth thesis needs to lean on income / employment'). Seeded library covers 16 major US CRE metros. CRE returns are downstream of demographics: a 5% rent growth thesis in a market with -1% population is fundamentally suspect; the same in a market with +3% population is defensible. Production Phase 3 hooks into Census ACS, BLS QCEW, BEA regional data.

  8. Replaces the engine's static 3% inflation assumption with live CPI and 5Y breakeven inflation expectations from FRED. The Phase 1 realReturns module uses a constant 3% to convert nominal IRR to real (purchasing-power) terms, fine for baseline but misleading at elevated CPI regimes. At 4.5% CPI, a 15% nominal IRR translates to ~10.0% real (vs 11.65% at 3%). This module surfaces three calibrations side-by-side: baseline (engine 3%), current CPI (live FRED last 12mo), forward expectations (5Y breakeven). Inflation regime classification (below-baseline / at-baseline / above-baseline / elevated) frames the diligence priority. LP allocators comparing returns across rate regimes need the live recalibration. Falls back to seeded fallback CPI when FRED unavailable; UI flags the source so the analyst sees provenance.

  9. Uses the live Treasury yield curve to bootstrap implied 1-year forward rates at deal maturity, then projects a market-anchored institutional CRE refinance rate (forward 10Y + 225 bps typical non-recourse spread). Standard finance theory: forward rates embed the market's collective expectation of future short rates modulo term premium. Solved via: (1 + y_N+1)^(N+1) = (1 + y_N)^N × (1 + f_N). Surfaces implied 1Y forward rates at 1, 2, 5 years out and at deal hold maturity, plus the projected refi rate and bps change vs deal's current rate. Curve expectation classifier (rate-cuts-expected / rates-stable / rate-hikes-expected) based on 2Y-10Y slope. Not a prediction, a current-market read for stress testing the refi assumption against alternative scenarios. When FRED is unavailable, falls back to seeded mid-2026 curve; freshness flag carries through.

  10. Combines the geographic risk overlay with the insurance load benchmark to forecast institutional premium trajectories over the hold. Standard engine assumes flat 2.5% expense growth; post-2024 climate-exposed markets routinely see 15-100% YoY premium jumps. This module layers a per-peril climate surcharge on top of baseline expense growth: hurricane >70 score = +6%/yr, wildfire >70 = +5%/yr, flood >70 = +4%/yr, earthquake >70 = +2.5%/yr; lower thresholds (40-70) get half-magnitude surcharges. Surcharge capped at 25%/yr to avoid runaway stacking. Surfaces year-by-year premium trajectory with the climate-adjusted growth, plus cumulative dollar gap vs flat-2.5% baseline (what the engine's underwriting is missing). Cherry Street (Ithaca NY): no climate uplift (low exposure across all perils), trajectory mirrors baseline. A Miami FL deal would show ~10%/yr combined surcharge for hurricane + flood; over 7 years that's $100k+ premium gap vs engine baseline. Material for institutional climate-adjusted IRR analysis. Calibrated against Munich Re / Swiss Re institutional renewal data.

  11. Positions the deal's entry cap rate against the institutional comp library for its asset class × market tier. Seeded mid-2026 institutional band library covers NYC Gateway, SF, LA, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, Ithaca, and secondary/major defaults across Multifamily, Mixed-Use, Office, Retail, Hotel, Industrial. Surfaces deal positioning (below-market / in-band / above-market), spread to comp average in basis points, broker-quoted $/unit or $/SF comp value, recent transaction count (comp depth), and data vintage. Cherry Street: 132 Cherry St Ithaca → matches the Ithaca NY Secondary Mixed-Use band (avg 7.0%, comp range 6.4-7.8%), deal entry cap 6.99% sits perfectly in-band. Production Phase 3 hooks into CoStar / Reonomy / Real Capital Analytics live transaction feeds; first iteration uses seeded institutional bands calibrated against publicly available broker reports.

  12. Climate and catastrophe exposure profile for the deal's market. Per-peril scores (0-100) across hurricane, wildfire, flood, earthquake, tornado, heat stress, drought. Weighted composite with band classification (low / moderate / elevated / high). Weights calibrated to institutional CRE insurance pricing materiality (hurricane 25%, wildfire 20%, flood 20%, heat stress 15%, earthquake 10%, tornado 5%, drought 5%). Per-peril visual exposure bars + plain-English notes on the dominant perils. Seeded library covers Miami, Houston, Charleston, SF, LA, Seattle, Dallas, OKC, NYC, Boston, Ithaca, Chicago. Material for insurance market positioning and climate-adjusted hold-period risk. Production Phase 3 will pull live NOAA hurricane tracks, FEMA flood plain maps, USGS seismic hazard maps, and CAL FIRE wildfire perimeters per address.

  13. First Phase 3 module: live macro frame surrounding the deal. Server-side fetcher at /api/market-data hits the FRED API for the Treasury yield curve (3M / 2Y / 5Y / 10Y / 30Y), SOFR, CPI year-over-year, and 5Y breakeven inflation expectations. The engine remains synchronous and deterministic; the snapshot is fetched at the request boundary, cached with TTL (30 min for rates, 6 hours for inflation), and passed into the new buildLiveMarketSnapshot module which derives deal-vs-macro deltas. Surfaces curve shape (inverted / flat / normal, historically a leading recession indicator), deal interest rate spread to SOFR (institutional floating-rate baseline), modeled rent growth vs inflation expectations (real rent thesis), and modeled expense growth vs CPI. Every data point carries provenance: live (fresh FRED fetch), stale (TTL expired, cached value served), or fallback (deterministic mid-2026 seed when no FRED_API_KEY or network fails). Cherry Street stays byte-identical in regression because seeded fallbacks match the existing hardcoded references in treasurySpread / realReturns / capitalMarketsBenchmark. Architectural foundation: lib/marketData/ adapter pattern, app/api/market-data/route.ts public endpoint, MemoView fetches once on mount.

  14. New IC memo section: places the deal on a 2D IRR-vs-stdev grid and classifies into one of four institutional positioning quadrants. Thresholds: 14% IRR (value-add hurdle midpoint), 4% stdev (well-bounded dispersion). GEM (high return + low risk, rare and scarcity-priced, Insurance / Pension / REIT fit), OPPORTUNITY (high return + high risk, classic value-add / opportunistic, Opportunity Funds / Value-Add Specialists), CORE (modest return + low risk, yield-driven, Insurance / Pension / REIT), PASS (modest return + high risk, mispriced, LP should reprice or pass). Each quadrant maps to LP archetypes that strictly allocate by quadrant. Visual 2x2 grid highlights the deal's quadrant cell. Cherry Street: OPPORTUNITY quadrant (15.3% IRR + 2.7% stdev, actually edges toward GEM with the tight dispersion). Sharpe-like ratio shown for quick reference (IRR - 5%) / stdev.

  15. New IC memo section: places the deal's projected IRR alongside institutional benchmark returns across the asset-class spectrum. 10Y Treasury 4.5%, BBB Corporate 5.5%, BB Corporate 7.5%, Private CRE Core (NCREIF) 8.5%, Public REITs (FTSE NAREIT) 9.5%, S&P 500 10%, Private CRE Value-Add 14%, Private CRE Opportunistic 18%. The single-asset illiquidity premium (deal IRR - public REIT IRR) is the key institutional metric: tells LPs whether holding this single private deal justifies the illiquidity vs buying a diversified REIT index. Bands: thin (<300 bps, LP could buy a REIT instead), standard (300-500), strong (>500, captures real illiquidity / control benefits). Ladder position classifies the deal into the closest tier (credit / public-equity / private-core / value-add / opportunistic). CRE's institutional value proposition is the spread to public markets; if the deal doesn't earn it, LP should reprice. Cherry Street: 15.3% IRR sits in the value-add tier, ~580 bps illiquidity premium over public REITs, strong premium positioning.

The engine math is on the methodology page, the six files the decision depends on are on the engine viewer, and the Phase 1 simplification list is at /methodology/beyond-phase-1.