1.Real Estate Crowdfunding Firm Seeks Lending Revolution
“The head of consumer-product marketing at Google Inc. (GOOG) and a former general counsel for a travel website are seeking to transform the mortgage-finance industry. Michael Burry, the hedge-fund manager who foresaw the housing market’s nosedive, is betting they can. ”

2.Zillow CEO: Real estate is the ultimate mobile endeavor
“As real estate listings site Zillow heads to a $3.5 billion deal to buy Trulia in 2015, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff says the two companies will become part of a media portfolio that will position it for an increasingly mobile world.”

3.US Job Market’s Lingering Weak Spot: Stagnant Pay
“The U.S. job market has steadily improved by pretty much every gauge except the one Americans probably care about most: Pay.”

4.Jobs still biggest worry for home buyers
“Despite a slight pickup in home sales over the summer, Americans are feeling less optimistic about the nation’s housing recovery. The overall labor market, along with personal income growth, or lack thereof, are the key drivers of this increasing bearishness. The share of consumers who think now is a good time to buy a home fell for the second consecutive month, according to a monthly survey by mortgage giant Fannie Mae. ”

5.Big money investors pull out of California dramatically: Large purchases from LLCs and LPs for trustee sales are down by over 80 percent from peak reached in 2012.
“Follow the big money has been an adage on Wall Street for many decades.  If that philosophy holds true for real estate as well, big money investors are signaling something regarding California real estate.  Big investors have entered the single family housing market in a way that is unparalleled in history.  We truly are in uncharted waters here.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.How Your Neighbors Can Help — or Hurt — Your Home’s Sale
“When preparing to sell your home, you probably spend a lot of time and energy getting it in its best showing condition. But can improvements to your neighbor’s property help sell your home?”

2.US Job Growth Slows to 142K, Fewest in 8 Months
“U.S. employers added the fewest jobs in eight months in August, snapping a streak of robust gains and surprising analysts because recent reports had suggested that the economy was steadily improving.”

3.August Jobs Numbers Disappoint
“August jobs numbers fell below expectations as the economy added 142,000 new jobs last month, falling below the 200,000 projected. It is the first time in seven months that the U.S. economy has failed to add at least 200,000 jobs in a given month, and far below the 12-month average of 212,000. The unemployment rate fell slightly to 6.1 percent, while total long-term unemployed declined by 192,000.”

4.Will crowdfunding change real estate investing in Oakland?
“In Oakland and many other cities hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, investors swooped in with bags of cash and scooped up distressed properties to rehab and flip. Much of this investment came from foreign nationals and large US corporations such as Blackstone Group (which spent $8 billion gobbling up 43,000 properties in the past two years, according to Bloomberg). A real estate crowdfunding startup based in San Francisco aims to change the face of those investors.”

5.Look past the weak jobs report
“The U.S. economy continues to heal, albeit slowly. Of course, Friday’s jobs report, which showed a gain of just 142,000 jobs in August, was surprisingly weak. But this tepid recovery is not a straight line up; three steps forward, two steps back”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Where Americans Are Moving
“Three times as many people moved from Los Angeles to Houston, and from New York to West Palm Beach, than the other way around. Most movers are toward counties with lower density, lower unemployment, and cheaper housing.”

2.Mortgage Credit Availability Decreases Slightly in August
“Mortgage credit availability decreased in August according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which analyzes data from the AllRegs® Market Clarity® product.  ”

3.Average US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Holds Steady
“The average 30-year U.S. mortgage rate this week remained at a 52-week low of 4.10 percent for the third straight week.”

4.Ukraine’s Conflict Boosts U.S. Real Estate
Ukraine’s ongoing war with pro-Russian separatists and their Moscow benefactors is pushing money out of the region — and into the United States.

5.Why Real-Estate Agents Should Consider Insurance
“When real-estate agents Fran Day and Tom O’Neill agreed to help a couple sell their home in upscale rural Pennsylvania, they didn’t expect a seven-year legal battle that went all the way to the state’s highest court.”

6.Housing markets still affordable for grads saddled with student loan debt
“Nearly all — 96 percent — of U.S. housing markets are still affordable for recent college graduates making the median household income — even those with student loans, according to a report Thursday from RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Obama: ‘Revving’ economy calls for higher wages
“President Barack Obama renewed his push for Congress to raise the minimum wage Monday in a buoyant accounting of the economy’s “revving” performance, delivered on behalf of Democrats opening their fall campaigns for the midterm congressional elections.”

2.Has L.A.’s economy come back?
“Among those who know Los Angeles’ economy best, there is one point of agreement: The city is slowly recovering from the 2007 collapse. It was seven years ago that a national housing and financial crisis triggered the worst economic downturn of this generation, and it hit L.A. hard. Unemployment soared to more than 13%; today, it is at roughly 8.7%. That is still high by historical standards, but things are steadily improving.”

3.Enter in the fall housing market: Shopping in Santa Monica with a $900,000 budget. Expectations running high before the fall season hits.
“You can smell the end of the summer real estate season as some drunk sellers are pulling properties off the market since they are unable to obtain their ridiculous prices. Funny how expectations work.”

4.A grim Labor Day for many Californians
“Although California’s job market has continued to improve during the past year, the current economic expansion has not been strong enough to begin reversing decades of wage stagnation and diminished economic opportunity for many California workers, according to a new report from the California Budget Project, which describes itself as a nonpartisan policy research organization.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.US Economy Grew at Brisk 4.2 Pct. Rate in Q2
“After a bleak start to the year, the U.S. economy grew at a brisk annual rate of 4.2 percent in the April-June quarter, the government said Thursday, slightly faster than it had first estimated.”

2.Knowing how real estate works saves time and money
“Real estate defined in law is an “immovable object” with a legal description that defines its space and place in our geography. This work is completed by registered land surveyors, who have specialized training on measuring and documenting land parcels. As the United States has grown, most every parcel of the land is surveyed and spatially identified before being designated for eventual ownership. Land ownership records are open and available for all to see.”

3.Is Owning Overrated? The Rental Economy Rises
“Things that you can now rent instead of buying: a power drill, a song, a tent, an office for an hour, a Prada handbag, a wedding dress, a painting, a dog, your neighbor’s car, a drone.”

4.The Economy is Improving, but May Face a New Speed Limit
“The recession is gradually ending, but we’re about to enter a world where fewer and fewer people work.”

5.Apartment bubble?
“CNBC’s Diana Olick reports multifamily REIT returns are up 29 percent year-to-date.”

6.San Fernando Valley’s housing inventory continues to build
“Housing inventory surged again in July in the San Fernando Valley from a year earlier, giving a summer bump to a languishing market, a trade group said Monday.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Home prices rising, but slowly
“Home prices are still rising, but the pace of increases is definitely slowing.”

2.Pending Home Sales Pick Up in July
” Pending home sales rebounded in July and have now risen in four of the last five months, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All major regions experienced healthy gains except for the Midwest, which saw a slight decline.”

3.Contracts to Buy US Homes Rise in Hopeful Sign
“More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in July, a sign that buying has improved as mortgage rates have slipped, the number of listings has risen and the rate of price increases has slowed.”

4.Average US 30-Year Mortgage Rate at 4.1 Percent
“The average 30-year U.S. mortgage rate remained at a 52-week low of 4.10 this week.”

5.Home prices just hit a 70-month high. Now for the bad news
“Home prices have soared over the past year, but the news isn’t all good on the home front.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Home prices rising, but slowly
“Home prices are still rising, but the pace of increases is definitely slowing.”

2.Improving Economy Slowly Brightens Outlook for Commercial Real Estate
“The strong rebound in economic growth during the second quarter and ongoing job creation are gradually improving the outlook for all of the major commercial real estate sectors, according to the National Association of Realtors® quarterly commercial real estate forecast.”

3.US Home Price Gains Slow in June
“U.S. home prices increased at a slower pace in June — a cooldown that could continue for several more months.”

4.Are baby boomers holding back the housing market?
“Millennials have long been blamed for the weakness in the property market. But new research suggests that the inability of middle-aged Americans to sell their own homes is a major reason for the slow recovery.”

5.San Fernando Valley’s housing inventory continues to build
“Housing inventory surged again in July in the San Fernando Valley from a year earlier, giving a summer bump to a languishing market, a trade group said Monday.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.New home sales drop in July, plummet 15.2% in West
“New home sales fell unexpectedly in July as buyers in the West pulled back sharply.”

2.Slowing Home Sales Show U.S. Market Lacks Momentum: Economy
“The pace of new-home sales fell to the slowest in four months in July, signaling U.S. real estate lacks the vigor to propel faster growth in the economy. ”

3.Sales of new homes reach troubling 4-month low
“The sales pace of new single-family homes fell to a four-month low in July, missing analysts’ estimates, according to a government report released Monday that may add to worries about the housing market’s recovery.”

4.Double-sided U.S. economy: Sharp in some areas, dull in others
“Businesses are hiring at the fastest pace in years, but companies themselves still aren’t investing as much as they used to, and an improved labor market has not encouraged Americans to shed their cautious spending habits.”

5.12 startups that are changing the way we interact with real estate
“Are you ready for a glimpse into the future of real estate? Real Estate Connect’s “New Kids on the Block” session and an eye-opening Agent Reboot session called “9 technologies that will change the real estate landscape forever” provided a preview of coming attractions that may dramatically change the real estate industry.”

6.6 things you should know about the U.S. economy
“The economy took center stage this weekend as some of the biggest names in finance held their annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.”

7.New home sales fall, but US economy stays on solid ground
“Sales of new US single-family homes fell for a second straight month in July, but a surge in the stock of properties on the market and slower price gains should help stimulate demand in the months ahead.”

8.’Perfect storm’ for housing?
“Discussing the current home supply environment, and what happens when interest rates rise, with Bill Pulte, Pulte Capital Partners CEO. ”

TonyAlvarez.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Strategies for Setting a Price for Your Home
“To get top dollar for his Portland, Ore., home, Alex Hickman played lowball. He set his asking price below that of comparable homes nearby—and got six offers in four days.”

2.Beware the shortcomings of data on home prices and mortgage rates
“It has been said that figures lie and liars figure. But even when the numbers are truthful, they often are nearly meaningless.”

3.Home Flipping Wanes as U.S. Investors Find Fewer Bargains
“Home flipping, in which a buyer resells a property quickly for a profit, is on the decline as U.S. residential price gains slow and foreclosures dwindle. ”

4.U.S. economy adding better jobs, not just more jobs
“Gallup released some interesting data this morning, noting that 58% of full- or part-time workers are “completely satisfied with their job security.” That’s not an overwhelming majority, but it’s the best result Gallup has found since it started asking the question 20 years ago.”

5.High-end house flipping is soaring
“It is dirty, financially risky and potentially dangerous work, but depending on the current direction of the housing market, it can be highly profitable. But home “flipping,” defined as buying and selling a home within a short period of time for the sole purpose of making money, is now on the slide. ”

6.Silicon Valley buyers drive record sales of high-end homes in Santa Cruz
” All of a sudden, high-end homes are in demand, and many of the buyers are coming from Silicon Valley. ”

7.L.A. area nation’s most expensive housing market

“When it comes to buying a home or renting an apartment, the Los Angeles-Orange County area is the most expensive market among the nation’s 100 biggest metropolises, according to a report released Thursday by the real-estate website Zillow”

TonyAlvarez.com