Investing In Your Future
Capital Economics expects the housing crisis to end this year, according to a report released Tuesday. One of the reasons: loosening credit.
The analytics firm notes the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700. While this is higher than scores required prior to the crisis, it is constant with requirements one year ago.
Additionally, a Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey found credit requirements in the fourth quarter were consistent with the past three quarters.
Arizona is about to explode in prices in the next two months! Inventory levels are low and prices are rising! If you were thinking of buying something in Arizona, you cannot wait any longer. Now is the time!
In a recent article, Melisa Camp from Homesmart had the following to say, “It’s inventory — the number of homes and condos for sale in the valley – are down. Right now there’s about 18,000 listings on MLS, whereas six months ago we were working on double, about 40,000. 18,000 homes are for sale right now – 24,000 is considered normal for the valley market. The number of homes for sale has decreased 40 percent since a year ago. For once, demand is outweighing supply.”
Still not convinced? Ask Bob Major, a retired builder from Vancouver, B.C. who reports that real estate is about 20 percent higher and the competition much stiffer since he the last time he visited his home in Chandler in 2010
If you’re interested in the Arizona market, contact us right away! We’ve got several deals in the works, but they won’t last long!
Just got this from today Newsday, and it appears that the U.S. housing market is experiencing much more of the ‘same-old same old’.
The reports says that, “U.S. home prices fell for a third straight month in nearly all cities tracked by a major index. The declines show that most homeowners are not reaping the benefits from some signs of an improving housing market. Prices dropped in November from October in 19 of the 20 cities tracked, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index released Tuesday. The steepest declines were in Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit. Phoenix was the only city to show an increase.”
The good news for Canadians is that the news means much more of the ‘same old-same old’. Still an outstanding time to invest in U.S. real estate. Still an outstanding time to buy, rent and hold. If you’re looking to create major cash flow, this is definitely the time to take action.
And if you’re looking for some interesting markets, the article goes on to say that, “Prices in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa fell to their lowest points since the housing crisis began. And prices have fallen 33 percent nationwide since the housing bust, to 2003 levels.”
It’s a great time to be Canadian!
As you know if you are a regular reader to this blog, our team is on a mission to acquire, hold and rent as many properties as we possibly can. We believe that creating cash flow through rental properties is absolutely the correct strategy right now. We know how to detect the emerging markets where the best values with the most potential exist.
But how do you find good tenants? Great question.
Obviously we work with our property managers, mentoring them on how to find, interview and retain great tenants. But here are a couple of solid strategies we use to ensure that we are looking in the right pool to attract excellent tenants.
Realtor Magazine has released the list of the Top 10 Foreclosure States during 2011, and although there are only a couple of surprises, perhaps the most interesting take on the list was from the blog SeattlePi.
I’m quoting here, “Nationwide, the numbers are actually encouraging. U.S. foreclosure filings dropped from 2.23 percent in 2010 to 1.4 percent in 2011.”
I’m not really sure I’d call that news ‘encouraging’. 1.4 percent of the American public is over four million people. That’s a lot of people looking for places to rent.
For those who have already been educated in the proper methods of U.S. real estate acquisition the path continues. Buy, rent, and hold. That’s what we’re doing.
And where are most of these foreclosures? I’m glad you asked. Here’s the list:
Nevada: 6 percent (1 in 16 housing units received at least one foreclosure filing in 2011)