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Here you can find articles & video with the latest news that's important to real estate investors, charts to make the information clear and papers from the best minds in the industry. Click on the headlines to open the full story.

Big money betting big on housing

Posted: March 4th, 2013

Investors are betting big on the housing recovery.

Hedge funds and private equity firms have been rushing in to buy up companies and assets in every part of the housing supply chain, including undeveloped land, homebuilders, foreclosed homes, and building parts manufacturers.

One of the most notable moves is coming from hedge fund manager John Paulson, best known for his big (and lucrative) bets against subprime mortgages in 2006 and 2007.
Click on the title to see the entire article

The Pacific Value Opportunities Fund II Opens October 29th.

Posted: October 23rd, 2012

Sequoia Real Estate Partners latest fund, PVOF II opens to investors October 29th. PVOF II comes on the heels of the highly successful PVOF I, which is on track for a very strong annual Return on Equity, and will capitalize on the current supply and demand imbalance in the single-family market for “turn-key” move-in ready homes. Bruce Bartlett, one of Sequoia’s Managing Partners noted “We’re simply taking our years of successful experience and economies of scale improving apartment communities and applying that to single-family homes. We did this in PVOF I and had great results.” The Fund is relatively small, only $10 million, so based on PVOF I’s success, SREP’s strong track record and investor demand, it is expected to fill quickly.
Click here for more info.

Housing is indeed heading higher

Posted: October 22nd, 2012

As Fortune predicted last year, a robust recovery in home prices is under way.

FORTUNE — In spring 2011 this writer penned a controversial cover story titled “The Return of Real Estate” that predicted a strong rebound in housing. At the time, prices and sales were still tumbling, and the prevailing view among economists and pundits was that the slide would drag on and on. But Fortune’s contrarian forecast proved right. By October of last year, new- and existing-home sales and housing starts had begun an upswing that’s been gathering strength ever since — and prices joined the march in early 2012. The data conclusively confirm what Fortune predicted back then: “Housing is back.”
To see this entire article, click on its TITLE above.

Banks see a housing rebound

Posted: October 13th, 2012

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo post big profit gains as home lending booms
America’s long-suffering housing market may be on the mend, two major banks said as they reported big jumps in profits.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., the nation’s largest home lenders, each reported double-digit quarterly earnings growth Friday. The big jump in profit was thanks largely to a surge in their mortgage businesses, fueled by low interest rates and waves of refinancing.

UCLA: Calif. homebuilding to double by ’14

Posted: October 10th, 2012

UCLA economists think homebuilding is ready to enjoy a statewide renaissance – with housing units construction more than doubling in two years.

Their latest UCLA/Anderson California forecast calls for 23,500 home permits pulled by the state’s developers this year – essentially flat vs. 2011. Next year, homebuilding would grow 44 percent and in ’14 jump by an additional 78 percent to 60,200 – highest since 2007. California multifamily construction should by UCLA’s math grow 19 percent this year; 29 percent next year; and double for 2014 to 69,100 – highest in more than a decade.

Home prices signal recovery may be here

Posted: August 28th, 2012

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — A sharp boost in home prices during the spring could signal a recovery in the long-suffering U.S. housing market, according to an industry report issued Tuesday.

The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index, which covers more than 80% of the housing market in the United States, climbed 6.9% in the three months ended June 30 compared to the first three months of 2012.

Rebuilding the Housing Economy: The Multifamily Boom Will Lead to a Rebound in Homeownership

Posted: August 27th, 2012

We are now in the midst of a boom in multi-family construction, especially in rental apartments. Like housing starts in
general, multi-family starts collapsed from its peak in 2005 of 354,000 units to a nadir of 112,000 units in 2009. Since then starts will have more than doubled to the 260,000 units forecast in 2012. Indeed we would not be surprised to see multi-family starts exceed 400,000 units in 2014. After all the flip side of a falling homeownership rate is a rising rate of home renting.

Eric Sussman Cover Interview in GlobeSt.com

Posted: August 23rd, 2012

EXCLUSIVE
How to Capitalize on Multifamily Investment

LOS ANGELES-The high tide of single-family home foreclosures has turned five million homeowners to renters, and likely longer-term, if not permanent, renters. So says Eric Sussman, managing partner at Sequoia Real Estate Partners. Sussman recently chatted with GlobeSt.com on the subject of multifamily investment and how investors can capitalize.

Home Prices Climb as Supply Dwindles

Posted: August 13th, 2012

Home prices rose by their largest percentage in at least seven years during the second quarter, propelled by low inventories of properties for sale and high demand for bargain-priced foreclosures, according to two reports Tuesday.

Prices rose by 2.5% in June from a year ago, and by 6% from the previous quarter, said CoreLogic Inc., a Santa Ana, Calif., data firm. The quarterly jump was the largest since 2005.

Finally, It Is Time to Buy a House

Posted: August 13th, 2012

Warren Buffett famously once said: “Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful.”

And if you’re not instinctively scared of the housing market, then global warming, saturated fat, running with scissors and the bogeyman probably aren’t keeping you awake at night, either.

The fact that everyone is scared to dabble in—much less commit to—housing makes it a close-to-perfect investment based on Mr. Buffett’s principle. But buying real estate is a good long-term investment for many more reasons, some of which have only become apparent in recent weeks.

Harvard 2012 State of the Nation’s Housing

Posted: June 14th, 2012

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After several false starts, there is reason to believe that 2012 will mark the beginning of a true housing market recovery. Sustained employment growth remains key, providing the stimulus for stronger household growth and bringing relief to some distressed homeowners.
Many rental markets have already turned the corner, giving a lift to multifamily construction but also eroding affordability for many low-income households. While gaining ground, the homeowner market still faces multiple challenges. If the broader economy weakens in the short term, the housing rebound could again stall.

Demographics, New Assumptions Drive Commercial Real Estate

Posted: June 12th, 2012

A turning point has been reached in the economy and both demographics and the assumptions that traditionally drove the commercial real estate industry are shifting.

But while economists speaking on a panel at the Strategic Real Estate Conference held in New York this week agreed that this is a time of incredible change, they also see opportunity.

Shortage of homes for sale creates fierce competition

Posted: June 10th, 2012

The newest problem for the slowly improving housing market isn’t a shortage of serious buyers, it’s a shortage of good homes.

Would-be buyers are packing open houses and scrambling to make offers on properties before they are even listed. Bidding wars are erupting. And real estate agents are vying fiercely to represent the few sellers that do exist.

The Economics and Opportunities in Multifamily Real Estate

Posted: May 17th, 2012

VIDEO
Eric Sussman, Managing Partner Sequoia Real Estate Partners and Senior Lecturer in Real Estate and Advanced Accounting at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management discusses the economics and trends that have created tremendous opportunity in the Multifamily (apartment) market and how to best capitalize on it.

Builder Is Constructing REIT for Home Rentals

Posted: May 9th, 2012

Above, one of the company’s houses in Tolleson, Ariz.

Investors can buy stakes in malls, apartment towers, timber forests and even cellphone towers through real-estate investment trusts. Now, add to the list: single-family homes transformed into rental properties.

Beazer Pre-Owned Rental Homes Inc., which hopes to expand beyond Phoenix and Las Vegas to at least one other, as-yet unidentified market. Within two years, Beazer said the number of rental homes under the new REIT’s control could number in the thousands.

Rents soar as foreclosure victims, young workers seek housing

Posted: May 7th, 2012

Few new units and tight standards for home loans add to the pressure. The average monthly U.S. rent is at an all-time high, and a 10% jump in Los Angeles County over the next two years is forecast.

Warren Buffett on CNBC: I’d Buy Up ‘A Couple Hundred Thousand’ Single-Family Homes If I Could

Posted: April 26th, 2012

Warren Buffett says along with equities, single-family homes are a very attractive investment right now.

Appearing live on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Buffett tells Becky Quick he’d buy up “a couple hundred thousand” single family homes if it were practical to do so.

If held for a long period of time and purchased at low rates, Buffett says houses are even better than stocks. He advises buyers to take out a 30-year mortgage and refinance if rates go down.

March California Home Sale Press Release

Posted: April 24th, 2012

An estimated 37,481 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 26.5 percent from 29,630 in February, and up 2.9 percent from 36,417 for March 2011.

The median price paid for a home last month was $251,000, up 5.0 percent from $239,000 in February, and up 0.8 percent from $249,000 for March a year ago.

Southland Home Sales Up; Median Price Almost Back to Year-Ago Level

Posted: April 20th, 2012

La Jolla, CA—Southern California home sales shot up last month from February amid the usual surge in early-spring shopping, but the gain over a year earlier was modest. Sales of $500,000-plus homes, though a bit lower than last year, jumped 36 percent from February, helping to lift the region’s overall median sale price to a six-month high – and to about where it was in March 2011, a real estate information service reported.

Wall Street Keys On Landlord Business

Posted: April 18th, 2012

Some of the biggest names on Wall Street are lining up to become landlords to cash-strapped Americans by bidding on pools of foreclosed properties being sold by Fannie Mae.

The idea is that the new owners would rent out the homes at first rather than reselling—potentially aiding a housing-market recovery by reducing the number of properties clogging the market. The fact that big-name investors are interested also suggests they anticipate sizable future profits in housing.
Fannie Mae’s Foreclosure Announcement

Uncle Sam wants you to rent out its foreclosed homes

Posted: March 4th, 2012

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Want to become a landlord in one of the nation’s hardest-hit foreclosure neighborhoods? Well, Uncle Sam has a deal for you.

Fannie Mae (FNMA, Fortune 500) will offer up nearly 2,500 distressed properties in eight locations to investors who are willing to buy them in bulk and rent them out for a set number of years.

The properties, which are located in Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles/Riverside, and three Florida regions, include all types of housing units, from single-family homes to co-op apartment buildings.

Rents Keep Rising, Even as Housing Prices Fall

Posted: February 27th, 2012

The housing market remains a potent drag on the economy as home prices continue to slip, foreclosed homes fill some neighborhoods and millions of construction workers scramble for jobs.
But one group is sitting pretty: landlords.
Unlike home prices, rents have been rising, up 2.4 percent in January from a year earlier, according to recent data, not adjusted for inflation, released by the Labor Department.
With few rental buildings erected over the last few years, available units are going fast.

Investors flood Southern California housing market in December

Posted: January 23rd, 2012

A record number of investors and second-home buyers flooded the Southern California real estate market in December, though not enough to give sales in the region a bump over the same month a year earlier.

With the investor dominance, low-cost homes reigned. That helped push the region’s median home price back down to its lowest level in 12 months, according to San Diego real estate firm DataQuick.

O.C. Apartments see largest rent hikes in 4.5 years

Posted: January 23rd, 2012

Another round of rent hikes occurred at Orange County’s large apartment complexes last fall, reflecting an ever-tightening market as vacancies continued to fall.

The average asking rent for a large-complex unit in Orange County was $1,561 a month, according to apartment tracker RealFacts.

December California & So Cal Home Sales Report

Posted: January 23rd, 2012

An estimated 37,734 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 15.5 percent from 32,669 in November, and up 4.2 percent from 36,215 for December 2010. California sales for the month of December have varied from a low of 25,585 in 2007 to a high of 66,503 in 2003, while the average is 44,063. DataQuick’s statistics go back to 1988.

Urban Land Institute, 2012 Emerging Trends in Real Estate

Posted: January 19th, 2012

Interviewees go totally gaga over apartments: buy class A, value-enhance class B, develop from scratch, purchase in infill areas, acquire in gateway cities, or hold in lower-growth markets. “Even buy class C and upgrade, spend a little more, hold a little longer—demand will be there.”

Jones Lang & Lasalle, Apartment Outlook Survey 2012

Posted: January 19th, 2012

Multifamily is, and will remain, the belle of the ball in the commercial real estate sector in the year ahead, according to the respondents of our Apartments Outlook 2012 Survey.

Marcus & Millshap 2012 National Apartment Report

Posted: January 19th, 2012

Proven sustainability in apartment performance, confidence in property values, and access to low cost debt spurred investors to seek arbitrage through value-add strategies.

A Market Builds for Single-Family Rentals

Posted: January 14th, 2012

Waypoint purchased this Antioch, Calif., home for $140,000 and is marketing the rental at $2,049 a month.
SREP: The big money is starting to figure it out. This rental generates over 10% a year in net cash flow.
Private-Equity Fund GI Partners Is Investing in Waypoint, Which Buys Foreclosed Homes and Then Rents Them Out

A private-equity fund that generated big profits by scooping up empty data centers after the technology-stock bust in 2000 is now making a big bet on foreclosed homes.

The fund, GI Partners in Menlo Park, Calif., plans to announce on Wednesday a $250 million investment in Waypoint Real Estate Group, an Oakland-based company that buys foreclosed homes at discounts and rents them out to tenants. The investment is among the largest to date by an institutional investor in the nascent single-family rental space.

2011 Q4 Update and 2012 Forecast

Posted: December 31st, 2011

UPDATE & OPINION
The fourth quarter was a busy one for Pacific Value Opportunities Fund I, as we acquired two additional assets: a 24-unit apartment building located in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles, and another single-family home in South Los Angeles. The Fund now owns two apartment buildings (85 units total, including one non-conforming unit) and four homes. Of the original Fund equity, we have invested approximately 95% to fund the acquisitions and various capital improvements made to the acquired assets. As discussed in more detail below, we anticipate monetizing one or more Fund assets in the next 12 to 18 months. Details of the Fund assets are as follows:

Big Funds Build Case for Housing

Posted: December 30th, 2011

Big money is starting to wager on housing.

Hedge funds run by Caxton Associates LP, SAC Capital Advisors LP, Avenue Capital and Blackstone Group LP have been buying housing-related investments, betting on a rebound. And formerly bearish research firm Zelman & Associates now predicts a housing pickup, as does Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Meeting the Demand in Multifamily: The Investment Mentality

Posted: December 24th, 2011

SREP Note: An important market signal.

Jones Lang LaSalle/RealShare APARTMENTS Outlook 2012 Survey—the experts weigh in

Rising rental rates combined with declining home ownership rates are sounding a clarion call for continued investment in the multifamily sector, according to respondents of Jones Lang LaSalle/RealShare APARTMENTS Outlook 2012 Survey. The survey, completed by more than 150 private investors, real estate brokers, developers, REIT and institutional investors, was conducted in conjunction with RealShare APARTMENTS 2011 Conference, held recently in Los Angeles.

Big Developers Dabble in Apartment Market

Posted: December 24th, 2011

SREP Note: SREP Funds typically acquire and reposition properties for less than the cost of replacement.

ARTICLE, WSJ

Some of the leading U.S. developers of malls and office properties are moving into the apartment business, where demand for new projects is stronger than any other commercial-real-estate sector.

Fueled by the decline in home ownership, the boom in apartment building is attracting commercial-property companies such as Boston Properties Inc., Mack-Cali Realty Corp., SL Green Realty Corp., Simon Property Group Inc. and Macerich Co. They all have either acquired, completed or broken ground on apartment buildings in recent months, or plan to do so next year.

Scheduled foreclosure auctions soar in California

Posted: December 24th, 2011

Banks in November scheduled more than 26,000 homes to be sold at California foreclosure auctions, a 63% increase from October and a sign that a surge in discounted, bank-owned properties is on track to hit the market next year.

Multifamily Construction Drives Housing Starts Jump

Posted: December 24th, 2011

ARTICLE, WSJ
SREP Note: We feel this article is important for investors to note because typically SREP funds acquire and reposition properties for less than their replacement cost.

U.S. home building climbed to the highest level in 19 months during November and construction permits grew, with most of the increase in housing starts coming from multifamily construction.

Home construction last month increased 9.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 from October, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The results were better than forecast. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected housing starts would rise by 0.3% to an annual rate of 630,000.

The increase in November was driven by a 25.3% increase in multi-family homes with at least two units, a volatile part of the market. Construction of single-family homes, which made up about 65% percent of the market, rose only 2.3%.

The Return of Rehab

Posted: December 24th, 2011

ARTICLE, MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE
Value-add deals resume as rents trend higher.

With the benefit of hindsight, the idea of “trending rents” was viewed as a deadly sin throughout the downturn.

The irrational exuberance of the last boom period inspired some wildly inaccurate underwriting on rent growth, which often culminated in delinquencies and default. Over the last year, however, value-add rehabs have come back into the spotlight as rent growth resumed in earnest. And that rebound in fundamentals over the last year has been so swift it’s defied upside expectations and inspired further confidence to again start banking on rent growth.

Foreign homebuyers clicking on depressed US housing markets

Posted: December 19th, 2011

ARTICLE, HOUSING WIRE

Foreigners looking to purchase homes in the U.S. are increasing their online search activity for bargains, as sliding home prices continue to attract investors from around the globe — especially Canada.

Florida properties remained the lead attraction for foreign investment in the third quarter, followed by Arizona, Nevada and California, according to traffic on the website for Point2, a Canadian-based real estate marketing company. Those housing markets have experienced the steepest declines in home prices from the sector’s peak in June 2006.

Do You Really Want To Be a Landlord?

Posted: December 19th, 2011

ARTICLE, WSJ
Jeannette Boccini thought she had found a great renter, someone who would take extra good care of her townhouse. Then the nightmare began.

The tenant repeatedly harassed the neighbors, complained that the wood chips in the community playground were toxic, and informed Ms. Boccini on Christmas morning that someone was playing Christmas carols too loudly.

But the final straw was the night the tenant showed up at Ms. Boccini’s door to report there was dust all over the mailbox. “I absolutely flipped,” Ms. Boccini says. “I was like, ‘You don’t like it? Get the hell out of my house.’ ”

Like many these days, Ms. Boccini became a landlord not by choice but because of circumstances beyond her control: namely, the real-estate crash.

Stalled Hollywood Condo Project Reborn as Luxury Rentals

Posted: December 19th, 2011

ARTICLE, LA TIMES

A failed Hollywood condominium development that once symbolized the housing market collapse has been reborn as a $120-million upscale apartment and retail complex.

Construction on the former Madrone came to a halt around the end of 2009 even though the shell of the project was mostly complete. Developer John Laing Homes filed for bankruptcy and the scaffolding-swathed husk of the Madrone was left to weather the elements behind locked gates.

Apartments Surmount Economic Headwinds to Enter Full Expansion Cycle

Posted: November 18th, 2011

RESEARCH, MARCUS & MILLICHAP
Apartments undeterred by slower economic growth, post universal gains in net absorption. The apartment sector is benefitting from the convergence of several macro demand trends energizing rental markets across the country. The sector largely powered through the summer’s economic pause as net absorption recorded strong gains in the third quarter. Leasing activity did lose some pace from the second quarter, but given the weakness of the labor market and the uncertainty wrought by anemic GDP and crises on both domestic and international fronts, the sector secured enough traction to drive lower vacancy and solid rent growth. Tight
supply conditions will continue to bolster apartment performance, similar to other property sectors, but apartments are thriving from profound shifts in demographic, economic and social patterns.

SoCal rents rise for 14th straight month

Posted: November 16th, 2011

ARTICLE, OC REGISTER
Rents in Southern California rose on an annual basis for the 14th consecutive month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

The rent slice of the regional Consumer Price Index shows “rent of primary residence” rising in October at 1.1% annual rate. Local rents fell 0.2% last year — first decline since the mid-1990s. But that trend turned quickly, as regional rents rose at an annual rate of 1.4% in 2011′s first half. We’ll note that October’s advance compares to the local reners’ CPI rising at an annual rate in September of 1.3% and is the smallest rental inflation rate since January. (SoCal rents have averaged 1.1% annual rate of gain the past three years and 4.4% over the past decade. Since 1979, SoCal rents have averaged 4.8% annualized increases.)

UCLA: O.C. home prices to rise 35%

Posted: November 16th, 2011

ARTICLE, OC REGISTER
If you bought a home during housing’s price peak in 2006 or 2007, don’t expect to see its value to get back to what you paid for it by 2017.

But if you buy this year, you could see your home’s value rise around 34.6% within the next six years — a gain of about $149,000 on a median priced home.

That’s the forecast for Orange County home prices unveiled this week by the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

California housing starts up 10% on multifamily strength

Posted: October 31st, 2011

California housing starts rose 10% in September from a year earlier as apartment and condominium construction surged, offsetting a decline in single-family homes, according to data from the California Building Industry Association.

Permits for single-family homes fell 16% from September 2010, totaling 1,463, while multifamily permits rose 45% from a year earlier, to 1,828, statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board show.

California Foreclosure Activity Back Up

Posted: October 21st, 2011

PRESS RELEASE, DATA QUICK
After dropping to a three-year low in the second quarter of this year, the number of California homeowners being pulled into the foreclosure process snapped back to prior levels over the last three months, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 71,275 Notices of Default (NoDs) were recorded at county recorders offices during the third quarter. That was up 25.9 percent from 56,633 for the prior three months, and down 14.4 percent from 83,261 in third-quarter 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

Historic United Artists building sells for $11 million. Also: A luxury housing complex near USC is bought, and a study of CBRE Group’s portfolio finds that environmentally sustainable office buildings generate stronger investment returns.

Posted: October 17th, 2011

ARTICLE, LA TIMES
A storied Los Angeles theater and office complex built by silent film stars that was later owned by one of the city’s most popular televangelists has been purchased by East Coast investors.
Also: A luxury housing complex near USC is bought, and a study of CBRE Group’s portfolio finds that environmentally sustainable office buildings generate stronger investment returns.

Home foreclosure proceedings on the rise again

Posted: October 13th, 2011

ARTICLE, LA TIMES
After months of a foreclosure slowdown caused by investigations into improper practices, the nation’s home-repossession machinery is beginning to move again — particularly in states such as California where courts don’t oversee the process.

The number of homes entering the foreclosure process surged 19% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter in states where foreclosures take place largely outside of the courtroom, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine information firm. These nonjudicial states include California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.

Q4 2011 Investor Update and Outlook

Posted: October 3rd, 2011

OPINION, INVESTOR UPDATE, SREP
Given the extraordinary focus on the economy and financial markets in just about every nook and cranny of the media, I figured that I would start this quarterly missive a little differently – and more optimistically – by reviewing the assets in the Pacific Value Opportunities Fund I portfolio and our future plans. As you will recall, the premise of the Fund was that rental housing – both apartments and single-family residences converted to rental property – had a very bright future given short-term and secular market trends. Previous quarterly reports have laid out our thoughts on this matter, and recent economic data only reinforces these beliefs.

Demand For Apartments Rises All Over, Despite Economy

Posted: September 16th, 2011

ARTICLE, INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY
Rising renter demand is filling apartment buildings around the U.S., in defiance of the economic malaise.
Vacancy rates are shrinking all over, in tight markets such as Minneapolis and loose ones like Phoenix.

FHA multifamily loan originations at record high

Posted: September 12th, 2011

ARTILCE, REUTERS
The Federal Housing Administration has backed a record $10.5 billion in multifamily rental housing loans during its 2011 fiscal year, the agency said on Tuesday.

The rise in loans for multifamily units reflects an underlying trend in demand for rental property.

Shadow inventory improves but still threatens housing recovery

Posted: August 24th, 2011

ARTICLE, CNN/MONEY

“It’s good news that things are starting to slow down and we’re getting closer to the end of the problem,” said Diane Westerback, Managing Director of Global Surveillance Analytics for S&P. “It could mean a gradual recovery for the market.”

Investing in Undervalued Housing Markets

Posted: August 22nd, 2011

CNBC, VIDEO

Linkage in Income, Home Prices Shifts

Posted: August 22nd, 2011

ARTICLE, WALL ST. JOURNAL
Home prices in some of the nation’s hardest-hit metro areas have fallen far below pre-bubble levels, stirring concerns that properties in those markets are undervalued.
In a recent analysis, real-estate firm Zillow Inc. studied the correlation between home prices and annual incomes over the 15-year period that ended in 2000, before home prices began to surge.

Foreclosures fall for 10th straight month

Posted: August 18th, 2011

ARTICLE, CNN
Foreclosure filings dropped once again in July, hitting their lowest level since November 2007, as processing delays and foreclosure prevention measures enabled a larger number of delinquent borrowers to remain in their homes.

Filings were down 4% compared to June and were 35% lower than July 2010, marking the tenth straight month of year-over-year declines, according to RealtyTrac, a leading online marketer of foreclosed properties.

Southland Housing Market’s Vital Signs Remain Weak

Posted: August 18th, 2011

PRESS RELEASE, MDA DATAQUICK

Southern California home sales fell last month to the lowest level for a July in four years, though the decline from a year earlier was the smallest in 13 months. The drop in sales from June was more pronounced, especially for $500,000-plus homes, as the job market sputtered, economic uncertainty intensified and some potential homebuyers got cold feet, a real estate information service reported.

Time to foreclose on Orange County home: 373 days

Posted: August 18th, 2011

ARTICLE, OC REGISTER
It took just a little more than a year — an average of 373 days – for banks to foreclose on Orange County homes as of July, a report by ForeclosureRadar.com shows. That’s up 32% from July 2010.
.
Highlights of the report for Orange County:

Notices of default — the start of the foreclosure process – were down 20% from last July and 7% from June.
Notices of trustee sale, or foreclosure auctions, declined 19% from last July but went up 2% from June.
The number of banked owned homes increased by 16% from last July and 1% from June. As of July, there were 7,259 homes in Orange County owned by lenders.
The 373 days to foreclose compares to 283 days in July 2010 and 344 days in June. The high for 2011 year so far was 398 days in May.

California July Home Sales

Posted: August 18th, 2011

PRESS RELEASE, DATAQUICK
An estimated 34,695 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was down 11.0 percent from 38,975 in June, and down 1.4 percent from 35,202 for July 2010. A decline from June to July is normal for the season. California sales for the month of July have varied from a low of 30,596 in 1995 to a high of 71,186 in 2004, while the average is 46,577. DataQuick’s statistics go back to 1988.

Foreclosures Fall in Most Cities

Posted: July 28th, 2011

ARTICLE, CNN MONEY

Home prices rise again, but experts are unimpressed

Posted: July 28th, 2011

ARTICLE, LA TIMES

Sequoia Real Estate Partners, Q3 2011 Investor Market Summary and Forecast

Posted: July 13th, 2011

OPINION, SREP
It is not surprising, therefore, that the fundamentals surrounding multi-family residential properties continue to improve, with continued increases in occupancy rates in nearly all markets. While rental growth has been modest, reflecting the high levels of unemployment and stagnant levels of household income, we believe that rents will eventually need to increase along with the drop in vacancy rates and, perhaps more critically, the significant lack of new supply coming on line.

Southland Home Sales Quicken, Median Price Highest This Year

Posted: July 13th, 2011

PRESS RELEASE, MDA DATAQUICK
Southern California home sales last month shot up more than usual from May to the highest level for any month since June 2010, when the market got its last big boost from homebuyer tax credits. Sales of lower-cost homes, driven by investors and first-time buyers, and even high-end sales continued to outshine traditional move-up activity in middle price ranges, a real estate information service reported.

Home prices rise, snapping 8-month drop streak

Posted: July 13th, 2011

ARTICLE, CNN

The downward cycle in home prices broke in April after eight consecutive months of decline, according to a survey released Tuesday.

According to the S&P/Case Shiller 20-city index, prices rose 0.7% compared with March, although they fell 0.1% when adjusted for the strong spring selling season. Prices were down 4% year-over-year.

Investors to the rescue of housing market

Posted: July 13th, 2011

ARTICLE, LA TIMES
Real estate investors will outnumber traditional borrowers 3 to 1 during the next two years, a new survey says, helping clear millions of repossessed properties from banks’ books and pave the way for a recovery.

2011 seen as ‘turning point’ for home prices

Posted: July 13th, 2011

ARTICLE, INMAN NEWS
More than half of economists, real estate experts and investment strategists polled by MacroMarkets LLC in June said they now expect national home prices to hit a bottom sometime in 2011 and remain stable through 2015.

National rental prices climb in June

Posted: July 13th, 2011

ARTICLE, INMAN NEWS
Rental listing prices nationwide rose 6.7 percent year-over-year in June, according to a report from real estate search site HotPads.

The report was based on the median listing prices of 500,000 rentals on HotPads.com across major U.S. metro areas between June 2010 and June 2011.

San Francisco’s rent riot

Posted: July 13th, 2011

ARTICLE, FORTUNE
Whether we’re living through another tech bubble remains hotly contested, but there’s no denying its impact on one market: rental apartments in San Francisco. With Twitter, Zynga, and numerous other local startups hiring in droves, all those newbies need somewhere to live.

Forecast: Homebuilders to focus on Calif. cities

Posted: June 26th, 2011

ARTICLE, BLOOMBERG
“What we’ve seen is this shift toward multifamily housing demand,” said the forecast’s author, Jerry Nickelsburg. “You can see that in the demographics.”
Since apartment units require far fewer workers than single-family homes, the post-recovery homebuilding sector will employ fewer people than before the downturn, Nickelsburg said.

‘Shadow Inventory’ Shrinks in U.S. as More Foreclosed Homes Sell

Posted: June 26th, 2011

ARTICLE, BLOOMBERG
“It’s showing there are improvements in some segments of the market,” he said in a telephone interview from McLean, Virginia. “It doesn’t mean housing distress is over, but it does show that the pipeline of distress is beginning to ease.”

May Southern California Home Sales Report

Posted: June 26th, 2011

ARTICLE, MDA DATAQUICK
Southern California home sales held at a three-year low last month amid a sluggish move-up market and record-low sales of newly built homes. The median sale price fell year-over-year by the largest amount in 20 months as buyer uncertainty, tight credit and lackluster hiring continued to restrain housing demand, Dataquick reported.

California May Home Sales Report

Posted: June 26th, 2011

ARTICLE, MDA DATAQUICK
An estimated 35,536 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 0.9 percent from 35,202 sales in April, and down 13.3 percent from 40,965 sales in May 2010. California sales for the month of May have varied from a low of 32,223 in 1995 to a high of 67,958 in 2004, while the average is 46,840.

Harvard 2011 America’s Rental Housing Summary

Posted: June 8th, 2011

PAPER, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
The troubled homeowner market, along with demographic shifts, has highlighted the vital role that the rental sector plays in providing affordable homes on flexible terms. But while rental housing is the home of choice for a diverse cross-section of Americans, it is also the home of necessity for millions of low-income households.

How to Interpret Today’s S&P Case Shiller Home Price Report | Altos Research: Hows the Market?

Posted: June 3rd, 2011

–From our friends at Altos Research
It’s nice to be able to be contrarian AND bullish for once. The real-time data is up. Demand is responding to the low interest rates and years of falling prices. There are deals to be had. And, ironically, despite all the shadow inventory that might come on the market, if you’re buying a home right now, in most places you’ll notice that there aren’t all that many actually on the market for you to choose from! These are bullish, short-term factors for housing. They’re the reason home prices have rebounded since March.
ARTICLE/OPINION, ALTOS RESEARCH

March Home Sales Phoenix & Las Vegas

Posted: May 10th, 2011

Apartment Building Foreclosures Piling Up

Posted: May 10th, 2011

ARTICLE, WALL ST JOURNAL
For more than three years, Fannie Mae has faced surging foreclosures on deteriorating home loans. Now, it also has to deal with an uptick in souring loans backing apartment buildings made as the market peaked four years ago.

California Mortgage Defaults Drop Again; Foreclosures up

Posted: April 26th, 2011

ARTICLE, MDA DATAQUICK
The number of financially distressed California homeowners who were dragged into the formal foreclosure process declined again last quarter, the result of turmoil and policy changes within the mortgage industry as well as shifts in the economy, a real estate information service reported.

Americans Shun Cheapest Homes in 40 Years as Ownership Fades

Posted: April 22nd, 2011

ARTICLE, BLOOMBERG
The most affordable real estate in a generation is failing to lure buyers as Americans like Pauli sour on the idea of home ownership. At the end of 2010, the fourth year of the housing collapse, the share of people who said a home was a safe investment dropped to 64 percent from 70 percent in the first quarter. The December figure was the lowest in a survey that goes back to 2003, when it was 83 percent.

Blackstone Leads Buyout Firms Expanding Into Property

Posted: April 22nd, 2011

ARTICLE, BLOOMBERG
Blackstone Group LP and Carlyle Group are leading a record number of private-equity managers aiming to raise real estate funds as the world’s top buyout firms accelerate an expansion beyond corporate takeovers.
Blackstone, the biggest private-equity firm, is planning to raise its next real estate fund, with a target of about $10 billion, later this year. Carlyle is in the process of raising a new fund for U.S. property deals, said a person briefed on the plan who asked not to be named because the fund is private.
The two are among 439 private-equity real estate funds seeking a combined $160 billion, the largest number on record, according to London-based researcher Preqin Ltd. KKR & Co.

Renew your lease – rents could rise 10%

Posted: March 20th, 2011

ARTICLE, CNN/MONEY
Renters beware: Double-digit rent hikes may be coming soon.
Already, rental vacancy rates have dipped below the 10% mark, where they had been lodged for most of the past three years.
“The demand for rental housing has already started to increase,” said Peggy Alford, president of Rent.com.

30% of mortgages are underwater

Posted: March 17th, 2011

ARTICLE, CNN/MONEY

Home prices dropped 2.6% nationwide during the last three months of 2010, pushing more borrowers underwater, according to a quarterly real estate market survey from Zillow.com.
Now 27% of homeowners with mortgages owe more than their homes are worth. That’s up from 23.2% a quarter earlier.
That will surely lead to higher foreclosure rates soon.

Home prices: The double-dip is near?

Posted: March 17th, 2011

ARTICLE, CNN/MONEY
On Tuesday, we found out that home prices were near their post-bust lows. Two days later the government reported that January saw a double-digit dip in the number of new homes sold.

Record Portion of California Homes Bought With Cash

Posted: March 17th, 2011

ARTICLE, MDA DATAQUICK
The share of Golden State homes purchased with cash rose to a record level last month as investors and others took advantage of lower prices and less competition during the market’s winter doldrums, a real estate information services reported.

Phoenix Region December Home Sales

Posted: February 11th, 2011

ARTICLE, MDA DATAQUICK
Phoenix-area December home sales rose more than usual from November and posted only a slight year-over-year sales decline as the market saw gains in investor activity, foreclosure resales and sub-$100,000 transactions. The median sale price fell on a year-over-year basis for the sixth consecutive month, to the lowest level in just over 12 years, a real estate information service reported.

Cash Buyers Lift Housing

Posted: February 11th, 2011

ARTICLE, WALL ST JOURNAL
Cash buyers represented more than half of all transactions in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area last year, according to an analysis from real-estate portal Zillow.com. In the fourth quarter of 2006, they represented just 13% of deals. Meanwhile, downtown Miami prices rose 15% in 2010 from a year earlier, according to the Miami Downtown Development Authority. WSJ’s Mitra Kalita reports more and more homebuyers are selling investments to pay cash for real estate, sensing a bottom in the housing market.

Foreclosure Filings in U.S. May Jump 20% From Record 2010 as Crisis Peaks

Posted: January 18th, 2011

ARTICLE, BLOOMBERG
The number of U.S. homes receiving a foreclosure filing will climb about 20 percent in 2011, reaching a peak for the housing crisis, as unemployment remains high and banks resume seizures after a slowdown, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

No McMansions for Millennials

Posted: January 18th, 2011

ARTICLE, WALL ST. JOURNAL
Gen Y housing preferences are the subject of at least two panels at this week’s convention. A key finding: They want to walk everywhere. Surveys show that 13% carpool to work, while 7% walk, said Melina Duggal, a principal with Orlando-based real estate adviser RCLCO. A whopping 88% want to be in an urban setting, but since cities themselves can be so expensive, places with shopping, dining and transit such as Bethesda and Arlington in the Washington suburbs will do just fine.

U.S. Housing Market Double-Dip Unlikely Next Year, Wharton’s Wachter Says

Posted: December 31st, 2010

ARTICLE, BLOOMBERG, 12.31.2010
The U.S. housing market probably will avoid a “double-dip” next year as a recovery depends on job growth, said Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

“Nationally, we’ll see a bumpy ride instead of a double- dip,” Wachter said in an interview from Philadelphia today on Bloomberg Television. “Jobs are key.”

Donald Bren’s spending spree

Posted: December 15th, 2010

Irvine Co. billionaire boss Donald Bren has been making some big real estate gambits in recent weeks, a billion-buck-plus bet on an economic recovery ahead …
“It strikes me as a prudent move from a fearless leader. The recovery is underway. Conditions in Orange County indicate that economic growth is accelerating. Mr Bren is clearly convinced that investment at this stage of the recovery will be necessary to capture the rise in demand that is coming. We also believe there is an inevitable expansion of economic activity that will occur in Orange County by the end of 2011 and throughout 2012. …”

Bank of America ramps up foreclosure restarts

Posted: December 13th, 2010

ARTICLE, HOUSING WIRE, 12.13.2010
Bank of America (BAC [1]: 12.79 -0.08%) cleared attorneys to proceed with 16,000 foreclosure cases in December as it completes a revamp of its procedures.

Los Angeles apartment renters returning to market

Posted: December 1st, 2010

ARTICLE, LA TIMES, 11.30.2010
Many Los Angeles County renters who doubled up during the recession are regaining the confidence to get their own apartments, a real estate brokerage said Tuesday.

The “de-bundling” of households prompted leasing of empty units in the third quarter, fueling one of the strongest periods of apartment absorption on record in the county, real estate investment company Marcus & Millichap said in an apartment industry report.

Home Prices in U.S. Will `Bounce Along the Bottom,’ Case Says

Posted: December 1st, 2010

ARTICLE, BLOOMBERG, 11.30.2010
U.S. home prices are unlikely to fall much further in the next year even after a “discouraging” report on values in September, said Karl E. Case, the co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller Index.

“If I were betting even odds, I’d bet that we don’t have much further decline, but that we bounce along the bottom,” Case, a retired professor of economics at Wellesley College, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview on “Surveillance Midday” with Tom Keene.

Sequoia Investment Partners, December 2010 Investor Market Summary and Forecast

Posted: December 1st, 2010

OPINION, SREP, 12.01.2010
First and foremost, I would like to extend best holiday wishes to Sequoia’s friends, investors, and partners. We would like to wish all of you a healthy and fortuitous holiday season.
While we anticipate that 2011 will witness a continuation and expansion of the economic recovery, we continue to believe that lethargy is likely to define the domestic and global economic scene.

A Dim View of Betting on Venture Capital

Posted: November 23rd, 2010

ARTICLE, NY TIMES, 11.23.2010
“There’s too much money chasing too few deals.”
Sean Parker, the entrepreneur behind Napster and Facebook now turned investor, was talking about the state of the venture capital industry last week over coffee. At 30, Mr. Parker, who was recently portrayed by Justin Timberlake in “The Social Network,” has been thinking a lot about innovation — or the lack of it — in the United States.

Southland Home Sales Fall, Prices Flat

Posted: November 19th, 2010

ARTICLE, MDA DATAQUICK, 11.18.2010
La Jolla, CA—Southern California home sales dropped in October to their lowest level in three years amid doubts about the drawn-out market recovery, tight mortgage lending policies and expired government incentives. The median price paid for a home rose on a year-over-year basis for the 11th consecutive month, but at this year’s slowest pace, a real estate information service reported.

Sequoia Investment Partners, October 2010 Investor Market Summary and Forecast

Posted: October 28th, 2010

OPINION, SREP, 10.28.2010
Not surprisingly, the economic data continues to be mixed, with all eyes on the Federal Reserve, to see what, if any, additional stimulus endeavors they undertake. Most anticipate that they will purchase several hundred billion dollars of U.S. Treasuries in an effort to combat weak economic growth and deflation…..

O.C. home prices to surge 49%, UCLA economists say

Posted: October 28th, 2010

ARTICLE, OC REGISTER, 10.27.2010
Economists with UCLA’s Anderson Forecast foresee O.C. home prices climbing above $500,000 in 2012 for the first time since April 2008. Prices are expected to appreciate from 6.6% to 9.3% a year through 2015 — and, all told, grow 49% in the next six years.

In Bond Frenzy, Investors Bet on Inflation

Posted: October 28th, 2010

ARTICLE, NY TIMES, 10.25.2010
The investors who took part in the $10 billion auction are betting that inflation, now at about 1 percent annually, will rise to a level that more than compensates for the premium they paid.

Bay Area Home Sales Drop to 1992 Level; Median Price Slips Again

Posted: September 24th, 2010

ARTICLE, MDA DATAQUICK, 09.16.2010
Bay Area home sales fell less sharply last month than in July but still dropped to an 18-year low as potential buyers fretted about job security or took their time to assess the changing market. The median sale price remained higher than a year earlier but dipped month-to-month again, a real estate information service reported.

Multifamily Sales Defy the Slump

Posted: September 22nd, 2010

ARTICLE, WSJ, 09.22.2010
Home buyers might be sitting on the sidelines, but multifamily-building sales are on the rise, reversing the slowdown that followed the financial market’s collapse two years ago.
The vacancy rate, which peaked at 7.4% at the end of last year, is expected to drop to 5.5% by the end of 2011, according to CBRE Econometric Advisors.

US home repossessions spike in August to highest level since start of mortgage crisis

Posted: September 16th, 2010

ARTICLE, ASSOC. PRESS, 09.16.2010
Banks have been stepping up repossessions to clear out their backlog of bad loans with an eye on eventually placing the foreclosed properties on the market, but they can’t afford to simply dump the properties on the market.

Where to Buy a Home for Less Than $800 a Month

Posted: September 15th, 2010

ARTICLE, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, 09.15.2010
Lower property values and dirt-cheap mortgage rates have combined to restore affordability to many real estate markets that were once wildly overpriced. “Right now, housing is about as affordable as it has been since at least the 1970s,” says Patrick Newport, a U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight.

Southern California Home Sales Fall in August; Median Price Dips

Posted: September 15th, 2010

ARTICLE, DATAQUICK, 10.15.2010
Southland home sales fell last month to the lowest level for an August in three years and the second-lowest in 18, the result of a worrisome job market and a lost sense of urgency among home shoppers. The median price paid remained higher than a year ago but continued to erode on a month-to-month basis

How Wall Street Reform Benefits Foreclosure Buyers

Posted: September 13th, 2010

ARTICLE, REALTYTRAC, 09.13.2010
In many markets there’s a fusion of discounted acquisition costs, historically-low interest levels, falling vacancy rates and rising rental rates. This doesn’t mean specific real estate investments are attractive everywhere or for all buyers, but in areas where such trends exist and seem likely to continue this may well be an unusually good time to consider short sales and foreclosures, two ways to acquire discounted real estate.

FDIC sells another $760 million in REO

Posted: September 3rd, 2010

ARTICLE, REO INSIDER, 09.03.2010
Mariner Real Estate Management (MREM), a real estate investment and management firm based in Kansas, closed a deal to acquire a $760 million portfolio of residential and commercial loans and REO properties from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

Private venture to buy $1.7bn portfolio of REO properties and nonperforming loans

Posted: August 18th, 2010

ARTICLE, REO INSIDER, 08.18.2010
PMO Loan Acquisition Venture, a partnership among several firms, will purchase a $1.7bn portfolio of nonperforming loans and REO properties previously owned by AmTrust Bank before it failed in December 2009.

Sequoia Investment Partners, August 2010 Investor Market Summary and Forecast

Posted: August 18th, 2010

OPINION, SREP, 08.18.2010
So what does this mean for residential real estate? Modestly lower prices, as slackening demand and continued foreclosures are offset by historically low rates and available financing. Meanwhile, rents have stabilized, reflecting an improving economy (even a modest recovery translates into a stronger rental market). In short, we are finally seeing some promising investment opportunities in both the multi- and single-family markets…….

Short sales soar in California, U.S.

Posted: August 13th, 2010

ARTICLE, LA TIMES, 08.13.2010
Sales of homes for less than the amount of their outstanding mortgage debt have tripled since 2008, particularly in California and the Sunbelt, according to a report released Tuesday.

Known as short sales, the increasingly common transactions for financially troubled homeowners are projected to balloon to 400,000 in 2010, according to Core Logic, a Santa Ana company that provides services to the real estate and mortgage markets. By comparison, existing homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 million units in June, according to the National Assn. of Realtors.

Bad Debts Rise as Bust Erodes Home Equity

Posted: August 12th, 2010

ARTICLE, NY TIMES, 08.11.2010
The delinquency rate on home equity loans is higher than all other types of consumer loans, including auto loans, boat loans, personal loans and even bank cards like Visa and MasterCard, according to the American Bankers Association…… Even when a lender forces a borrower to settle through legal action, it can rarely extract more than 10 cents on the dollar. “People got 90 cents for free,” Mr. Combs said. “It rewards immorality, to some extent.”

Marcus & Millichap sees Residential Market Turning Around Soon

Posted: August 11th, 2010

Article & Video, Fox & M&M Blog, 08.11.2010
Apartment demand has moved well beyond employment gains with the absorption of nearly 46,000 units in the second quarter, the strongest gains since the fourth quarter of 2000. This aggressive lease-up of apartments resulted in a 20 basis point vacancy drop to 7.8 percent, a trend that should continue through the remainder of the year as pent-up demand finally releases. Barring a systemic shock that halts job creation, an additional 65,000 units will be absorbed through the second half of the year, pressing vacancies to 7.4 percent by year-end.

Builder betting on rebound by 2014

Posted: August 10th, 2010

ARTICLE, OC REGISTER, 08.10.2010
New home sales will be well above average by 2014, if not sooner, the president and CEO of Standard Pacific Homes predicted during a recent conference call with financial analysts.

Apartment owners see light at the end of the tunnel

Posted: August 10th, 2010

INTERVIEW, OC REGISTER, 08.10.2010
Q: When will the market turn around?
A: The market has to bottom first. Effective rents in O.C. started getting choppy as far back 2007 and peaked in Q4’07 at $1,685 per month. They were at $1,508 per month for Q2’10, so we would have to see almost 12 percent rent growth to get back to the prior peak. The market data would suggest that we have bottomed and should start to see some growth going forward.

Vulture investors: They’re back – and making a bundle

Posted: August 5th, 2010

ARTICLE, CNN/MONEY, 08.02.2010
These are the glory days of the residential real estate investor. Low prices, rock-bottom interest rates and stable rental markets have created huge buying opportunities.
“It’s awesome right now. I don’t think we’ll ever see another time like this,” said Tanya Marchiol of Team Investments, which has operations in about 10 states but focuses mostly on the Phoenix market.

Nobody Home

Posted: July 28th, 2010

PAPER, MIT & HARVARD, 07.28.2010
Foreclosure discounts are particularly large on
average at 27% of the value of a house. The pattern of death-related discounts suggests that they may
result from poor home maintenance by older sellers, while foreclosure discounts appear to be related
to the threat of vandalism in low-priced neighborhoods.

Loan-to-Value Ratios Spike Following Wave of Reappraisals

Posted: July 21st, 2010

ARTICLE, NATL REAL ESTATE INVESTOR, 07.21.2010
Of the 1,125 CMBS loans on properties that were reappraised during the first half of this year, 986 recorded loan-to-value ratios of greater than 100% largely due to falling valuations.
It’s a cause for concern because the unpaid principal balance exceeded the new property appraisals by a wide margin in many cases. The average loan-to-value ratio among the 1,125 CMBS loans in the survey sample was a whopping 160%, up from 72.7% when the loans were securitized. (The 1,125 loans total $15.4 billion in volume.)

Sacramento-area home sales hit 20-month high in June

Posted: July 20th, 2010

ARTICLE, SACRAMENTO BEE, 07.20.2010
“It really seems like California housing is parting ways with the national view. We’ve seen a much stronger recovery off the bottom,”

California foreclosures spike in June

Posted: July 19th, 2010

ARTICLE, OC REGISTER, 07.19.2010
After being down across the board in May, the filing of new foreclosure notices in California rose in June, while foreclosure sales dropped, reports ForeclosureRadar.com.

Sequoia Investment Partners, July 2010 Investor Market Summary and Forecast

Posted: July 6th, 2010

OPINION, SREP, 07.07.2010
However, in times like these I am always reminded of Warren Buffett’s sage advice to be “greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy.” That is, with so much uncertainty comes substantial opportunity, and it is my view that longer-term trends are very favorable for those willing to commit capital to value-add residential real estate, despite the likelihood for continued volatility and anemic economic growth at best during the next couple of years. These trends are as follows: …..

Sequoia Investment Partners, June 2010 Investor Market Summary and Forecast

Posted: July 6th, 2010

PRESS RELEASE, SREP, 06.30.2010
Sequoia Investment Partners is very pleased to announce its new partnership with Fountain Management to create Sequoia Real Estate Partners, LLC.

Mortgage rates sink to lowest level on record

Posted: June 24th, 2010

ARTICLE, ASSOC PRESS, 06.24.2010
The average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69 percent, from 4.75 percent last week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday.
That’s the lowest point since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

Negative Homeowner Equity and Strategic Mortgage Defaults Boost Retail Sales but Pose Another Risk to Recovery

Posted: June 18th, 2010

PAPER, MARCUS & MILLICHAP, 06.2010
Drastic reductions in home values have driven many homeowners’ equity to negative levels, and returning to break-even will, for most, require several years. Consequently, a significant portion of these upside-down homeowners will walk away from their houses, even if they have the financial means to continue making payments.

Barry Sternlicht, the Real Estate Bargain Hunter

Posted: May 31st, 2010

ARTICLE, NY TIMES, 05.28.2010
There are no chandeliers on the three-story ceiling, no paintings on the walls. And there is nobody at the front desk to greet visitors. The only sound is the eerie gurgle of a 40-foot waterfall.
None of this deters Barry Sternlicht, the real estate investor who owns the building. “The bones,” he says, gesturing around the room. “The bones are extraordinary!”

Owners Bet on Raising the Rent, and Lost

Posted: May 29th, 2010

ARTICLE, NY TIMES, 5.29.2010
“The landscape has changed dramatically,” P. J. Johnston, a spokesman for the owners, said in an interview. “The economy has taken a major hit. Many properties are facing default.”

But just like Riverton and Stuyvesant Town, the owners of Parkmerced sought to take advantage of a roaring market to replace rent-regulated residents with tenants able to pay far higher rates.