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The U.S. Housing Market: Three (More) Reasons Real Estate Isn’t Rebounding
If ever an off-the-wall indicator existed to predict the fate of the U.S. housing market, I found it… You see, business is booming in one particular niche of the real estate industry – shrink-wrap.
That’s right. Contractors and developers are wrapping mothballed building projects in plastic, literally – from single-family homes to 25,000 square foot commercial properties.
The beneficiary? Privately-held Fast Wrap – a leader in shrink-wrap protection and weatherization. Traditionally its products are used to protect lawn furniture, cars, boats, motor homes or industrial vehicles from the elements. But now, the bulk of its new business comes from the real estate…
4Aug2009 | Investment U | 1 comment | ContinuedStatistics Reveal a Bottoming Housing Market
Perhaps the mishmash of numbers floating around the housing market have you confused. For those who follow the market closely, the daily news seems to bring a never-ending stream of contradictory data.
Here are just a few statistics in the news lately from respected market mavens like the S&P/Case-Shiller Indices and the National Association of Realtors:
- The “average” price of homes in the U.S. is down almost 35% from the record highs of 2006.
- “Median” housing prices are down 19% in 90% of the major markets in the United States.
- Building permits were up 4% in April from last year, and homebuilder confidence increased from 16…
The Housing Market: The Disappointment Of The Decade
My colleague Dr. Mark Skousen and I have been having a long-running, good-natured disagreement about the direction of the national housing market.
He calls buying real estate “the investment of the century.” I think it’s more likely to be “the disappointment of the decade.”
He thinks housing prices are about to rebound. I say rebounds (in the price of anything) only come off a genuine bottom. And, despite the precipitous drop in some areas, we still haven’t seen a bottom in home prices.
This week the media reported that the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price index fell 19.1% in the first quarter.
Bear in mind, that…
28May2009 | Investment U | 1 comment | ContinuedThe U.S. Housing Market: Is it Time to Start Buying Real Estate?
I never thought an 18.6% decline could actually represent good news.
But in an example of how desperate we’ve become for it – particularly concerning the U.S. housing market – many have jumped on the fact that it was the first time in 16 months that U.S. home prices didn’t drop by a new record.
Wow… where’s that champagne?
According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, U.S. home prices fell an annualized 18.6% in February, compared with February 2008 – and a 0.4% improvement on the 19% drop in January.
Some have speculated that this news means we’ve hit the bottom and the…
30Apr2009 | Smart Profits Report | 0 comments | Continued$75 Billion To Help Fix The U.S. Housing Crisis
Are you a “responsible homeowner?”
If so, President Obama has a gift for you.
In a wholesale attempt to crush the housing bust in its tracks, Obama revealed his $75 billion Homeowner Affordability & Stability Plan to allow 4-5 million so-called “responsible homeowners” to refinance their homes with lower interest rates and help a further 3-4 million lower their monthly mortgage payments.
It’s all designed to help fend off the dreaded specter of foreclosure, which engulfed two million Americans in 2008 – with the plan symbolically announced in Arizona, home to one of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation.
It’s also well-timed…
23Feb2009 | Smart Profits Report | 0 comments | ContinuedAre We Nearing a Housing Market Bottom?
It’s been a long, downslide for homeowners or anyone trying to buy a house.
But a Moody’s Economy.com report, “Housing in Crisis: When Will Metro Markets Recover?â€, says we could be nearing the end.
Specifically, the study estimates that:Â
- House prices will stabilize by the end of this year.
- The national Case-Shiller house price index will decline by another 11% from the fourth quarter of last year for a total peak-to-trough decline of 36%.
- Before the downturn ends, house prices will have declined by double-digits in nearly 62% of the nation’s 381 metro areas. House price declines will exceed 30% in about 10% of U.S.…
The Housing Market: Three Strikes Against Buyers
We all know that, within the housing market, home sales are in the tank, foreclosures are up and prices are down from the past few years.
What a wonderful time to be a buyer, right? Don’t believe it.
If you live in the hardest hit areas like Miami, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Orlando or a few others, there are bargains out there for the picking.
But in most towns, the real values are few and far between. The nation’s housing market is completely dysfunctional right now, in my view.
3 Types Of Sellers In The Housing Market
Three types of sellers in the housing…
29Jan2009 | Investment U | 0 comments | ContinuedInside Wall Street: That Ticking Sound You Hear Out in the Mortgage Market is the FHA
The fundamentals of economic strife based on the disastrous collapse of the U.S. housing market will not get better any time soon. In fact, what’s being pushed through both houses of Congress, even as you read this, is so dangerous that it should be immediately abandoned and revealed for what it is – a ticking time bomb labeled with the initials FHA.
In the past few days alone, the Bernanke Bomb Squad – also known as the U.S. Federal Reserve – was able to defuse two ticking time bombs – Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) – before
the full force…
Financial Indicator – Countrywide Financial
Follow This Indicator To Gauge Financial Sector Health – And Grab Profits
Smart Profits Report
by Karim Rahemtulla, Investment Director
It’s one of the most important companies in America today…
But like any company, it’s got its share of pros and cons. For example…
Pro: It holds the position of the largest private, non-governmental originator of mortgages in the US.
Con: It also holds the dubious distinction of being one of the most blatant issuers of sub-prime paper.
I’m talking about Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) – the much-beleaguered bank and mortgage company.
And there is an interesting trend occurring at the bank – one that bodes well for banks…
4Jun2008 | Smart Profits Report | Comments Off | ContinuedWith Much Blood-Letting to Come, the U.S. Housing Finance System Needs Replacing
In much of the discussion about the collapse of the U.S. housing market, commentators have assumed that the massive run-up in property prices that preceded the subprime-mortgage meltdown were simply the result of a speculative frenzy that became a full-fledged market bubble.
But that’s not the case at all.
You see, the bubble and subsequent crash were inevitable under the current system of housing finance. Fundamental changes must be made.
Standard and Poor’s recently projected the likely future loss rate on the $650 billion of subprime-mortgage-backed securities that are still out in the marketplace. From that we can estimate the losses S&P is…
2May2008 | Money Morning | Comments Off | Continued
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