Remember back in the halcyon years of 2007 and early 2008 when commercial real estate prices were high and yields were low? Real estate investors large and small were having a hard time finding investments that offered sufficient yield. A common phrase was,“There’s just much money chasing deals.” Fast forward to today, just six years […]
Back in the glory days of 2007 and 2008, prices for commercial real estate were hitting all-time highs. The yields on those properties were at all-time lows. At that time, I remember hearing investors from all over the country talking about how they were getting ridiculously high offers on properties they owned. I also remember […]
I have mentioned to audiences for several years now that if you are watching Fox News or MSNBC for more than seven minutes a day, not only are you wasting your time but you are also causing yourself mental and emotional damage. I watch a lot of CNBC, and it is subject to the same […]
Just a few short years ago, Wall Street took its first look at buying homes to rent out for income. Large institutions like pension funds, real estate investment trusts and insurance companies have invested in commercial real estate properties for decades. But investing in thousands of single-family houses was unprecedented at the time. Initially, the […]
Here’s the second post of my two-part series based on the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2014 survey of foreign buyers of U.S. homes. What Price Homes Do They Buy? Approximately 46 percent of U.S. home sales to international buyers were for less than $250,000. Chinese buyers bought homes with a median price of $523,148; […]
It’s time for the annual National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) survey measuring the level of sales of U.S. residential real estate to foreigners. There were 3,547 respondents to the 2014 survey, almost 200 more than last year. The survey was conducted from April 14 to May 14, 2014. Information was gathered from Realtors on U.S. […]
Wonder what has chewed up a lot of your personal income over the past 30 years? I’ve enjoyed working my way through several hundred pages of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) Detailed Report published each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At just 117 pages, it’s a short read. A page-turner from beginning to […]
Want to pick a fight with a senior citizen? Just try suggesting to them that inflation is really low in this country. It’s amazing how even the most lethargic senior will come alive to discuss this topic. We have all heard from the Federal Reserve that inflation expectations are “well anchored.” We’ve also heard how […]
Mortgage money is the lifeblood of the single-family housing market. Sure, there have been a lot of cash buyers in the market in recent years. This is an aberration, not the norm. Most Americans who want to buy a house need a sizable mortgage to make the purchase. The availability of mortgage money to potential […]
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve publishes leading indexes for each of the 50 states and the nation as a whole. Leading indexes are used to discern the future trajectory of the economy. The chart shows the index over the past 30 years. As you can see, the index works pretty well. The shaded light blue vertical […]