housing

SFR: Birth of a Category

by Steve Cook | January 18, 2012

In the dorky world of real estate economics, the creation of a new housing category should be a major event, on par with, say, the discovery of a new solar system or the cloning of a pig. Strangely, single family rentals (SFR), even though they are now a multi-million property segment of the nation’s housing [...]

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Economy

The Difference Investors Make

by Steve Cook | January 4, 2012

A nation’s homes shape the quality of its citizens’ lives. Homes are where the workaday world ends and family life begins. Life’s passages take place in our homes; they are where children grow up and memories are made. Homes form the building blocks of every community. Not since the Depression has a man-made disaster so [...]

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Real Estate

The Residential Appraisal Problem

by Marty Boardman | November 17, 2011

The grocery store down the street from my house sells a gallon of milk for $2.50. A small cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts runs $1.60. The going rate for a Hunter 5-minute ceiling fan at Home Depot is $99. A 55” Vizio HDTV with internet apps sells for $1,399 at Costco (I know because [...]

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Commentary

Forget Real Estate Appreciation, Just Call it Recovery

by Ken Corsini | November 9, 2011

Interestingly, you don’t hear the term “appreciation rate” much anymore. I was conducting a seminar this weekend and somebody in the group asked what our annual appreciation rate was. I was taken aback because the notion that real estate values are increasing or may be on the rise in the near future almost seems taboo. [...]

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Commentary

Massive Denial Blocks Real Estate Recovery

by Marty Boardman | October 27, 2011

Kevin is not giving up without a fight. I know this because those words are written on a piece of paper taped to his front door. NOT GIVING UP WITHOUT A FIGHT! His house is scheduled to go to a foreclosure auction today. Kevin bought his home on July 8th, 2003 for $270,800. The real [...]

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Commentary

The Golden Year & Economic Highlights from the Past Week

by Alan Noblitt | September 2, 2011

Real Estate * The average price of a home is down almost 6% from a year ago, though up by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to Case Shiller (August 30 Housing Wire) * The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that Fannie and Freddie will cost taxpayers another $51 billion between 2012 and 2021 — [...]

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Economy

Lost in Never-Ending Space

by Alan Noblitt | August 19, 2011

Rarely do I come across something intelligent from any government leader associated with a monetary or economic entity. Below, I note not just one but two brilliant pieces with which I fully agree. The first was a speech by a region president of the Fed – of all places. As many of us who stay [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Lease Options: Gold Mine or Fools Gold?

by Marty Boardman | June 24, 2011

Have you heard what an ounce of gold is selling for these days? According to GoldPrice.org it’s around $1,552. That’s a 176-year high. Back in 2007, when the housing market first started its downward spiral, gold was worth approximately $600 an ounce. I’m no financial expert but it appears to me that this gold buying [...]

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Commentary

The Double-Dip… It’s Finally Here!

by Peter Giardini | June 23, 2011

Back in March of 2010 I wrote an article for BiggerPockets, Double-Dip Used To Be Fun and Exciting, discussing the prominent view that the housing market was eventually going to head back into declining values. This new (for those who ever believed that things stabilized) property value decline has been affectionately referred to as a “double-dip”. The focus of [...]

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Commentary

Believe What’s Being Sold – OR – Believe Your Lyin’ Eyes

by Jeff Brown | June 22, 2011

Show of hands, how many of you believe we’re in a general economic recovery as touted by the vast majority of news media? When Mom told you it wasn’t terrible goin’ to the senior prom with your weird cousin, did you believe her too? Or, did you believe what you knew were the facts — [...]

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Economy

Real Estate Bubbles: The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

by Andrew C. MacDonald | June 6, 2011

The real estate bubble that started at the turn of the millennium was the greatest we’ve seen in the past 120 years. As the saying goes, “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” and this is why we’re still seeing the effects today. In hindsight we can shed some perspective on this last bubble [...]

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Real Estate

Home Energy Audits Explained

by Jim Simcoe | June 4, 2011

Over the last several months I’ve talked about the importance of using energy audits in your projects. However, I’ve not (my apologies) ever really explained what they are and what the goals of doing them . . . here goes: The goals of an energy audit Determine the overall efficiency in the energy usage of [...]

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Real Estate

Real Estate News by the Numbers: Week of May 28 – June 3

by Douglas Lazovick | June 4, 2011

A quick rundown of the important real estate news from the week of May 28 – June 3, by the numbers: 15.2% – Jump in population in the Indianapolis-Carmel, IN area between 2000 and 2010, which is #1 on Inman’s list of “10 Best Markets for Real Estate Investors.” “By comparison, the U.S. population as a [...]

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Housing

Local Supply And Demand Trends In Real Estate

by Joe Manausa, MBA | May 3, 2011

The housing market appears to be slowing fairly consistently in both new supply and new sales, according to my latest gathering of data from the MLS in Tallahassee. I know that most readers here are NOT in Tallahassee, but I can tell you that for my 20+ years in the real estate brokerage business, the [...]

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Foreclosures

Foreclosure Sales Provide Insight Into Housing Recovery

by Joe Manausa, MBA | March 22, 2011

I try to keep track of as many possible statistics about the housing market, knowing that a gem of intelligence is always lurking behind some chart or graph if I look hard enough. One graph that historically has been un-revealing is suddenly speaking to me in volumes. The graph below shows the continuing trend of [...]

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