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Real Estate News 4.2.14

1.Real-Estate Stocks Put 2013 Behind Them
“Real-estate stocks are outperforming the broader stock market again, reversing a tumultuous period when the shares were uncommon laggards.”

2.What’s next for housing in your town
“After years of dramatic price changes and sales stats that have vacillated from red-hot to moribund and back again, you could be forgiven for forgetting what a typical housing market looks like. This year, though, you may finally be in for a refresher course.”

3.Cities where real estate investors are finding deals
“To sort out what you can expect in real estate this year, MONEY zeroed in on four markets: upscale neighborhoods, new investor favorites, booming growth cities, and once-busy areas that have quieted down. “

4.Dreary outlook for formerly hot housing markets
“To sort out what you can expect in real estate this year, MONEY zeroed in on four markets: upscale neighborhoods, new investor favorites, booming growth cities, and once-busy areas that have quieted down.”

5.Vacation Home Sales Surge in 2013, Investment Property Declines
“WASHINGTON (April 2, 2013) – Vacation home sales rose strongly in 2013, while investment purchases fell below the elevated levels seen in the previous two years, according to the National Association of Realtors®.”

6.Mortgage Purchase Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
“WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 2, 2014) — Mortgage applications decreased 1.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 28, 2014. “

7.U.S. Stocks Rise as S&P 500 Extends Record After Data
“U.S. stocks rose a fourth day, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index extending an all-time high, as data showing companies added to payrolls last month boosted confidence in the world’s largest economy. “

8.Survey: Prices for mortgage-backed securities rose in February
“Improving loan-to-value ratios and debt service coverage, as well as relatively stable interest rates caused prices for commercial mortgages traded in the secondary market to rise in February, according to DebtX, a third-party provider of loan valuation services.”

9.What the removal of stimulus means for the economy over
“The stimulus is finally over, and the market and the economy are freer to act normal again. As far as I am concerned, that is a blessing, because the economy cannot survive on stimulus forever, but that might not be so good for the asset classes that benefitted most from stimulus. “

10.Real Estate Investing Is No Longer A Private Club
“Jilliene Helman had a track record in real estate. She had underwritten more than $1 billion and was a vice president in wealth management at Union Bank. She knew what to invest in and what not to. A friend asked if he could invest alongside her when she made real estate investments. Then another friend asked, and another, and another. You get the picture.”

11.Mortgage Applications Fall in Latest Week
“NEW YORK — Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week on lower refinancing demand, an industry group said Wednesday.”

TonyAlvarez.com

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Real Estate News 4.1.14

1.After 8 years, the real estate market is finally looking normal again
“The beginning of the last decade saw an unprecedented spike in real estate prices, which culminated in the bursting of the real estate bubble in 2006 and a financial crisis to boot. Then came the crash, and prices fell precipitously, with the Case-Shiller Housing Index losing 33% from its 2006 peak to the 2012 trough”

2.Stocks: S&P500 hits all-time high
“The S&P 500, which gained 1.5% in the first three months of the year, has just passed its all-time high of 1,883.97 by going to 1,884.64 shortly after 10am. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq were also higher in early trading Tuesday. “

3.MBA Releases 2013 Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Origination Volume Rankings
“According to a set of commercial/multifamily real estate finance league tables prepared by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Wells Fargo; J.P. Morgan Chase & Company; Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Eastdil Secured; KeyBank; PNC Real Estate; HFF, L.P.; Meridian Capital Group, LLC; CBRE Capital Markets; and Prudential Mortgage Capital Company were the top commercial/multifamily mortgage originators in 2013. “

4.U.S. Stocks Rise on Economy Optimism on Factory Report
“U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rising to an intraday record, as consumer and technology shares rallied and an increase in a manufacturing index boosted optimism the economy withstood severe winter weather. “

5.US Home Prices Rose in Feb. Despite Weaker Sales
“U.S. home prices rose in February from a year earlier at a solid pace, suggesting that a tight supply of available homes is boosting prices despite slowing sales.”

6.Commercial property transaction volume could hit 10-year high by 2016
“Commercial property transaction volume will reach $430 billion by 2016, exceeding the volume of 2006, according to a new U.S. real estate forecast based on a survey of 39 of the industry’s leading economists and analysts.”

7.Ten hidden costs of commercial real estate — part 1
“Although all known circumstances of a property need to be disclosed to a buyer by the seller as stated in a purchase agreement, issues creep up over the years of ownership. Laws change, improvements are made to the property, tenant’s needs change and some issues may not had been fully researched at the time of the purchase.”

8.10 hidden costs of commercial real estate — part 2
“In my previous article I discussed the first three hidden costs of commercial real estate: city business license fee, sewer fees and environmental cleanup fees. In this second article of a three-part series I’m highlighting other costs: capital expenditures, commissions and readying the space, vacancies, prepayment penalties and building code upgrades.”

9.Home Prices Rise in February Despite Weaker Sales
“WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose in February from a year earlier at a solid pace, suggesting that a tight supply of available homes is boosting prices despite slowing sales.”

10.Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: Were They Ever Broken?
“The government has collected more than $20 billion in the past year from lenders who sold allegedly-subpar mortgages and related securities to Fannie  Mae and Freddie Mac, with more settlements likely to come.”

11.When It Comes To Real Estate, Whose Target Are You?
“Targets” are specific groups of consumers with key common characteristics which lead to common, and often predictable, spending potential and buying habits. “Targeting” is the main push in marketing, advertising, and promotion. Businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals are intent on spending their dollars to gain the attention of consumers who are the best match for specific products and services, and real estate is no different.”

12.Home Prices Will Keep Rising, but Level-Off Soon
“Home prices continue to increase by double digit percentages on a year-over-year basis CoreLogic said today.  The company’s Home Price Index (HPI) for February, an index that includes distressed sales, was up 12.2 percent compared to February 2013.”

TonyAlvarez.com