Real Estate

There is currently a shorter list of a dozen ETFs oriented to primarily to global REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) with more on the way no doubt. The established global REIT market has been volatile and rocked by the eurozone crisis and contagion to other global markets. In the list you’ll...

According to all accounts, housing inventory is very low. Here in Orange County, California inventory levels are back to numbers last seen in 2005. In fact, in California, housing inventory is so low that the NAR and certain Democratic congressmen are trying to block the government’s REO bulk...

“To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep” Where is Shakespeare and his logic when we need him?Ed DeMarco, head of...

A host of housing bulls have been steady and firm in their stance that housing will recover in 2012. And while they may be the loudest and get the most airtime, they are not the parties with the real money in the game. If you want to know the direction of housing -- follow the money.  The big...

You’re a housing reporter, Ma’am.  You know how it is.  People listen to you.  Lots of people listen. Don’t reporters report facts, Ma’am?   Just the facts?   So, you won’t mind if I ask you a few questions? I won’t take much of your time. Twice this week you made the statement on CNBC that...

    The CEO of Remax, Margaret Kelly, said on CNBC in October of 2007 that it was a “Perfect Time to Buy”. Jim Cramer blew the trumpet call for housing bulls on CNBC  in 2009 and a calvary of housing bulls rode up to join them in 2010 and 2011. They and a host of others led the charge on their...

It is spring selling season.  And the good news is here come the Zombies! January saw a 28% increase in foreclosure starts from December, and, even more significantly, 47% of those were repeat foreclosure starts on loans that were previously modified. While this may sound ominous, it is actually...

A recent article in The Economist shed light on one important concept: the attractiveness of buying a home as opposed to renting. As people had no other choice but to abandon their homes as adjustable rate mortgage payments reset in 2007, 2008, and 2009 the overwhelming number of foreclosures on...

Only in the zany sphere of business news and investing does a story on pending home sales garner so many headlines. In a weird way, this silly index (built in an Excel spreadsheet by tabulating data on other topics) released by a company that has an interest in promoting the housing industry, the...

Last year gas price per gallon spiked higher due to the Libyan crisis.  This year shenanigans of the Iranian government have sent the price of gas higher.  Higher prices at the pump are an automatic tax on the American consumer, but would a spike in gas prices send housing sales into a slump?...