March 2005

New Lessons from Donald Trump

by Joshua Dorkin | March 30, 2005

I just found out about a new book that some claim “There should be a law requiring every truly serious real estate investor to read and study”, Trump Strategies For Real Estate: Billionaire Lessons for the Small Investor. I haven’t gotten a copy yet, but I’m about to order one. The book supposedly contains many [...]

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Real Estate

Real estate investors see few 2005 worries-survey

by Joshua Dorkin | March 30, 2005

NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) – Declining commercial vacancy rates are attracting a new crop of investors who may have overly aggressive expectations about future returns, according to a quarterly commercial real estate survey released on Wednesday. That trend has more traditional real estate investors worried, according to the 100 of them surveyed in the [...]

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Real Estate

Foreigners buying up U.S. property

by Joshua Dorkin | March 27, 2005

Due to many factors, investing in property in the U.S. has become more attractive for foreign investors. Interest rates are still low, the dollar is especially weak, and international airfares are relatively inexpensive, all leading to increased activity from foreigners. “The leading countries of origin for foreign investors of U.S. property was Japan, Canada, the [...]

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Trading Places: Real Estate Instead of Dot-Coms

by Joshua Dorkin | March 25, 2005

Real estate-crazed Americans have started behaving in ways that eerily recall the stock market obsession of the late 1990′s. In Naples, Fla., some houses have been bought twice in a single day, an early-21st-century version of day trading. Buying stocks on margin has morphed into buying homes with no money down. . . Read this [...]

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Foreclosures

How to play a slowdown in real estate

by Joshua Dorkin | March 25, 2005

Still, there will come a time when cocktail chatter shifts from the riches in real estate to the risks. If you’re serious about investing, you’ll recognize that moment for what it is: a chance to snap up good property on the cheap. The time to prepare for that opportunity is now. One of the smartest [...]

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Foreclosures

Real estate foreclosures up in latest survey

by Joshua Dorkin | March 17, 2005

Inman.com Late house payments and in-progress mortgage foreclosures dropped during the fourth quarter 2004, but new foreclosures increased, suggesting that concerns about rising foreclosures in coming months may be valid, a mortgage survey today revealed. . . Read

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Real Estate

Real estate speculation can be a risky investment

by Joshua Dorkin | March 17, 2005

Inman.com “Real estate simply isn’t the kind of quick-in, quick-out investment that Wall Street is fond of. It’s a tangible asset that provides solid gains over time and isn’t subject to the kind of volatility that’s common in the stock market.” Mansell warned that there is inherent risk in speculative home-buying. “If you sell in [...]

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Real Estate Law

Senators Introduce Legislation to Extend Popular Real Estate Tax Provisions

by Joshua Dorkin | March 17, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 17 /U.S. Newswire/ — The Real Estate Roundtable today welcomed legislation (S. 621) introduced by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) to permanently extend the 15-year recovery period for the depreciation of leasehold improvements. The current 15-year depreciation provision, originally enacted into law as part of the American Jobs Creation Act [...]

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Real Estate

Economist describes positive outlook for real estate

by Joshua Dorkin | March 17, 2005

KCEN-TV There is good news for the Central Texas real estate market, according to Dr. Mark Dotzour, the chief economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. . . Read

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Real Estate

Real Estate Wealth Expo Coming

by Joshua Dorkin | March 16, 2005

We’ve all seen the free Learning Annex magazines on street corners around town. If you’re tuned in to popular culture, maybe you’ve heard a few jokes about them as well. I’ve been to one very informative “class”, and I’ve been told about others that we’re awful. That being said, I think they’ve got something here. [...]

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Real Estate

Real estate house-romp row boils

by Joshua Dorkin | March 16, 2005

This is one for the books! THE woman who says she caught two real estate agents in a sex romp in her father’s home is standing by her story. Linda Skewes has demanded the real estate agents provide fresh sheets for her father’s house and $300 to cover casual wages she lost because of her [...]

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Mortgages & Lending

Real Estate: Avoid the Burn

by Joshua Dorkin | March 15, 2005

Real estate bubbles have come and gone. From New York to Miami to Los Angeles, prices have exploded over the past 5 years, but does price appreciation alone mean there is trouble in the midst? Not alone. Increasing numbers of financings are done with ARMs, according to Business Week. In addition, more and more people [...]

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Real Estate Resources

Negotiate Real Estate Commissions With Online Bidding

by Joshua Dorkin | March 14, 2005

Realtors using HungryAgents.com, an online referral service that launched in February, compete for clients based on how much they are willing to reduce their commissions. Realtors pay a $795 fee for each successful sale stemming from the Web site’s referral. ListFromHome.com, which launched this month, also allows real estate agents to compete for new listings. [...]

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Mortgages & Lending

Mortgage Rates Hit 7 Month High

by Joshua Dorkin | March 13, 2005

According to the L.A.Times, rates on 30 year mortgages hit their highest rate since August 12, 2004, with an average rate of 5.85%.

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Harlem’s New Rush: Booming Real Estate

by Joshua Dorkin | March 13, 2005

The transformation of this historic capital of Black America has taken an amphetamined step or three beyond a Starbucks, a Body Shop and former president Bill Clinton taking an office on 125th Street. Officials have broken ground on a glass-enclosed, 204-room Courtyard by Marriott. And housing prices have soared into the stratosphere, threatening to leave [...]

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