Month: July 2014

1.Housing market is a ‘crapshoot’
“The housing market is a “crapshoot” now, according to one of America’s leading real estate experts.”

2.All-cash home buyers big players in Capitol Hill real estate market.
“All-cash home buyers have been a force in the Capitol Hill and Central District real estate markets, too, but prices are now so inflated, even these flush buyers have begun to back off.”

3.The Realities of Real Estate: Different types of home loans
“When someone buys a home, they can either pay cash or finance the purchase. Increasingly, people are paying cash.”

4.What’s making US economy a world beater? 5 factors
” How does the U.S. economy do it? Europe is floundering. China faces slower growth. Japan is struggling to sustain tentative gains”

5.Second-half outlook: Housing
“What might heat up the housing market in the second half of the year? ”

6.The real estate gamble in Las Vegas: Year-over-year inventory up 51 percent in Las Vegas. Cash buyers fall by 20 percent from last year.
“If you really want to see the impact of cash buyers pulling out of a market look no further than Las Vegas. Las Vegas was the poster child of real estate mania and many California home owners contributed to the previous boom by tapping out equity and purchasing properties for flips or for the occasional gambling trip down the I-15.”

 

1.Mortgage Rates for 30-Year U.S. Loans Fall for Third Week
“U.S. mortgage rates for 30-year loans fell for a third week, reducing borrowing costs as housing demand regains strength.”

2.Payrolls Jumped as U.S. Jobless Rate Fell to 6.1% in June
“Job creation surged beyond expectations in June and the unemployment rate fell to an almost six-year low of 6.1 percent, underscoring the strength of a U.S. labor market that will help spur a rebound in growth. ”

3.Dollar Rises on Speculation June Jobs Gains to Bolster Outlook
“The dollar rose from almost an eight-week low against a basket of peers as a stronger-than-forecast private jobs report boosted optimism that nonfarm payroll data tomorrow may show the U.S. economy is gaining traction.”

4.US Hiring Surges as Unemployment Dips to 6.1 Pct.
“U.S. employers accelerated their hiring last month, adding a robust 288,000 jobs and helping drive the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent, the lowest since September 2008.”

5.Hiring booms in June as economy speeds up
“The economy created 288,000 jobs last month, posting a fifth straight gain of 200,000 or more, according to the government’s survey of worksites. The last time that happened was in 1999.”

6.Crowdfunding changing real estate financing for operators and investors
“Two years ago, U.S. Congress passed the JOBS (Jumpstart our Businesses) Act, which empowered smaller companies to raise financing more easily.”

7.Jobs blowout: Economy gains 288,000 in June
“The labor market continued to gain momentum and defy a mixed economy in June as employers added 288,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Thursday.”

8.Best markets for buying residential rentals found
“Investors buying U.S. residential rental property in the second quarter of 2014 are getting an average annual return of 9.97 percent, down from an average annual return of 10.60 percent a year ago, according to a study by RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine.”

TonyAlvarez.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Mortgage Applications Decrease Slightly in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
“Mortgage applications decreased 0.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 27, 2014.  ”

2.Americans on the Road Again as Recovery Gains Traction
“Traci Butler and her husband cut out vacations after the U.S. recession five years ago. This week, the couple is taking their two boys on a weeklong trip that includes a July 4th visit to the nation’s capital, just a few weeks after touring Italy on their own. ”

3.Why your rent is so damn high
“Rents advertised by landlords rose by 0.8% during the second quarter to $1,099, according to data released Wednesday by real estate research firm Reis Inc., while the national vacancy rate was 4.1%, in line with the first quarter and down slightly from 4.3% for the same period a year ago.”

4.Boston one of Nation’s ‘Riskiest’ Markets
“Don’t know where you are going to be in five years? Think twice about buying.That’s a pretty good rule of thumb no matter where you live, but especially here in Greater Boston, now pegged as one of the nation’s “riskiest” housing markets, a new report finds.”

5.Jobs Growth Adds More Sunshine to U.S. Economic Performance
“Nearly seven years after the last recession began, the U.S. economy has been ticking along at a good clip lately. Private employers added 281,000 jobs in June, according to a report on Wednesday from the ADP Research Institute (ADP), a number that exceeds the most optimistic forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.”

6.California’s dwindling middle class: California is gaining more renter households, a drop in homeownership, and housing affordability continues to be a problem.
“The housing wealth effect is in full motion. There are many people in the market that see the rise in home equity and are now out buying bigger ticket items and also, upgrading their homes.”

7.Number of Americans with fulltime jobs increases
“As Americans prepare for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, there is good news on the jobs front: More than four in ten have fulltime jobs.”

8.Five Great Reasons to Buy a Home Right Now
“The nature of market bottoms is that it’s hard to tell one’s occurred until prices and sales volume start to rise again. That’s why the best time to buy is when market conditions suggest a bottom.”

9.The US Economy Has Some Serious Momentum Right Now
“Wednesday’s ADP jobs report didn’t just beat expectation; it crushed them. According to the firm’s estimate, U.S. private companies added a whopping 281,000 jobs in June, which blew away expectations for a 205,000 gain.”

TonyAlvarez.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.New Orleans among riskiest real estate markets in country, Bloomberg reports
“New Orleans is among the most risky real estate markets in the country when looking at the biggest gains and losses homeowners have experienced over the past three decades, Bloomberg reported recently.”

2.Real Estate Markets ‘Recovering from the Recovery’
“A joint research conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) claimed that 2014 will be the year when real estate markets “recover from the recovery,” as buoyed by steadily growing demand for commercial real estate properties.”

3.US stocks close at records; Dow near 17,000
“U.S. stocks jumped on Tuesday as Wall Street started the second half of the year with the Dow rising to within two points of 17,000, as data showed expansion in U.S. manufacturing and better-than-expected sales for major U.S. automakers. ”

4.Global economy seems to be improving: Trader
“Dissecting the current trading environment and how the economy is improving, with Dani Hughes, Divine Capital CEO; “Fast Money” trader Brian Kelly; CNBC’s Bob Pisani; Eunice Yoon and Sharon Epperson. ”

5.Bullish on housing: Pro
“Tim Rood, The Collingwood Group chairman, discusses the state of the housing market. ”

6.U.S. home prices rose by 8.8 percent year over year in May
“Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 8.8 percent in May compared to a year earlier, the 27th straight month of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally, according to a new report Tuesday from financial information company CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX) of Irvine.”

7.US home prices rose more slowly in May
“U.S. home prices rose in May compared with a year earlier, but the gains have slowed.”

TonyAlvarez.com