Archive for the ‘Networth’ Category

Twice as Many Consumers Prefer New Homes to Existing

Larger closets, open floor plans, and roomy kitchen islands seen as big draws of new homes.

 

While twice as many American consumers prefer a newly built home compared to an existing dwelling, many are reluctant to pay extra for new, according to the results of a new survey from Trulia.

Forty-one percent of respondents said they prefer to buy a new home over a previously lived in one, compared to 21 percent who said they would prefer an existing home at the same price. But of those buyers interested in new homes, only 46% were willing to pay the 20% premium that new homes typically require. In fact, only 17% of respondents said they would pay at least 20% more for a new home.

Trulia compared median prices for a new home adjusted for property features and location and found that new homes are typically priced 20% higher than older homes with similar attributes such as square footage and number of bedrooms in the same zip code.

The survey explored consumer preferences for each type of home. The top reasons respondents prefer a new home are for modern features such as bigger closets, a kitchen island, open floor plan, walls pre-wired for flat screen TVs, radiant floor heating, to be able to customize the home before construction is completed, and to spend less on maintenance and repairs.

Fans of existing homes have their reasons, too. The most compelling reason to buy an existing home is to pay less. However, among respondents who strongly prefer an existing home, the top reasons to buy an existing home are for one-of-a-kind finishes such as original wood floors, woodwork, ornate details, or stained/leaded glass windows, and to live in a more established neighborhood.

Interestingly, respondents are much more likely to mention the neighborhood as a reason to prefer an existing home than as a reason to prefer a new home. This suggests that for many Americans, the ideal home might be a new home in an established neighborhood, the survey concludes.

By  – Builder Online – May 5, 2014

The New Math of Renting vs. Buying

Here’s how to figure out which strategy makes the most financial sense.

Buying a home has long been part of the American dream. But rising prices have made renting less expensive in many places.

How They Rank 

See the full rankings for 54 metro areas, and how Deutsche Bank did the math, on Total Return.

People often aspire to own a home for reasons that have little to do with money, and rental options are limited in some communities. Yet owning property can limit your flexibility to move when you want and ties up a lot of your money.

The median sales price of existing single-family homes rose 11.4% in 2013 from the previous year—the highest yearly increase since 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors. Prices in many places, including Los Angeles, Baltimore and Portland, Ore., rose even more last year.

The monthly cost of renting was lower than buying in 20 large metropolitan areas at the end of last year, the most recent period for which data are available, according to figures provided exclusively to The Wall Street Journal by Deutsche Bank.   

The bank calculates the costs in 54 markets based on average local rents and median home-sale prices, which it uses to estimate monthly mortgage payments for a hypothetical buyer in the 25% federal income-tax bracket.

Renting had been less expensive than buying on average across all the areas Deutsche Bank tracks since at least the early 1990s. But that changed during the financial crisis, as home prices plummeted and interest rates on mortgages dropped. The current rally in home prices appears to be pushing the housing market back toward the historical norm.

Where Renters Made Gains

Here are the metro areas where renting made the biggest gains against buying in the fourth quarter of last year compared with a year earlier.

        

A renter in Orlando paid $1.24 a month for every $1 a buyer spent last year, down from $1.44 in 2012.                

 

The five markets where renting recently became cheaper than buying include some popular cities and suburbs where home prices are climbing fastest: Sacramento, Calif.; Phoenix; San Bernardino and Riverside, Calif.; Austin, Texas; and Northern Virginia.

Buying is still cheaper in 34 metropolitan areas Deutsche Bank examined, including Cleveland, Chicago and Atlanta, though prices rose last year in those areas, as well.

Renting has become more appealing financially than it was at the end of 2012 in places such as St. Louis; Orlando, Fla.; and Minneapolis, though buyers still pay much less than renters in those areas.

The buying advantage was slight in some places. Miami, San Antonio and Las Vegas are among the hot markets where renters appeared to be on the verge of being better off than buyers at year-end, according to the bank’s figures.

Buyers, of course, can build up equity as they pay down a mortgage, which can compensate for higher monthly costs.

Here is what you need to know to help figure out the most cost-effective way to keep a roof over your head. The first step is to understand the arguments in favor of buying and renting.

The Case for Buying

Many Americans see buying a home as an essential step in a successful life, and owning one can bring significant financial benefits.

The most obvious upside is that a home can significantly increase in value. The median sales price of existing single-family homes rose 81% from 1993 through 2013, according to the NAR.

The potential payoff can loom large in a buyer’s mind when home prices are going up rapidly, as they have recently. “We’ve already seen six to seven years of normal appreciation in the last 12 months” in many markets, says Jack McCabe, an independent housing analyst in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

Many homeowners also can deduct mortgage interest from their income-tax bills along the way.

In addition, homeowners can tap into the equity in their homes for big-ticket expenses, such as college tuition, at interest rates that can be lower than other financing options—though that can backfire by saddling homeowners with debt they can’t easily repay.

Homeowners also don’t have to worry about a spike in rents. Jacquelyn Bilton, who is 34 years old, bought a three-bedroom home with a pool in Margate, Fla., in February for $200,000, after her landlord raised her rent 28% last year. She says her monthly housing costs are now about $300 lower.

“I couldn’t afford to be throwing money down the drain in rent when I could purchase a home,” she says.

As they age, homeowners can enjoy another benefit. If they pay off their mortgages around the time they retire, their housing costs can drop significantly just when they may want extra cash for travel, medical expenses and the like, says Chris Mayer, research director at the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate at Columbia University.

To be sure, the dream also can turn into a financial nightmare. The collapse of the housing market starting in 2008, which triggered millions of foreclosures, is a vivid recent example of what can go wrong.

Still, owning a home can be well worth it for personal and psychological reasons that go beyond financial calculations.

The Case for Renting

Given the wide array of potential benefits, homeowners are sometimes surprised to learn that buying isn’t always the smartest financial option.

To begin with, the monthly cost of renting can be lower, even for a home of similar size and quality in the same community.

 

Homeowners are sometimes surprised to learn that buying isn’t always the smartest financial option.             

Renters, for example, don’t pay property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and, in most cases, maintenance costs. These expenses can cost homeowners about 3% of the price of their home annually, experts say.

While those costs can be folded into monthly rent, apartment renters often pay a smaller share as landlords spread the costs among many tenants, says Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, director of the Center for Real Estate Finance Research at New York University. If a window breaks or the toilet plugs up, your landlord—not you—pays for the repairs.

Renters don’t end up with a valuable asset, as buyers do when they pay off a mortgage. But renters might be able to make more money by investing the monthly savings, as well as the cash they would otherwise use for a down payment, he says.

The value of the average single-family home increased by 3.6% a year in the three decades through 2013, compounded annually, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. By contrast, the compound annual return on the S&P 500 over that period was 11.1%, according to Chicago-based investment-research firm Morningstar.

After moving to New York two years ago, Hunter Kearney, 27, looked into buying a condominium worth at least $2 million. But Mr. Kearney, an executive at a firm that sells graphite, concluded that renting a similar apartment was significantly less expensive.

“Your monthly costs end up being lower,” says Mr. Kearney, who says he saves about $2,000 a month over the cost of buying. He is investing some of the savings in the stock market.

Renters often have greater flexibility to move to a different part of the country, which can be important in a weak job market. They may feel freer to look for work in another city, and they don’t have to wait to sell their home if the right opportunity opens up.

Housing prices don’t need to decline as severely as they did during the financial crisis to cost homeowners significant sums, if they need to sell during a downturn. Modest declines in home prices are common.

Even people who want to own a home at some point can benefit from renting for a while to save up for a larger down payment. If the available inventory is thin, they can rent while they wait for a wider variety of homes to be listed for sale.

Handling a Hot Market

To calculate whether buying or renting makes more sense financially, you need to have a sense of your monthly costs in each case, including rent, mortgage payments, taxes, insurance and other related expenses that may apply to each option—as well as whether you would be more likely to spend or invest any savings from renting.

The verdict could differ considerably within a city, suburb or town, based on the location and the style and size of the homes you are exploring.

The Deutsche Bank data reflect an attempt to do that math across metropolitan areas, and essentially function as a general guide to each market.

Would-be buyers should proceed carefully. First, they should try to get a sense of how hot the local real-estate market is and whether buyers generally still have the upper hand, which is often the case far from the coasts and outside large cities.

If you are in a more-competitive market, be alert to the risk that you could end up in a bidding war that could drive up the purchase price. Being patient could pay off if prices cool down. In fact, slight corrections already have occurred in some markets.

In San Francisco’s East Bay area, for example, asking prices of some new homes declined 1% to 5% during the second half of last year, after builders raised prices by 5% to 18% in the prior quarter, according to Metrostudy, a housing research and consulting firm based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Gene and Erin Lash plan to sell their home in Danville, Calif., and are prepared to spend $1 million to $2 million on a larger house. But the couple has faced as many as 30 competing offers on each of the five homes they bid on and lost out every time, says Mr. Lash, a 48-year-old forensic accountant.

Now, the Lashes are also looking into renting a single-family home or an apartment as a short-term alternative to buying. “Everything is on the table,” Mr. Lash says.

Even in a hot market, the math can be more advantageous for buyers who plan to stay put for a while, typically at least five to seven years. That should be enough time for market corrections to pass, says Landon Nash, a real-estate agent in San Francisco with national brokerage Redfin.

Mr. Nash says he is telling would-be buyers in his area who plan to sell in fewer than five years that they run significant risk of selling at a loss. “We’re at the top of the market,” he says. “They might be better off as renters.”

By:       AnnaMaria Andriotis – Builder Online –    May 2, 2014 6:17 p.m. ET

 

New Home Sales Will March to New Highs Soon

Let me go out on a limb and report now that new home sales are indeed marching forward and should be looking more positive on both a month-over-month, and year-over-year basis.

Metrostudy collects data on traffic and sales from builders around the country. The data isn’t as reliable as the full census we do in the field, inspecting subdivisions lot-by-lot, or by the lagging data on home closings, but in aggregate the traffic and sales metrics give us visibility into key leading trends.

The most reliable way to compare traffic and sales month-to-month and year-over-year is to look at the average traffic and average sales number per community, as that helps to control for changes caused by more or fewer communities. Think of it as “same store sales.” So if the average traffic and sales numbers go up, builders are seeing better results across their communities.

We are seeing 2014 perform following a classic new home sales pattern. In such a pattern, sales should grow each month into the spring and summer, and decline in the second half of the year (reflecting the extreme seasonality of real estate and construction).  Every month this year has reflected improving momentum—just as a classic seasonal pattern would predict.  But when compared to last year (which looked more like the industry was shot out of a cannon in January), sales haven’t been as strong.  The most negative bears said it was more than the weather.  I say it was weather and a very abnormal start to last year.

It’s time for the bears to wake up and realize spring has sprung, because we hit a new milestone at the end of March, even though the month was still harsh for winter weather.  In looking at our weekly traffic numbers, the most significant story was seen in the final week of March.  The last week of March recorded the best traffic and sales over at least the past four years for the same period.  That was also the first week in 2014 that both the traffic and contract average surpassed the same data points in 2013.

 

By  – Builder Online 4/22/2014

When Will the Kids Leave?

Why are household formations so low?  Because 1.2 million more adults live with their parents than just 8 years ago!

Nearly 4% of US households had an oldest child aged 25–34 living at home in 2012. Compare this to 2006, when approximately 3% of households fit this category.

2014-04-21_15-25-42

While the jump from 3% to 4% may seem small, the net result of this shift is 1.2 million additional households with an adult child in this age group. And it isn’t just confined to those under 35. The share of US households with an oldest child aged 35 or older living at home is approximately 3% and has been rising as well.

This major demographic shift is creating a lot of pent-up demand that someday will be unleashed. Most of these young adults will rent first, except for those who have taken this time living with mom and dad to save up for a down payment. As we showed previously, today’s young adults have achieved homeownership at a lower rate than their parents at the same age, and we believe that they will continue to do so for some time.

 

Author:  by Chris Porter w/ John Burns Real Estate Consulting

Perfect Tips For You to Follow for Lucrative Real Estate Investment

Real estate investment is considered to be a lucrative option for many. There is no dearth of people who invest in real estate properties and make good profit. In fact, according to the expert investors real estate property is an extremely strong inflation hedge and it may even complement other assets as well. It’s possible to make real estate investment a rewarding experience by following the right tips carefully.

 

6 Effective tips for investors to make the most of real estate investing

 

Here are 6 effective tips that investors may use to make profit by investing in real estate. Have a look at the tips below:

 

  1. Understand the legal nitty gritties: Before you invest in some real estate property make sure that you know every legal details about the property. Consult with an experienced tax professional to understand the property tax related issues. All the documents regarding the property ownership must be proper and legal. If you’ll take care of the legal issues properly, then it’ll be profitable for you ultimately.

 

  1. Invest after researching properly: Select a property only after doing proper market research. It’s definitely better to decide after checking the inventory listing. Check the locality of the property also to be sure that you’re investing in a safe deal. Only invest in well-built properties. You must deal with the best builders in the market. In this way you’ll be able to get the best property and your investment will be lucrative.

 

  1. Initially try medium term for investment: There is possibility to get medium to long-term returns on the investment. At the initial stage it’s better to invest for medium term. With time and experience investors may opt for long-term investment. However, you need to be patient and avoid switching properties too frequently for the long-term investment.

 

  1. Always diversify your investment: Diversification may save you from loss in investments. So, never invest all your money in a particular asset class. Rather look for other lucrative options to invest in. Invest sensibly and according to your affordability in profitable deals only. In this way you may reduce the risk of loss to some extent.

 

  1. Check the history of the property before investing: The property you’ll purchase must be in good condition. The property must have re-sale value. Otherwise it’s completely pointless to invest in a dilapidated property. You’ll have to spend for the reconstruction without any strong assurance of profit. So, before you make your purchase, go through the history and the condition of the property. Visit the property yourself and search online. This will help to make your real estate investment even more profitable.

 

  1. Invest in international properties carefully: When you’re willing to invest in some international property, make sure to accumulate all the legal and tax related information from beforehand. Property taxes may differ in different countries. Not only taxes but legal issues regarding the property ownership may also differ for the foreigners. Understand the legal details well to avoid problems in future.

 

So, go ahead and follow all these 6 tips to make profit through real estate investment. If you like the writing you may follow us in twitter.

Contributed by:  Stewart

Selling in May…

You’ve probably heard the old Wall Street axiom: “Sell in May and go away.”

 

From an investment perspective, this is a warning of difficult times ahead. Summer can be a challenging period in the stock market because so many managers are off the desks, vacationing at the beach, or on the golf course. Statistically, individual investors are better off cashing out of their positions and coming back to the market once the summer is over

 

For the real estate market, the saying “Sell in May…” has an entirely different meaning. This is because the summer months are actually the most profitable months for real estate transactions!

 

A Window of Opportunity

 

From a logistical perspective, summer is the absolute best time to consider a move.

 

For families with children in school, the summer makes for a perfect time to relocate to a new district, and give the kids time to make new friends before the next school year.

 

Employees and small business owners typically have much more freedom to take a week off for a move during the summer – making it much easier to consider purchasing a house and moving across town (or across the country) before the workload picks back up again in the fall.

 

So for homeowners who have been considering putting their house on the market, the term “Sell in May…” is one of opportunity as real estate activity picks up.

 

This Year Is Different…

 

Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with a number of homeowners who feel “trapped” in a home because of lower prices, mortgage issues, or the lack of real-estate activity. Last summer, these challenges weighed on the market, keeping would-be home sellers from being able to sell attractive houses.

 

But this year, the environment is completely different! Real estate transactions have been picking up significantly, due in part to the fact that private equity companies have been buying up millions of dollars of properties in the Atlanta area.

 

If you missed the headlines, let me fill you in…

 

Companies like Blackstone Group have been investing in a few key cities like Atlanta, purchasing thousands of properties and putting the homes up for rent. There are two key consequences from this activity:

 

1) Home prices have been increasing dramatically. 

 

2) The number of available homes for sale has decreased.

 

It’s a natural result of the supply and demand curve. If there is significant demand (for example, the Blackstone purchases), prices will naturally rise. And of course as Blackstone takes houses off the market, a natural shortage of supply results.

 

This puts you as a seller in the driver’s seat – with much more control and negotiating power than you might have had last year.

 

Let Me Help You Get Top Dollar For Your Home

 

If you’re in the market to sell a home (your primary residence, or even an investment property), let me help you get the maximum value for your property.

 

This year, the “Sell in May” mantra could net you thousands of dollars more than you could have made during the winter months. And it’s my job to help you list and negotiate your sale so that you’re able to capture the largest profit possible for this transaction.

 

As you can tell, I’m excited about the opportunity in today’s market. We’ve got a defined window of time, and you owe it to yourself to make money in this healthy environment.

 

Please give my office a call this week. We’ll set up an appointment to chat, and figure out the best plan of attack for your real estate transaction.

 

Don’t let this summer go by without exploring the opportunity to lock in an attractive price on your home or investment property.

 

Wishing you every success,
Matt

Matthew J. Riedemann
Founder, President, & Managing Director
Ashford Capital Partners, Ashford Advisors

678-231-4579
[email protected]

Mortgage Relief May Be Easier Than You Realize

Today, I want to have a conversation about mortgages… Specifically, I want to talk about the options that are currently available to homeowners who may find themselves in challenging situations.

As I talk to a number of our current and prospective clients, I continue to see a familiar good news / bad news scenario:

The good news is that the local real estate market is heating up, driving home prices higher and giving homeowners more options with their property. This new surge in demand for residential real estate comes from both organic and institutional buyers.

Organic buyers are essentially individual purchasers who are buying homes for the purpose of occupying the properties. This is the traditional idea of a home buyer. Institutional buyers, on the other hand, are buying properties up for the purpose of either renting or reselling the homes for a profit. In particular, the private equity company Blackstone Group is active in the Atlanta market, plowing hundreds of millions into local home purchases.

The bad news is that many local homeowners are finding themselves in a difficult situation. This can be a result of a change in income since the home purchase, a change in interest rates (as teaser rates expire and payments balloon), or a general change in life as family dynamics evolve.

More and more, we are seeing homeowners in a spot where an adjustment to their mortgage would make a big difference in the financial and life balance picture…

Homeowners Have More Options Than They May Realize

When it comes to challenging mortgage situations, many homeowners have a great deal more flexibility than they have had in the past. This is due both to new government programs, and to an increased willingness to lend on the part of the banks.

A number of government programs have been created to help homeowners who have adjustable-rate mortgages that are in the process of resetting to higher rates. Many mortgage payers don’t even realize that their rates are increasing until they receive a notification of payment change from the mortgage company.

Other programs focus on homeowners who are in a hardship situation. This can result from a change in employment, a medical or disability situation, or other life issues that arise and cause difficulty for homeowners.

Finally, with property prices increasing, the banks are now much more willing to consider a mortgage adjustment because the underlying property now has value and can be sold in the event of a foreclosure. When banks see valuable collateral, they are much more willing to set up an attractive mortgage arrangement.

My point here is that as a homeowner, you are no longer arbitrarily stuck with your current mortgage. There are many ways to work out a new solution, and at Ashford Advisors, we can help find the perfect program to meet your mortgage needs.

Rental Property Owners Now Have Flexibility Too

As a result of the housing boom (and subsequent bust) many individuals have found themselves in the position of owning extra homes that are being rented out. I’ve seen a number of families that moved to larger homes during the housing bubble, and simply kept their old house for the purpose of renting and creating additional income.

Of course there are a number of individual real estate investors who purchased multiple homes with the intent to flip them – only to be stuck underwater when the real estate tide turned.

With the tremendous amount of buying pressure now lifting real estate values in the Atlanta area, investors who have been stuck with properties now have options as well…

The low interest rates and higher collateral prices can now be a help to investors with mortgage needs. Even though investment loans typically carry a higher rate of interest than mortgages for homes that are lived in, there are a number of banks who will now offer competitive rates for investment properties that can be rented.

This type of mortgage arrangement could be helpful if your investment home needs some remodeling or upkeep. And some investors are able to re-negotiate loans, taking out some equity for repairs, and then get the home into great shape for selling and exiting their investment with a profit.

Setting Up Meetings To Discuss Opportunities

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be scheduling appointments with homeowners and residential real estate investors to discuss mortgage options. If you are in the position of needing some help with your mortgage – or you just want to check into where your mortgage stands, when it resets, or what the terms are – I hope you will call me.

Given the resources that we have at Ashford Advisors, and the network of contacts we have developed in the Atlanta real estate market, I’m sure that we can help with your situation. You may be able to free up additional cash, rid yourself of an unwanted investment, or lower your monthly payments.

It would be my pleasure to help you and your family, and I look forward to sitting down with you. Please give my office a call to schedule your appointment today!

Wishing you every success,
Matt

Matthew J. Riedemann
Founder, President, & Managing Director
Ashford Capital Partners, Ashford Advisors

Spring Comes to the Atlanta Real Estate Market

Spring Comes to the Atlanta Real Estate Market

 

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As we approach spring in the Atlanta area, real estate activity is picking up (even if the outside temperature is not).

On the Ashford Capital side of the business – where we own a number of developed parcels of land – we have seen a dramatic increase in traffic. The premier homebuilders in Atlanta know that our company is the go-to asset holder for high-quality neighborhood opportunities.

Demand for new homes is on the rise, and builders are finally in a spot where inventories are relatively low and they need to be putting up new structures to meet demand.  So as we approach the second quarter, Ashford Capital Partners is in an excellent position to negotiate with these builders.

This year we expect to sign contacts to liquidate a number of these properties at attractive prices, netting a gain for our investors who helped us purchase these properties at distressed prices during and after the financial crisis.

 

Ashford Advisors Expanding Services Offered

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On the advisory side of our business – where we help facilitate real estate transactions – we have also seen a significant pickup in activity.

A number of our clients have commercial real estate holdings that are for lease or for sale. We have been able to assist in the process of leasing these properties, helping the client generate a reliable stream of income. In other instances, we have helped facilitate an actual sale of the client’s property, capping off a profitable investment transaction.

On a more personal level, we have been active in helping a number of clients with mortgage issues. Today, there are a number of programs available to homeowners and business owners to help lower both the level of monthly payments as well as the principal value of the overall loan.

Taking advantage of the options available today can allow some owners to remain in homes that they might otherwise not be able to afford. And in other cases, a mortgage adjustment can free up capital to cover other areas of need.

Depending on your situation, Ashford Advisors may be able to help modify your loan, lease your property, or facilitate a sale that frees up needed capital. If you would like to sit down and discuss what options are available to you as a homeowner, I would be happy to set up a meeting and be your advocate – whatever the need.

 

Mortgage Activity Casts an Encouraging Light on Real Estate

 

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There is one other area of interest that I want to bring up…

For the month of January (the latest month data is available), mortgage activity increased 38% over the level from last year. This is important because it shows that economic activity around residential real estate is picking up.

This is particularly encouraging as we head into the spring season which is historically an active time for home purchases. Young families typically pick the spring season to make a move, allowing their children to adjust to a new location at the end of a school year.

So with real estate activity already beginning to increase, this spring is shaping up to be a great period for selling a home or for leasing rental property. If you have been considering a move, or if you have a house, condo, or business that needs to be leased, please give me a call and find out how Ashford Advisors can assist you in achieving your financial goals.

Wishing you every success,

Matt

Matthew J. Riedemann
Founder, President, & Managing Director
Ashford Capital Partners, Ashford Advisors

678-231-4579
[email protected]

Interest Rates, Stimulus Dollars and Real Estate Activity

Last week the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held the most anticipated meeting of the year. Investors and economists had high expectations for Bernanke & Co. to launch a new round of quantitative easing.

Under this type of program, the Fed injects more cash into the economy by purchasing bonds in the open market. This in turn pushes interest rates lower and helps to stimulate economic activity.

Thursday, the Fed announced that they would initiate a new program under which they are committed to buy $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) each month for the foreseeable future. This is in addition to the current program in which the Fed is buying $40 billion worth of Treasury bonds per month.

The Fed also reaffirmed their commitment to keep interest rates essentially at zero – and they are extending the time period for these rates through mid 2015.

Even though traders and economists had positive expectations heading into the meeting, the magnitude of the additional stimulus caught investors by surprise. Stocks rallied sharply after the announcement – reflecting expectations that the broad economy should respond positively to the additional liquidity and low interest rates.

How Does the Fed’s Plan Affect Real Estate?

There are two key ways that the Fed’s new round of quantitative easing will affect the real estate market.

First, the commitment to keep interest rates at historical lows through 2015 dramatically increases the risk of inflation. We have already seen the US dollar trade lower (leading up to the Fed’s announcement, and falling even more after the news release).

As the value of the US dollar declines, the purchasing power of dollar-denominated savings and investments will drop. Many economists refer to this as a “hidden tax” on savers because a fixed amount of dollars can no longer purchase the same amount of goods & services.

The way to guard against this erosion of value is to invest in non-dollar denominated assets – typically tangible assets such as precious metals or real estate. The great thing about an investment in real estate is that you can actually enjoy your investment while it appreciates in value.

If you would like to know more about opportunities to protect the purchasing power of your savings by investing in real estate, we should definitely have a conversation. There are a number of different options including purchasing vacation property, rental property, or investing in one of Ashford Capital’s residential development projects.

This is a great time to be protecting your hard-earned dollars and I would be happy to help you evaluate which options work best for your particular situation.

The second result of the Fed’s recent decision will be an increase in real estate activity. You see, with the Fed buying mortgage-backed securities, rates will continue to be very low – making it easier for individuals to purchase new or existing homes.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about “residential mobility,” or the ability for homeowners to now sell their homes in order to upgrade to a new home or pursue new job opportunities.

As real estate transactions continue to increase, that mobility will become even better and there is simply no reason a current homeowner should be stuck in a home that he or she doesn’t want to be in.

Whether your home value is above or below your current mortgage balance, my team can help you explore options for selling or leasing your current residence, and we can also help you locate and purchase a new home that better meets your needs.

Let’s set up a time to get together and discuss how your real estate decisions can position you to take advantage of today’s economic environment. Don’t let inflation or a bearish perception of the housing market hold you back from capitalizing on today’s opportunities!

Wishing you every success,

Matt

Matthew J. Riedemann
Founder, President, & Managing Director
Ashford Capital Partners, Ashford Advisors

678-231-4579
[email protected]

Atlanta Journal Constitution Post – 9/10/2012: Companies go Home Shopping around Metro Area By: Christopher Quinn

Atlanta Journal Constitution Post – 9/10/2012:
Companies go Home Shopping around Metro Area
By: Christopher Quinn

Metro Atlanta’s depressed home prices are drawing the interest of a new type of buyer – companies that buy houses in volume.

Such companies have snapped up foreclosures and short sales in the last few months from Gwinnett to Clayton counties, as well homes listed conventionally by realtors. And they say they plan to spend hundreds of millions on homes in the next two years.

Most are renting the homes – sometimes to the former owners. Others are buying and waiting for prices to increase before re-selling the houses.

It’s a new twist on house-flipping, which usually involves a single entrepreneur. The company purchases have helped push up metro Atlanta’s battered home prices, sopped up foreclosures that depress prices and sales, and created jobs at companies that buy, renovate, maintain and manage the houses.

The downsides are an uptick in prices and competition for home buyers, along with concern that large-scale absentee owners will not take good care of homes.

“Some are acquiring houses from foreclosure and leaving them vacant for a purely speculative investment,” said John O’Callahan, the president of Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership.

The nonprofit organization works in community stabilization and helps people of low to moderate income buy homes.

“It’s not a smart business model and is horrible for the community,” O’Callahan said.

But he praised companies like Sylvan Road and Waypoint Homes, which are buying metro Atlanta properties with plans to improve them and move families in as renters.

Sylvan Road, headquartered here, plans to buy $300 million of houses here in the next two years. That will bring an industrial scale to the $3 trillion single-family U.S. home rental business, about 80 percent of which has been owned by small local investors.

America is moving toward a “rentership society,” said Sylvan Road co-founder Oliver Chang, and single family homes represent “one of the most compelling investment opportunities across all asset classes.”

“We want to put $1 billion to work buying and renovating homes across the country,” said Chang, a former head of Morgan Stanley’s U.S. housing strategy.

Chang said Sylvan Road specializes in foreclosures and it spends an average of $40,000 per house in repairs and improvements.
Waypoint Homes, of California, has an Atlanta office and similar strategy. Its managers plan to buy $1 billion worth of U.S. homes for long-term rental.

“We will buy 12 homes [in metro Atlanta] this month and and 17 next month and will continue to ramp up…We hope to get to a place where we are buying 100 a month,” company director Doug Brien said.

Other investor-buyers active in metro Atlanta include Landsmith-Precise of California and Michigan, which wants to buy $20 million worth of houses; Atlanta-based Ashford Capital Partners with another $20 million in planned purchases and California’s Colony Capital, which wants to buy more than $1 billion in homes nationally. Colony had 10 workers among the 80 or so people bidding for foreclosures last Tuesday on Gwinnett County’s courthouse steps.

Investors backing the companies range from hedge funds to real estate investment trusts and wealthy individuals.

The competition is helping boost prices, which have been rebounding with a more stable market since late winter. The average foreclosure sale price in metro Atlanta rose between January and June by more than 9 percent from a median of $91,657 to $100,220, according to real-estate and data firm RealtyTrac.

The median sale price for all homes in the region was $145,000 in August, up more than 16 percent from $124,500 in August 2011, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Local observers say most homes bought by investors cost less than $200,000.

The effect of investors stepping in the last few months has been noticed by shoppers and real-estate agents, who have seen prices rise with interest from multiple bidders.

Verna Jones of Atlanta has been trying to buy a house since January without luck.

“I have been looking and been bidding. For example, I found house last month. I bid and it went into multiple offers,” Jones said. She lost the bid, not the first time that happened.

“It’s just more competition for the homeowner,” she said.

For homeowners looking to sell, however, the companies broaden the market.

Home ownership levels, which peaked over 69 percent in 2004, have dropped to about 64 percent. That would put an estimated 3 million former owners in the rental market.

Also, about 5.5 million owners are 90 days or more delinquent on mortgages or in foreclosure, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, the international financial services company. If just half of those lose a home, it would put millions more in the rental market.

In metro Atlanta, 6,426 foreclosure notices were mailed out in August alone, according to Kennesaw real-estate services firm Equity Depot.

Providing rental homes is a necessity in this environment when so many have lost homes to foreclosure, Brien of Waypoint Homes said.

“Investors have to come in and buy homes and provide homes for people who are locked out of ownership,” he said. “They have families, kids, pets. Moving into an apartment is not an option for them.”

http://www.ajc.com/news/business/companies-go-home-shopping-around-metro-area/nR6yF/