The Denver area has been a historically stable real estate market for both owners and investors. Market values experienced a downward correction following the financial crisis of 2008, showed signs of stabilization as 2009 transpired, but that stabilization was short-lived, as the market experienced volatility moving out of 2009 and into 2010. Currently, approximately 35% of listings in Denver are foreclosures.
Month: February 2011
Money Mischief
By now, most people have heard about the second round of “Quantitative Easing” being conducted by the Federal Reserve. In short, this means that the Fed will be purchasing treasury bills with freshly printed money to inject more cash into the monetary system. To date, most of this additional liquidity has been limited to banks who have opted to hold the capital instead of loan it out. The reason for this is because the banks can borrow from the Fed at extremely low overnight interest rates and use the capital to purchase treasuries with a yield rate that exceeds their cost of borrowing.
Double-Dip Recession
The recent financial news has been abuzz with exhortations over the anticipation of an end to the recent financial calamity. The stock market has already discounted this optimism into its valuation, as current market values represent a multiple of forecasted earnings per share well in excess of historical trends. The conventional wisdom is that the economy will get “back on track” in the next few months and resume its previous trajectory of long term growth. The factor that nobody seems to be considering is the fact that the previous ‘track’ the economy had been traveling down is the express route to collapse that generated this whole financial meltdown in the first place.
Keeping Housing Fair
In 1968, the Fair Housing Act was adopted by congress, and amended in 1988 to increase the role of enforcement for the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). One of the most important points for fair housing enforcement is the fact that discrimination against protected classes is prohibited for home sales, rental housing, and mortgage lending. For the purposes of HUD, protected classes include race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, or handicap.
Re-Inflating the Debt Bubble
Reading the news has never been the best way to inspire optimism. This phenomenon has never been more true than it is today for financially astute people that are aware of causes and consequences. In a recent press conference, the US President was touting a new blitz of government programs to get the US economy “back on track.” On the surface, this seems like a laudable goal, until you consider what is meant by getting the economy back on the track it was previously traveling.
Almost 20% Profit on Phoenix Properties Expected in 2011
Market values in Phoenix are currently at approximately the same level as in the year 2000. The market area experienced a tremendous run-up during the real estate bubble and a spectacular during the financial crisis. During 2010, the regression back to fundamentals continued in Phoenix. For people who bought at the wrong time, this value contraction leverages out to a rather substantial loss. However, the current low interest rates allow buyers to generate cash flows that will help them to sustain the investment through value fluctuations until a path of growth is resumed.
Predicting Inflation for 2011
The general price level in 2010 relative to 2009 shows average price levels that are nearly flat. The reason for this trend is significant commodity price increases in 2007 and 2008 that collapsed after the global financial crisis. Much of the reason for the price volatility in commodities is leveraged buying and selling through hedge funds that drove prices up during the bubble and precipitated a price crash after the bubble collapsed as many entities were simultaneously deleveraging their positions. To demonstrate this phenomenon, we have graphed the Consumer Price Index for Urban residents (CPI-U), Producer Price Index for Finished Goods (PPI-FG) and Producer Price Index for All Commodities (PPI-AC) from 1995 up to the present time.
A Dollar is NOT a Dollar
One of the most important concepts for investors to understand is that a dollar today is not the same as a dollar yesterday, and is not the same as a dollar tomorrow. Over time, inflation erodes the purchasing power of currency. This is critically important, because most people focus on the nominal change in the value of their investments, but unintentionally ignore their real value after accounting for past and expected future inflation.
Real Estate Trends for 2011 – Solomon Success Predictions
One of the most impactful news items heading into 2011 is the announcement by Bank of America that foreclosure activity is being suspended1, and the decision by government agencies to increase scrutiny on the foreclosure process. In the wake of this announcement, nobody completely knows how long this increased scrutiny will last, how intense it will be, and what impact it will have on market activity.
Orlando, FL, Investors Can Expect a 22.5% Return This Year
The city of Orlando experienced a tremendous increase in market prices from the year 2000 through 2006, and a downward correction in prices since the beginning of 2007. As 2010 concludes and 2011 unfolds, we expect to see prices stabilize and regress toward a long-term linear growth trajectory. Currently, approximately 68% of listings are from foreclosures.