All the Real Estate News That’s Fit to RE-Print™

Welcome to our weekly edition of Hot Real Estate Investment News.
Here are some of the real estate investing related news items that caught our attention this past week. We hope they help you stay up-to-date with your real estate investment strategies and inspire some creative and profitable ideas.
I see some themes shining through this week. Let us know what you think by leaving your “Comments” below.

Rental Market Still Tightening: Moody’s

In this article, Ester Cho reports: “With vacancies declining and rental prices rising, the climate in the housing industry is clearly warming up to rental properties.”

Using research from Moody’s Analytics, she says “’weak income gains, favorable demographics, and the foreclosure crises’ are all causing people to choose renting over buying, and demand for rent will remain solid over the next two years.”

FHA To Sell Distressed Mortgages

This article is about the FHA’s new plan to reduce foreclosures and sell “troubled” properties to investors. The government says up to 20,000 distressed loans will be sold to investors each year.

Commercial Property Revival

According to Moody’s Investors Service, the commercial real estate market bottomed out in 2010 and has climbed 28 percent.
In this article, author Judy Martel reports: “The PricewaterhouseCoopers survey showed that values are increasing in office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hotels and retail, with apartments and warehouses leading the gains.”

Family Net Worth Fell Almost 40% Between 2007-2010

On Monday, the Federal Reserve issued a report stating families’ median net worth fell almost 40% between 2007 and 2010. Author Kristina Peterson says, “Much of that drop was driven by the housing market’s collapse.”

Family Net Worth Drops to Level of Early ’90s, Fed Says

Clarifying the Federal Reserve report cited above, The New York Times Reporter, Binyamin Appelbaum states:
“The recent economic crisis left the median American family in 2010 with no more wealth than in the early 1990s, erasing almost two decades of accumulated prosperity, the Federal Reserve said Monday.”

Foreclosures Up in May from April, But Down from May 2011

Author, David Blitzer writes:
“RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com) reports that foreclosures rose 9% from April to May 2012 but were down 4% compared to May 2011. Overall foreclosure filings — defaults, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — numbered 206,000 or one in every 639 homes in the US for the month of May. The process of working down the inventory continues.”

April Mortgage Settlement Brings May Foreclosure Starts

RealtyTrac Vice President, Daren Blomquist, reports:
“More than 109,000 properties nationwide started the foreclosure process during the month of May, a 12 percent increase from April and a 16 percent increase from May 2011. The last time foreclosure starts  increased on an annual basis was January 2010, when they were up less than 1 percent from January 2009.”

CoreLogic Releases June MarketPulse Report

A few Key findings in the June MarketPulse Report include:

• The Home Price Index (HPI) including distressed sales posted two consecutive months of year-over-year increases in April 2012, the first such increase since the summer of 2010 when the housing market was benefiting from tax credits.

• Single-family construction activity increased 2.3 percent in April, and is up 25 percent over the last six months.

• Months’ supply of unsold homes fell to just more than six months in April 2012 and is currently at the lowest level in more than five years.

For a complete copy of the June CoreLogic MarketPulse report, including a complete set of data and charts, visit http://www.corelogic.com/downloadable-docs/MarketPulse_2012-June.pdf.

Top 10 Foreclosure Markets for First-Time Homebuyers

If these markets are good enough for first-time home buyers, they’re likely to be super for real estate investors, too! And probably great for buy and hold, cash flow, and quick flips. See the list here.

10 Most Convenient Cities in America

Author Jason Notte asks, “Can you get a haircut, grab groceries and pick up a pizza without starting an engine? Congratulations, you live in a convenient city.”
Why does this matter?
Notte says, “A city that’s walkable and easily accessible by public transportation with jobs, schools, hospitals, groceries, entertainment and other amenities within striking distance tends to draw more interest from tenants and potential homebuyers.” [emphasis added]

Mortgage Applications Could Mean Hot Summer for Housing

CNBC Real Estate Reporter, Diana Olick, reports:
“Applications to purchase a home jumped 13 percent week-to-week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, while refinance applications surged just over 19 percent (both seasonally adjusted). ”

Sellers’ Asking Prices Jumped in May

The author, Nick Timiraos, reports: “Median asking prices hit their highest level in 2½ years in May, the latest sign that sellers are feeling brighter about their prospects amid slimmer pickings of homes listed for sale.”

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