Category: US Housing
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Friday, April 17, 2015
U.S. House Building Off to Slow Start in 2015; Starts Miss Expectations / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Mike_Shedlock
Add home building to the list of disappointing economic reports.
The Bloomberg Consensus for seasonally adjusted starts was for 1.04 million. Instead we saw .926 million.
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Monday, March 30, 2015
Don’t Celebrate the U.S. Housing Market Recovery Yet / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: When I moved to Sarasota, Fla., in 1999, I was invited by a prominent local to an “un-wedding wedding” to make new friends in town. I accepted the invitation and, not wanting to display my ignorance, avoided asking the burning question: “What’s an un-wedding wedding?”
Inevitably, I found out what an un-wedding wedding is. It’s a full-blown wedding, only the host isn’t actually getting married. He or she wants to get married but isn’t – and goes through the motions anyway.
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Friday, March 27, 2015
The Hard-Earned Truth About Recreational Real Estate / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: DailyWealth
Peter Churchouse writes:
A group of us were having lunch on my recent ski trip to the French Alps.
One of the guys leaned across the table and showed me some photos on his iPhone.
The images showed a stunning piece of property. A gorgeous chalet set amongst the trees and snow of a mountain resort in western Canada. A very seductive piece of real estate.
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Thursday, March 26, 2015
The U.S. Housing Market Recovery Is Fabricated Optimism / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Money_Morning
When I moved to Sarasota in 1999 I was invited by a prominent local to an "un-wedding wedding" to make new friends in town. I accepted the invitation and, not wanting to display my ignorance, avoided asking the burning question, "What's an un-wedding wedding?"
Inevitably I found out what an un-wedding wedding is. It's a full-blown wedding, only the host isn't actually getting married. They want to get married but aren't, and go through the motions anyway.
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Wednesday, March 18, 2015
The Top Places in Florida to Invest in Real Estate Property / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Submissions
Peter Scully submits: For those who know the real estate market in Florida they will be aware that the prices vary across the state. The prices range from $37.36 per square foot in Kenneth City to $546.77 per square foot in Key Biscayne.
However, if you plan to invest and get out quickly whilst making a profit then Hialeah Gardens, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Atlantis are the places to choose. For those who want a strong investment with a beachfront then Miami-Fort Lauderdale is the popular choice but if you are planning on making an investment for the long run then the majority of the Florida housing market can work well.
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Tuesday, March 03, 2015
The Secret Behind My Hedge Fund Trade on U.S. Housing Market / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: Suppose I’m the manager of a giant hedge fund. Suppose I’m soliciting you to come into my fund with a few billion of your $100 billion net worth.
Suppose we’re good friends.
You want to come in because you trust me and you know I know how to make money.
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Friday, February 13, 2015
Buying a Home the Most Valuable Tax "Loophole" Available Today / ElectionOracle / US Housing
By: DailyWealth
Buying a Home the Most Valuable Tax "Loophole" Available Today
Brett Eversole writes: The government seems to spend its time finding ways to increase taxes...
In 2013, income taxes for America's top earners increased. And in last month's State of the Union address, President Obama proposed capital gains tax increases among other changes.
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Tuesday, February 03, 2015
Goodbye Money Laundering: The Slide in Luxury U.S. Real Estate Market / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Harry_Dent
Couldn’t happen to a nicer group of people: ultra-rich criminals, drug dealers, despots and the mafia globally. I’m being sarcastic, of course.
It seems the greatest scheme for international money laundering is rapidly coming to an end and it couldn’t come soon enough. Unfortunately, this will have some negative effects on real estate in the super-expensive cities across the county because buying of high-priced condos for cash in places like New York, Miami, L.A. and San Francisco is going to come to a screeching halt.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2015
If You Picked Up a Cheap Mortgage Today, Thank a Taxpayer / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: If you’re looking for a cheap mortgage to buy a new home, today should be a good day.
That’s because today the 50-basis point premium cut from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) went into effect.
So with practically nothing down, unless you consider 3.5% down something, you can get a cheap loan through the FHA, one of those government agencies that was supposed to be getting out of that business.
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Sunday, January 18, 2015
The True Cost of the U.S. Homeownership Obsession / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: MISES
Ryan McMaken writes: In 2014, the US homeownership rate fell below 65 percent, which means it’s back to where it was during the 1970s and much of the 1990s. Various federal agencies have long made homeownership a priority, and have introduced a bevy of government and quasi-government programs including the GSEs like Fannie Mae, FHA-insured loans, VA-insured loans, the Bush administration’s “American Dream Downpayment Initiative” and, of course central bank meddling to keep interest rates nice and low for the mortgage markets.
Friday, January 16, 2015
U.S. Housing Market Bubble 2.0 Meet the Pin / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: James_Quinn
The 30 Year U.S. Treasury bond yield hit 2.35% yesterday. That is the lowest rate in U.S. history for the 30 Year Treasury. During the deepest darkest depths of the recession in March 2009, after the stock market had fallen over 50%, the yield was 3.5%. One year ago it was yielding 4.0%. Long term interest rates are not controlled by Yellen. They reflect the economic prospects of the country. When they are rising it means the economy is doing well. When they are plummeting to all time lows, the economy is either in recession or headed into recession. Take your pick. No amount of government data manipulation, feel good propaganda spewed by the captured mainstream media, or Ivy League educated Wall Street economist doublespeak, can change the fact this economy is in the dumper and headed much lower. The Greater Depression is resuming its downward march toward inevitable war.
Monday, January 12, 2015
U.S. Housing Market Optimism Is Back Up to 2006 Levels... Should You Worry? / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Money_Morning
Dr. Steve Sjuggerud writes: Housing optimism is back up to 2006 levels...
Should we worry about a 2006-style bust?
After all, 2006 was "the beginning of the end" in U.S. housing. And it kicked off the worst housing bear market of our lifetimes.
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Tuesday, December 02, 2014
Tiny Houses May Signal a Big Market Change / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: MISES
Jonathan Newman writes: The flowering of the tiny house movement is due in large part to the most recent boom-bust cycle, which left many homeowners wondering if mountain-sized homes are worth equally sized debt or a risky gamble on future housing prices. For some, this meant moving into a house that could be smaller than their previous house’s bathroom.
Although definitions vary for what “tiny” means — from the hardcore enthusiasts to the more inclusive tiny-housers — most agree that any residence smaller than 1,000 square feet fits the bill (but most are less than 500 square feet). And speaking of the bill, such dwellings can range anywhere from $10k to $50k, depending on the size and amenities, and they can enjoy total monthly utilities in the double digits.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Too Difficult to Get a U.S. Home Loan / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Bloomberg
HUD Secretary Julian Castro spoke with Bloomberg TV's Peter Cook about the first positive balance for the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage-insurance fund in two years and the outlook for an overhaul of federal housing-finance rules.
Castro detailed the improving financial picture for the Federal Housing Administration, stating the government's mortgage insurance fund is "back in the black" for the time in two years: "Is it now in positive territory. In fact, over the last two years it's seen an increase of $21 billion in its value. And the underlying fundamentals of the portfolio of the fund are stronger than they have been in quite a while."
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Wednesday, November 05, 2014
U.S. Housing Market San Francisco at Critical Mass / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Harry_Dent
The website, zerohedge.com, recently reported on an interesting indicator that makes perfect sense, but it’s one that I hadn’t seen before.
They reported that the San Francisco Case-Shiller year-over-year home price index is the primary real estate market that foreshadows when the stock market or any other major bubble will crash. In other words, it’s the bubble that best forecasts other bubbles bursting.
The reason that San Francisco is unique is that it’s very bubbly from a very limited supply… it reflects both Silicon Valley and the tech bubble… and it also reflects the “mega” bubble that is China.
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Thursday, October 30, 2014
US Mortgages, Risky Bisiness "Easy Money" / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Mike_Whitney
Here we go again.
Last week, the country’s biggest mortgage lenders scored a couple of key victories that will allow them to ease lending standards, crank out more toxic assets, and inflate another housing bubble. Here’s what’s going on.
On Monday, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Mel Watt, announced that Fannie and Freddie would slash the minimum down-payment requirement on mortgages from 5 percent to 3 percent while making loans more available to people with spotty credit. If this all sounds hauntingly familiar, it should. It was less than 7 years ago that shoddy lending practices blew up the financial system precipitating the deepest slump since the Great Depression. Now Watt wants to repeat that catastrophe by pumping up another credit bubble. Here’s the story from the Washington Post:
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Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Evidence of New U.S. Housing Market Real Estate Bust Starting to Appear / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: EWI
Editor's note: With permission, the following article was adapted from the October 2014 issue of The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast, a publication of Elliott Wave International, the world's largest market forecasting firm. You may review an extended version of the article for free here.
In February, The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast discussed the great boom in New York City's residential real estate and its keen resemblance to what happened in 1929, when the demand for luxury housing also spiked to previously unseen heights. At 133 East 80th Street, we found this plaque commemorating the earlier era's brick-and-mortar monuments to a Supercycle degree peak in social mood.
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Friday, October 24, 2014
Meet the New U.S. Housing Market Mortgage Rules – They’re the Same as the Old Ones / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: And you thought the federal government was getting out of the mortgage guaranteeing and backstopping business.
In fact, the feds are not only not getting out of the mortgage business, but they’re already blowing up the next bubble.
As a result, the Great Recession – spawned by the credit crisis, easy-money mortgages and low interest rates – is going to make a comeback.
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Thursday, October 23, 2014
Five U.S. Housing Market Warning Signs Point to Real Estate Market Downturn / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: John_Mauldin
By Tony Sagami
Investing is about piecing together different bits of information into an illustrative picture—sort of a Wall Street version of the connect-the-dots game we played in kindergarten.
That’s why the headline below from Bloomberg made my investment antennae stand up and motivated me to look for either confirmation that the real estate market was indeed slowing down or contrary evidence to explain if the weak summer sales numbers were just a temporary aberration.
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Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Evidence of Another Even More Sweeping U.S. Housing Market Bust Already Starting to Appear / Housing-Market / US Housing
By: EWI
Editor's note: With permission, the following article was adapted from the October 2014 issue of The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast, a publication of Elliott Wave International, the world's largest market forecasting firm. You may review an extended version of the article for free here.
In February, The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast discussed the great boom in New York City's residential real estate and its keen resemblance to what happened in 1929, when the demand for luxury housing also spiked to previously unseen heights. At 133 East 80th Street, we found this plaque commemorating the earlier era's brick-and-mortar monuments to a Supercycle degree peak in social mood.
Read full article... Read full article...