Foreclosures/REOsCirios Trends — May 2010In this month’s Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities, check out: The State of the Markets: May 5, 2010 Watching as the world wobbles. Feature: What’s in a CDO, anyway? Complex securities bite Goldman Sachs as the SEC closes in. Around the Bay: Local News Bites Goings on that move markets. Zip Code [...] The State of the Markets – May 5, 2010This post first appeared in the May edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. It feels a bit like the world is starting to come apart at the seams. Again. The EU finally “solved” the Greek problem, only to find out the solution just accelerated the day of reckoning for Europe’s other [...] Around the Bay: Local News BitesThis post first appeared in the May edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. Silicon Valley Defies California Gloom (Silicon Valley Business Journal) Even though consumer confidence in California has fallen to a historic low, Silicon Valley residents remain some of the country’s more optimistic folks. California’s Index of Consumer Sentiment registered [...] Talking Charts – Local Market AnalysisThis post first appeared in the May edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. As the consensus builds that the worst is over for the housing market, it’s a natural extension that proclamations such as, “it’s a great time to buy” will continue to grow louder. As readers of this newsletter know, [...] Cirios Trends — April 2010In this month’s Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities, check out: The State of the Markets: April 5, 2010 Some data show the worst may be over – so are we out of the woods? Feature: HAFA – Double Edge Swords Abound Will the latest housing market fix sink or swim? Did You [...] Feature: HAFA – Double Edge Swords AboundThis post first appeared in the April edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. Every six months or so, Washington’s political will seems to coalesce in support of the only issue where there is true agreement across party lines: The housing market is still broken. Sadly, in our view, the Treasury Department’s [...] Talking Charts – Local Market AnalysisThis post first appeared in the April edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. As long time readers of this newsletter know, we at Cirios rail against the concept that “it’s a great time to buy,” irrespective of market condition. There is just too much that goes into the homebuying decision to [...] Cirios Opportunities: Betting on San BrunoThis post first appeared in the March edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. Opportunity Overview:2730 Sherwood Dr., San Bruno, CA 94066 For many people familiar with the Bay Area, the Peninsula is a place where only the wealthy can afford to live. And while this holds true for most areas, there [...] Cirios Opportunities: Sweet Salvation in South CityThis post first appeared in the February edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. Opportunity Overview: Of the many profitable real estate investment opportunities available in the Bay Area, one which has recently received attention in the media is buying foreclosed homes directly at the public auctions held on the courthouse steps. [...] SPECIAL EDITION: Cirios Trends — A Decade in FluxIn this SPECIAL EDITION, check out: The State of the Markets: A Decade in Flux 10 years that were anything but boring.. Home Prices: A Much Needed Breather After a historic rise, an equally historic fall. Getting Back on Track: Are We There Yet? Many believe the bottom in housing has come and gone. Are [...] A Tale of Two Markets: Underneath the DataThis post first appeared in the SPECIAL EDITION: Cirios Trends: A Decade in Flux << PREVIOUS Since we just spent the last ten pages laboriously scratching the surface of complex macroeconomic trends with a few over-simplified charts, we will now analyze every single US housing market by looking at sales data in two cities. As [...] Are Housing Fundamentals Still Deteriorating?This post first appeared on Minyanville. There’s a good amount of buzz surrounding the Wall Street Journal’s piece on the staggering number of homeowners underwater on their mortgages. This, on the same day the Case-Shiller Home Price Index posted its fourth consecutive month-over-month increase. Mixed signals? Possibly. But in reality, these two seemingly disparate data [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Where Have All the Houses Gone?This post first appeared on Minyanville. Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing? Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago? When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn? – Peter Seeger There’s an odd refrain cropping up in some of the nation’s most troubled housing markets — those where [...] The Foreclosure Epidemic: The Bulldozers ComethBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Simply put: There are too many homes in America. Travel to the outskirts of Phoenix, California’s inland empire — or even suburban Washington, DC — and you’ll find scores of vacant homes, for-sale signs, and soon-to-be ghost towns. Sprawling Lennar (LEN) cookie-cutter developments, Pulte Home (PHM) [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Beware The False Bottom in HousingBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Residential real estate is about to get very weird. In the coming months, housing-market data is likely to show price stabilization in many of the country’s hardest hit areas. Pundits, government officials and real-estate professionals will loudly proclaim the worst of our real estate woes are [...] Banks Rev Up Foreclosure MachineBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. For almost 2 years, we’ve been told government-backed loan modification efforts and foreclosure moratoriums would help ease the pain of the ongoing housing crisis. It’s not working. Despite recent calls to the contrary — this morning’s came courtesy of real-estate mogul Sam Zell — residential home prices are still in free [...] House of the Week Results: No Way San JoseThis week’s House of the Week redefines the term “over-listed.” While the house does have a number of things going for it — large living area, good curb appeal and a nice open layout, it’s just priced too high. But, like many sellers in the area, this one is yet to come to terms with [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Foreclosure Wheel Keeps on TurningBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Despite herculean efforts to stop the foreclosure juggernaut, Americans are still losing their homes at near-record pace. According to RealtyTrac, a firm that sells default data, foreclosure filings rose in February to nearly 300,000, up 6% from the month before. This figure is the third highest [...] Foreclosure By DesignBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Many months ago, long before bureaucrats dreamed up their massive, ill-conceived loan-modification programs, the free market found a solution to the mortgage mess. Specialists in handling distressed debt amassed tens of billions of dollars to buy up bad loans at steep discounts. The offending institutions who [...] Housing Perspective: January New Home SalesBy RYAN TAYLOR New homes sales reached record lows in January as transactions fell 10.2% from a month ago to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000. This annual rate is the lowest in the history of the reading which the government started in 1963. The median sales price for new homes also fell by 9.9% [...] Do You Have a Friend in the Real Estate Business?By RYAN TAYLOR Friends are people you can trust. They will come pick you up when your car breaks down. They are there to pick you up when you are down and there to celebrate when something goes right. Friends are the most valuable thing you have. Friends do not try to hurt, deceive or [...] 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 [...] 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 [...] |