The multifamily industry suffers from a boom-bust cycle that’s more predictable than any other in real estate.  I believe it’s a function of the time it takes to put up an apartment building compared to single family housing.  The next bust is on its way and it could mean lower rents and higher vacancies for investors [...]

How quickly conditions can change in real estate these days.  Just a few months ago, all the experts were predicting a banner year for single family rents and apartment rents.  Now, only one quarter into the new year, the green light for rent rates has turned yellow and in many of the biggest single family [...]

Thirty-eight real estate markets have been tagged as “dangerous” for investors looking to make money on buying homes as rental properties in new quarterly data compiled by HomeVestors of America (known as the “We Buy Ugly Houses®” company) and Local Market Monitor. The list categorizes markets according to different investor risk preferences and assigns a [...]

Last month the New Republic published a provocative article by former TV producer David Dayen on hedge funds and real estate investing (Your New Landlord Works on Wall Street).  He said out loud what many people have been whispering. Dayen argued that Wall Street hedge funds, backed by billions from wealthy investors, are turning the [...]

Perhaps no one is as closely identified with the Foreclosure Era as Rick Sharga. From 2004 to 2011 no one did more to forewarn Americans about the greatest floods of foreclosures since the Great Depression and to help them understand how their local housing markets would be affected. In the process, he made RealtyTrac a [...]