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Real Estate News & Commentary

Real Estate

Is Now the Time to Buy? How to Determine if Your Market Is Worth Buying In.

by Dave Van Horn May 21, 2013
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In 2002, Robert M. Campbell dedicated his book, Timing the Real Estate Market, to the millions of home buyers and sellers who every year regretfully say, “if I had only bought  (or sold ) a year or two earlier, I would’ve made a killing.”  Just as cash-flow is more important than appreciation to most Real [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

California Housing Market Made Exceptional Gains Last Month

by Harrison Stowe May 20, 2013
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Considering that the West Coast was the functional ground zero of the 2008 housing crash, it’s always heartening to hear that California’s property sector continues to stabilize. While much of California’s most sought-after property is condensed in urban areas, and city markets have shown some of the strongest rebounds in the past two quarters, it appears that [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

Unforeseen Hurdles for the Housing Market?

by Harrison Stowe May 13, 2013
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The housing market has traced an impressive recovery over the last three quarters, and all forecasts predict that Q2 2013 will be an exceptional period for the property sector as well. Earnings reports last quarter were tremendous and largely outstripped analyst expectations- a pattern that emerged with both homebuilding corporations as well as major lending [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

Fast-track Foreclosure will change Florida’s Investment Picture

by Steve Cook May 10, 2013
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Governments spend billions to stimulate economic activity but sometimes they cluelessly create great opportunities for entrepreneurs without spending a dime. Take Florida for example. From the 2006 South Florida Condo Crash to the present, with brief period of recovery 18 months ago, Florida has been the poster child state of the foreclosure crisis.  Initially its [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

All Signs Point to a Positive Q2 for Real Estate

by Harrison Stowe May 6, 2013
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Despite apprehension around the sustainability of the housing recovery, all signs point towards a strong second quarter for the property sector. Considering that the housing rebound began to effectively gain traction during the latter half of 2012, it’s great to see that the first two quarters in 2013 are mimicking the trend. Much of the [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

Get Ready for the Next Apartment Glut

by Steve Cook May 3, 2013
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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 [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

25 Most Profitable Markets For Flipping Homes from RealtyTrac

by Steve Cook May 2, 2013
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Is your area good for flipping? Flipping homes may become more favorable for investors in 2013 as home prices appreciate in most markets. RealtyTrac selected the top 25 markets nationwide where flipping single family homes offers the highest rate of return based on the flipper’s gross profit — the difference between average original purchased price [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

Declining Mortgage Rates May Perpetuate the Recovery

by Harrison Stowe April 29, 2013
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With the housing market having rebounded quickly and now maintaining a holding pattern, there’s been some apprehension around whether or not the recovery will be truly sustainable. There’s persistent discussion around whether or not the elevation in property values have been too swift, and if market trends from the past two quarters currently mimic those [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

What Do Americans Regret Most About Their Homes?

by Harrison Stowe April 22, 2013
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With the housing market keeping its rebound and home sales and property value still on the upswing, it seems that a new wave of Americans will become first time homeowners. In light of this, Trulia recently published a study outlining longer-term homeowners biggest regrets about their property. As publicized by a new piece in Forbes, [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

What I Saw at the Boston Marathon

by David Shafer April 19, 2013
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I will take a short break from posting about investing for some personal observations from last Monday. My family attended the marathon to support our niece in her run. We were stationed at the end of Heartbreak Hill a few miles from the finish line. The rest of my family [4 siblings of my wife [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

More on the Asian Housing Crisis: Why Putting an Exact Date for a Possible Crash is Not a Good Idea

by Joe Salcedo April 18, 2013
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Talk of a possible real estate crash in China is a hot topic since the popular investigative news 60 minutes featured an  episode about China’s ghost cities.  As the title implies, the episode’s message is loud and clear: China could be in a big housing trouble sooner rather than later. (This is the clip from [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

Good Bye to the Glory Years of Real Estate Investing

by Steve Cook April 17, 2013
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Has the Foreclosure Era boom in small-time real estate investing peaked and begun its decline? Will the seven million investors, both those who buy and sell properties for a living and those who are largely landlords, slowly sell off their assets as they cash their assets it to profit from rising home values? Will the [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

DBSI Execs Hit With Fraud and Conspiracy Charges

by Harrison Stowe April 15, 2013
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There were many accusations that emerged after the housing market collapsed in 2008, ranging from charges that hedge funds had unhealthily manipulated the market to questions of whether everyday homeowners had exercised exceptionally shortsighted judgment. However, direct admonishments around fraud and criminality were fewer and far between. You could put forward arguments that investment choices [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

Yellow Light on Single Family Rents

by Steve Cook April 13, 2013
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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 [...]

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Real Estate News & Commentary

Recovery Providing Diminished Benefit for Urban Housing Markets

by Harrison Stowe April 8, 2013
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As we’ve witnessed throughout the last two quarters, America’s real estate market has traced an impressive recovery. The rebound in the property sector has played out most impressively throughout urban markets, as hard-hit regions recuperated with exceptional health while less heavily hit markets like Washington, DC managed to keep pace. As a greater trend, the [...]

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