Category: US Housing
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Friday, March 01, 2013
Is a Bubble Developing in U.S. Housing Market? / Housing-Market / US Housing
George Leong writes: Recently in these pages, I talked about how the government, the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve were creating an artificial economy that was supported by cheap money and low interest rates.
One of the major benefactors of this cheap money was the housing sector, which is now sizzling hot. The median price of an existing home in the U.S. was $173,600 in January, up 12.3% from an average of $154,600 a year earlier. (Source: United States Census Bureau web site, last accessed February 27, 2013.)
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Thursday, February 28, 2013
Why Florida's Housing Market is Set to Boom / Housing-Market / US Housing
Dr. Steve Sjuggerud writes: "I got off the plane in California last January and felt the warmth and the sunshine... in the depth of my New Jersey winter.
"I thought to myself, 'You don't have to live like this.'"
My friend wants out of New Jersey... for a warmer, more business-friendly state, like my own state of Florida. He will certainly not be the only one making such a move.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
U.S. Housing Bubble - Why It's Always the Best Time to Buy Houses / Housing-Market / US Housing
“The continuing shortages of housing inventory are driving the price gains. There is no evidence of bubbles popping.” – David Lereah, NAR mouthpiece/economist – August 2005
"The steady improvement in home sales will support price appreciation despite all the wild projections by academics, Wall Street analysts, and others in the media." – David Lereah, NAR mouthpiece/economist – January 10, 2007
"Buyer traffic is continuing to pick up, while seller traffic is holding steady. In fact, buyer traffic is 40 percent above a year ago, so there is plenty of demand but insufficient inventory to improve sales more strongly. We've transitioned into a seller's market in much of the country. We expect a seasonal rise of inventory this spring, but it may be insufficient to avoid more frequent incidences of multiple bidding and faster-than-normal price growth.” – Lawrence Yun – NAR mouthpiece/economist – February 21, 2013
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Friday, February 22, 2013
U.S. Housing Market Mania Makes a Comeback, Bidding Wars in Washington D.C. / Housing-Market / US Housing
Home-bidding wars have erupted in Washington D.C., a reminder of the days of the real estate frenzy.
Read full article... Read full article...While much of the nation is still struggling to emerge from a historic housing-market meltdown, the District is reliving its boom days. High rents, low interest rates, low inventory, and a flood of new residents in their 20s and 30s are making parts of the city feel like it's 2005 again.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Krugman's Call for a U.S. Housing Market Bubble To Fight Recession / Housing-Market / US Housing
Daniel James Sanchez writes: In 2009, Lew Rockwell posted this quote of Paul Krugman's from a 2002 New York Times editorial:
Read full article... Read full article...To fight this recession the Fed needs…soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment. [So] Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the Nasdaq bubble.
Friday, February 08, 2013
U.S. Housing Market Recovery Hits a Brick Wall / Housing-Market / US Housing
In 2005, a mania for residential real estate reached such a fever pitch that a series of cable television shows became entirely devoted to house "flipping."
Flipping involves buying a worse-for-wear house, making the minimum repairs necessary, then turning right around and selling it - ideally for a fast and handsome profit.
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Wednesday, February 06, 2013
U.S. Housing Market Bubble Threat Means Sell These Stocks / Housing-Market / US Housing
The recent rumors of a housing bubble have chilled the recent rise in homebuilder stocks, which were one of the great stories of 2012.
They had underperformed badly for several years in a row as a result of the credit crisis. Foreclosures and other distressed properties were clogging the marketplace and there was very little demand for new homes. Many of the stocks were still losing money and almost all of the homebuilders traded for less than their book value.
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Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Signs of a New U.S. Housing Market Bubble? / Housing-Market / US Housing
Jeff Uscher writes: Investors have taken comfort from the recent improvement in housing prices seen across the country.
Shares of homebuilders, including Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) and the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE: XBH), had been bid up late in 2012 and into January.
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Friday, February 01, 2013
What Housing Market Recovery? 10.7 Million Homes Still Have Negative Equity / Housing-Market / US Housing
As I have written in these pages recently, the housing market is still missing the most important part: first-time homebuyers. We have large institutions buying up homes in bulk transactions instead of a good old-fashioned housing recovery where actual home occupants fuel the recovery.
Financial institutions like The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE/BX) are eating up the supply of foreclosed and empty homes and driving prices higher in the housing market. Why are they doing it? Because these big funds can’t get better returns elsewhere. Stock market? It’s too high. Bond market? It doesn’t pay enough. “Better buy cheap houses and get tenant money,” seems to be the new thinking.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
U.S. Housing Market Recovery Faces a Brick Wall - Flippers Flopping / Housing-Market / US Housing
In 2005, a mania for residential real estate reached such a fever pitch that a series of cable television shows became entirely devoted to house "flipping."
Flipping involves buying a worse-for-wear house, making the minimum repairs necessary, then turning right around and selling it - ideally for a fast and handsome profit.
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Is Buying U.S. Real Estate Now, Insanely Brilliant or Moronic? / Housing-Market / US Housing
Mark R. Crovelli writes: As a graduate student and construction worker in San Diego from 2003-2005, I was afforded an up-close view of the inflation of the last real estate bubble. It was a truly exciting time to work in the building industry in Southern California because there was so much money sloshing around. I literally couldn’t even walk into Home Depot without being accosted by hordes of greedy homeowners and slippery contractors offering to pay cash to anyone willing to do construction work.
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Are You A Good Candidate for a Reverse Mortgage? / Housing-Market / US Housing
Two of the top subjects that my Money Forever readers have asked us to cover are annuities, specifically how to pick the right one and covered in the November issue with a companion “how-to” special report (click here for how to get your copy), and reverse mortgages. My guess they’re seeing all those TV ads featuring Henry Winkler and Robert Wagner and wondering if it’s right for them.
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Monday, January 21, 2013
Why the U.S. Housing Market Is “Home Sweet Home” / Housing-Market / US Housing
George Leong writes: It was extremely difficult times for homeowners following the subprime mortgage implosion that helped to drag down the global economy in 2008. I recall how easy it was to get a mortgage without even having to provide an income or work history to the lenders. When an entry-level worker at McDonalds Corporation (NYSE/MCD) can get a mortgage with no questions asked, you have to wonder how long it might be before a housing bubble surfaces.
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Thursday, January 17, 2013
U.S. Housing Market Recovery Just Rescued 4 Million Homeowners / Housing-Market / US Housing
Ben Gersten writes: In further signs of a U.S. housing market recovery, home prices are up - meaning a whopping 33% fewer homeowners are underwater.
When the U.S. housing market bottomed out in 2008, nearly one in six homeowners owed more on mortgages than their homes were worth. That translated to 12 million underwater homeowners.
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Why It’s a “Fake” U.S. Housing Market Recovery / Housing-Market / US Housing
Michael Lombardi writes: Michael Lombardi writes: The U.S. housing market is becoming a main topic again in the mainstream media these days. I keep reading about how rising home prices will now get the U.S. economy going again.
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013
US Housing Bear Market Over? House Prices Forecast 2013-2016 / Housing-Market / US Housing
Has the US housing bear market ended ?
Follow the analysis to find out the answer including a detailed trend forecast covering over 3 years from 2013 to 2016.
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Saturday, January 12, 2013
U.S. Housing Real Estate Market House Prices Trend Forecast 2013 to 2016 / Housing-Market / US Housing
Following the peak of the over leveraged US housing market bubble late 2006, the real estate market literally crashed during 2007 triggering the financial crisis that has acted to subsequently feed a multi-year bear market as a consequence of the subprime mortgage debacle that was magnified globally via toxic CDO packages that literally risked the bankruptcy of the whole global financial system starting in June 2007 when Bear Sterns bailed out one of its hedge funds, within a year Bear Sterns would effectively go bust as JPM picked it up for about 5% of its peak value that acted as a prelude to what was yet to come during 2008 for the likes of Lehman's that prompted tax payer bailouts right across the globe to prevent financial armageddon as the too big to fail banks only slowly revealed the extent to their exposure to the toxic mortgage backed securities in what amounted to the greatest fraud in history as investors had been duped into buying junk that the credit rating agencies typically rated as Triple A for a fee.
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Friday, January 04, 2013
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation / Housing-Market / US Housing
The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 is a temporary law that allows homeowners who have their mortgage debt reduced, either through restructuring, modification, short sale or foreclosure, not claim the forgiven debt amount as taxable income.
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Saturday, December 08, 2012
Will the U.S. Housing Market Recovery Continue? / Housing-Market / US Housing
Sasha Cekerevac writes: We have all heard the recent news that the housing market recovery is well on its way off the bottom. With home prices continuing to move up, many are questioning the long-term strength of the housing market. While there is no question that home prices have hit the lowest point and won’t return to those levels again, many are worried that they missed the housing market recovery, as prices have already risen significantly. I think there’s a few more years left for price appreciation in the housing market.
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Thursday, November 22, 2012
U.S. Housing Market Outlook 2013 / Housing-Market / US Housing
Sasha Cekerevac write: One of the most often talked about parts of the economy is the real estate market sector. Because real estate is such a large and important part of the economy, naturally, many eyes are focused on whether or not this market sector can and will rebound from its deep decline.
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