Archives for May 2014

Single-Family Rentals Are Here to Stay

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Single-family homes now comprise 35% of all rentals and 11% of all households.

What's driving demand?

From 2005 to 2012, single-family rental homes grew 1.7% per year, primarily due to:

Low Confidence:  Many households do not yet have the confidence to purchase, knowing that they could lose their job or be required to relocate.

Low Affordability:  Many households cannot afford to purchase a home due to bad credit, loan documentation issues, high levels of debt, and home prices now being out of reach.

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When is the Best Time to Buy?

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A lot of people ask, “When should I buy?  What part of the real estate cycle should I buy in?  Should I buy in a down market?  Are the values going to keep going down?  When should I buy and where is the cycle right now in my area?”

But these are the wrong questions – it’s not “WHEN should I buy?” You should always buy NOW.

I've said this when the market was good and I've said it when the market was down.  The real question is “WHERE and WHAT should I buy?”

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Understanding Land Trusts (Part 4)

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This article is Part 4 of a four-part series on Land Trusts.  You can find Part 1 here: Understanding Land Trusts

In the previous installment of the Understanding Land Trusts series, we discussed the Due-on-Sale Clause and how the land trust benefits you.  In this part we will discuss various strategies to keep your land trust involvement private.

Constructing a Land Trust for Privacy
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The Risk of Not Investing

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Before I break down the risks of investing, one of the most important things you need to look at is; what is the risk of not investing?

Whether in businesses, real estate, stocks or mutual funds – what's the risk of not investing your cash?

What is the risk of just putting it under the mattress and saving your money, or putting it into a bank account that makes a tiny interest rate every month – what are those risks?

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Shrinking Middle Class Hurts Housing

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Incomes are dropping. And that’s not good for the real estate industry, nor is it good news for the American Dream of home-ownership. More Americans view themselves as slipping out of the middle class according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

The trend began in the 1970s, Pew claims, but it has accelerated since the Great Recession. In the past five years, the percentage of Americans who consider themselves middle class has fallen sharply, dropping from 44% in the latest survey from 53% in 2008. 40% now identify as either lower-middle or lower class compared with just 25% in February 2008.

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