Archive for January, 2009Housing Perspective: December New Home SalesBy RYAN TAYLOR The Commerce Department reported a 14.7% drop in the seasonally adjusted rate of new home sales in December. Builders unloaded just 482,000 homes, the lowest number since 1982, while the median price slipped 9.3% from December 2007 to $206,500. Tough to find a silver lining in this release, the numbers pretty much [...] Fed Jumps on Loan Modification BandwagonBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” – and you certainly can’t fault lawmakers for a lack of persistence in trying to stem the epidemic foreclosures plaguing America’s housing market. Sadly, they insist on trying the same failed strategies over and over again. For [...] Housing Perspective: November Case-Shiller Home Price IndexBy ANDREW JEFFERY In contrast to the silver lining of higher-than-expected home sales tallied in yesterday’s release of Existing Home Sales, this morning’s Case-Shiller November Home Price Index registered the worst year-over-year performance on record. Property values in November 2008 tumbled 18.2% from the prior year and 2.2% from the previous month. As measured by [...] Housing Perspective: December Existing Home SalesBy AUSTIN NELSON The National Association of Realtors released figures on existing home sales for December, showing an “unexpected” rise in sales volume for the month. Across the US, data showed a 6.5% increase in volume month over month. The surprise increase was bittersweet however, as median home price declined almost 3% month over month [...] Freddie Blows Through Another $35 BillionBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. $100 billion just isn’t what it used to be. Over the weekend, Freddie Mac (FRE) requested a second draw on its Treasury Department credit facility, saying $30-35 billion would suffice to keep its net worth above zero, thank you very much. After taking $14 billion in [...] Housing Perspective: January Home Builder SentimentBy RYAN TAYLOR Just when you thought the market for new homes couldn’t get any worse, it did. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo January builder sentiment index dropped to 8 from 9. While the homebuilders were setting records for new home sales in 2005 and 2006, they’re now setting records for the [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: A Tale of Two MarketsBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Increasingly, US real estate is becoming a tale of 2 markets. In low-income neighborhoods, overbuilt suburbs, and other areas besieged by foreclosures, home sales are through the roof. Data released this week by MDA Dataquick, a real estate information service, show December 2008 sales in Southern California’s [...] Falling Rents Signal DeflationBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. In recent months, headlines have been popping up noting that rents – finally – are beginning to follow home prices into the abyss. Since the housing market began to crumble, would-be homeowners were forced to become renters, keeping demand for rental units relatively strong even as home prices [...] Foreclosures Sting Even Best BuildersBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Foreclosure: It’s not just for those “subprime” people anymore. Besieged by collapsing home prices and frightened banks scrounging for cash, even the real-estate industry’s brightest stars are finding there’s no place to hide. According to the New York Times, small and mid-size homebuilders who thrived during [...] The Value of an REO, Part 2By RYAN TAYLOR In this two part series, Cirios’ Valuation Guru Ryan Taylor offers an insider’s look into the nuances of investing in foreclosed homes. Please click here for Part 1. As potential buyers embark on their search for a new home or a prospective investment, they are very likely to see at least one [...] The Value of an REOBy RYAN TAYLOR In this two part series, Cirios’ Valuation Guru Ryan Taylor offers an insider’s look into the nuances of investing in foreclosed homes. Please click here for Part 2. From Beverly Hills to Detroit, the term REO is quickly becoming part of our country’s vocabulary. REO, or Real Estate Owned, refers to a [...] Straight Up Statistics: Deconstructing the AverageBy AUSTIN NELSON In today’s fast paced, data-driven world, it’s easy to get lost in the morass of statistics flashing across our TVs and computer screens at a sometimes maddening pace. Government officials, bankers, retailers and snake oil salesmen alike throw out statistical arguments at the drop of a hat, telling you why their pitch [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Buyers’ Market? BewareBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Is it a buyer’s market? Ask most real-estate professionals the above question, and the response will almost certainly be an emphatic “Yes!” After all, they quickly explain, inventory levels are at all-time highs, sellers are desperate to get out from under their rapidly depreciating homes, and [...] Congress Forces Mortgage ModificationsBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. The road to over-regulation has begun. In an effort protect struggling homeowners, Senate Democrats are advocating new bankruptcy laws that allow judges to alter mortgage terms, known as a “cramdown,” during a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing. Lawmakers hope the new rules will prevent foreclosures, help borrowers [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Rich Get Stuck in Subprime SlimeBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. From expansive estates in the Hamptons to mansions on the Malibu cliffs, the rich are watching their vast real-estate wealth evaporate before their eyes. Perhaps no market epitomizes the ultimate surrender of high-end real estate than the island of Manhattan, where housing prices had held relatively stable [...] Housing Perspective: November Pending Home SalesBy ANDREW JEFFERY It should come as no surprise that with headlines screaming financial Armageddon and the stock market making new lows seemingly every day, last November wasn’t exactly a great month for the housing market. This morning, the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, released its Pending Home Sales Index, which measures signed contracts [...] |