Research
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.
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 industry recovering faster than many economists expected
Posted: October 18th, 2012
Housing is snapping back faster than many economists had expected, with home builders stepping up production of new homes nationally and fresh foreclosures in California falling to their lowest level since the early days of the bust.
To view this entire article, click on its TITLE above.
Flipping is On Its Way Back, Thanks to the Hipster Flippers
Posted: October 17th, 2012
Economists: Housing recovery finally here
Posted: October 10th, 2012
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — It’s been a long time coming, but economists surveyed by CNNMoney believe the nation’s housing market has finally turned the corner.
Of the 14 economists who answered questions about home prices in the survey, nine believe that prices have already turned higher or will make that turn later this year. Only three months ago, half of the economists surveyed by CNNMoney believed a turnaround in prices would not take place until 2013 or later.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rise in Home Sales Points to Rebound
Posted: May 27th, 2012
Sales of previously owned homes rose at a robust clip in April—and prices jumped—the latest indications that the hard-hit housing market is recovering.
Existing-home sales were up 3.4% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million, the National Association of Realtors trade group said Tuesday. If the pace holds, 2012 could be the strongest year for home sales since 2007, just after the housing boom. The median home price, meanwhile, increased 10.1% from a year earlier to $177,400, the strongest year-to-year gain since January 2006.
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.
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.
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.”
Ex-Doomsayer: ‘It’s a great time to buy a home’
Posted: January 15th, 2012
A former housing market skeptic has become a housing market booster, telling a gathering of real estate insiders Thursday that now is “a great time to buy a home.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
San Pedro apartment tower sells for $80.1 million, almost $100 million less than cost.
Posted: June 8th, 2011
The Vue, at 5th and Palos Verdes streets, was completed at a cost of $175 million in 2008 before the real estate crisis. The building was acquired by San Francisco investors after the developers lost it to foreclosure.
ARTICLE, LA TIMES
Housing crash is getting worse: report Commentary: But all this bearish news makes me bullish
Posted: May 10th, 2011
COMMENTARY, WSJ: MARKET WATCH
All the misery makes me think of a great French general, Ferdinand Foch. He’s the one who defended Paris at the Battle of the Marne in World War I. During the darkest hour of the fighting, he is supposed to have looked around him and said:
“Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent — I attack!”
In other words, when it comes to distressed housing, I’m finding it hard not to be a contrarian bull.
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.
Fortune: It’s time to buy again
Posted: March 29th, 2011
ARTICLE, FORTUNE
…Eventually reality set in, and prices plummeted. Our current view focuses on those same fundamentals — only now they’re pointing in the opposite direction.
So let’s state it simply and forcibly: Housing is back.
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.
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.
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.
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…..
Case Shiller Points to Housing Stability
Posted: October 28th, 2010
OPINION, SEEKING ALPHA, 10.27.2010
Taken together, these facts strongly suggest that the housing market stabilization we have observed over the last year or so is the real thing, not just a chimera.
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.
Short Sales Resisted as Foreclosures Are Revived
Posted: October 25th, 2010
ARTICLE, NY TIMES, 10.24.2010
Bank of America and GMAC are firing up their formidable foreclosure machines again today, after a brief pause………..But some major lenders took a quick inventory of their foreclosure practices and insisted their processes were sound. They now seem intent on resuming foreclosures. And that could have a profound effect on many homeowners.
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.
U.S. Housing Starts in August Topped Forecasts
Posted: September 21st, 2010
ARTICLE, NY TIMES, 09.21.2010
Housing starts in the United States increased more than expected in August to their highest level in four months and permits for residential construction also rose, government data showed on Tuesday, suggesting that the embattled market was starting to stabilize following the end of a tax credit.
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.
A Dream House After All: Karl Case Explains Why It’s a Great Time to Buy a Home, or Invest in Housing.
Posted: September 7th, 2010
OPINION, NY TIMES, 09.07.2010
But housing has perhaps never been a better bargain, and sooner or later buyers will regain faith, inventories will shrink to reasonable levels, prices will rise and we’ll even start building again. The American dream is not dead — it’s just taking a well-deserved rest.
Karl E. Case is a professor emeritus of economics at Wellesley and co-creator of Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller housing index.
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.
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.
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.
MIT economist measures how much foreclosures lower housing prices… 27%
Posted: July 28th, 2010
ARTICLE, MIT NEWS, 07.27.2010
In the study, “Forced Sales and House Prices,” which will be published in the American Economic Review, Pathak, Campbell and Giglio examined 1.8 million home sales in Massachusetts from 1987 to 2009. By looking in granular detail at real-estate prices, the researchers have concluded that a foreclosure reduces the value of a house by 27 percent, on average.
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,”
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: …..
Is the Housing Market on the Rebound?
Posted: May 26th, 2010
ARTICLE, TIME, 05.26.2010
A recent study of 92 economists by financial-products firm MacroMarkets found that on average housing prices are expected to drop slightly in 2010 and begin rising again next year. That means that for the first time in years someone who buys a house this spring will most likely see their home appreciate in the next year. And rising housing prices, just like falling ones, tend to feed on themselves.
Mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures break records
Posted: May 19th, 2010
ARTICLE, ASSOC. PRESS, 05.19.2010
More than 10 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment in the January-March period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. That number was up from 9.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and 9.1 percent a year earlier.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE #14: How to quickly decide if a property is worth investigating
Posted: May 17th, 2010
TRICKS OF THE TRADE, SEQUOIA INVESTMENT PARTNERS, 05.17.2010
The 1% rule of thumb: How to quickly decide if a property is worth checking out.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE #7: Increasing Appreciation on 2-4 Unit Properties
Posted: May 13th, 2010
TRICKS OF THE TRADE, SEQUOIA INVESTMENT PARTNERS, 05.13.2010
Increasing rates of appreciation in 2-4 unit properties.
Housing Optimists Are “Not Paying Attention” to the Facts, Says Dean Baker
Posted: May 13th, 2010
ARTICLE & VIDEO, YAHOO FINANCE, 05.13.2010
“I think we’re going to see a big fall-off in purchases for the rest of 2010 and even into 2011,” Baker says. “So the idea that somehow the market is stable, that housing prices will rise anytime soon – it’s really hard to make a case for that.”
OUR NEW VIDEO SERIES “Tricks of the Trade”
Posted: May 11th, 2010
VIDEO, SEQUOIA INVESTMENT PARTNERS, 05.11.2010
An introduction to our new video series
TRICKS OF THE TRADE #23: Lowering Management Fees
Posted: May 11th, 2010
VIDEO, SEQUOIA INVESTMENT PARTNERS, 05.10.2010
How to save $10,000 in management fees
Would You Have Bought It? Case Study of a Flip: 4832 2nd Ave, Los Angeles CA
Posted: May 9th, 2010
SEQUOIA STRATEGY, 05.09.2010
It’s not often an REO investment makes the front page of the Sunday edition of a national paper, but that’s exactly what happened on April 25th 2010 in the Los Angeles Times. So we thought it would be a great opportunity to do a quick case study on this particular purchase
Buy a House, Sell REITs
Posted: May 7th, 2010
ARTICLES, KIPLIGER, 05.07.2010
One of the savviest and most cautious real estate investors says that housing prices have hit bottom but real estate investment trusts could fall a long way.
Dumb Money Getting Smarter
Posted: May 5th, 2010
SEQUOIA STRATEGY, 05.05.2010
“Why was it OK to throw money down a hole when prices were rising, but it’s not now? Shouldn’t we be careful about how we spend money at all times?”
In foreclosure crisis, demand for family homes in Phoenix rises
Posted: May 3rd, 2010
ARTICLE, ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 05.03.2010
Since September, the number of available rental homes in metropolitan Phoenix has dropped by 40 percent, and probably even more than that when it comes to three- to four-bedroom homes in desirable neighborhoods.
The sharp drop is another ripple effect of the foreclosure crisis.
Los Angeles House Flipping Hot Spots
Posted: April 26th, 2010
ARTICLE, LA TIMES, 4.25.2010
Map of zip codes with the most flipping activity
Flipping houses is back in South Los Angeles
Posted: April 26th, 2010
ARTICLE, LA TIMES, 4.25.2010
Along with low prices, real estate investors are drawn to the area because of its proximity to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Los Angeles International Airport and other job centers, including factories.
In Sour Home Market, Buying Often Beats Renting
Posted: April 22nd, 2010
ARTICLE, NY TIMES 4.20.2010
In some once bubbly markets, prices have fallen so far that buying a home appears to be a bargain, based on a New York Times analysis of prices and rents in 54 metropolitan areas.
AllianceBernstein Housing Recomendation
Posted: April 15th, 2010
PAPER 12.2009, AllianceBernstein Research Dept.
“..our analysis indicates it is time to begin looking beyond the near term risks and toward the long-term opportunities.”
At foreclosure auctions, broken dreams on sale
Posted: April 12th, 2010
ARTICLE 10.15.09
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