The Wall Street Journal this week said, Grim Job Report Sinks Markets. The bold headline suggests an economy in retreat. After all, it's an election year. But the May job numbers look like more of the same moderate growth we've been getting in recent months.
Overall, jobs were up 1.4 percent in the past year, right in line with the growth rates of previous months. Manufacturing jobs were up 2 percent, including an 8 percent increase in cars. Retail jobs were up just 1 percent but, significantly, jobs at furniture stores were up 2.4 percent. Jobs at restaurants and bars were up 3 percent. Conclusion: consumers are buying big-ticket items and are treating themselves to small luxuries, important signs of optimism.
I've spoken many times on my radio show about how fear is used to move us. Well, recently I spotted a great example. Just last week I wrote about how a mortgage “expert” was predicting a “
A growing number of real estate investors are using a self-directed IRA to finance their property purchases nowadays. That’s because a self-directed IRA can provide them with the opportunity to buy real estate and earn rental income without paying early distribution fees.
As we continue to go through Morgan Stanley's “Housing 2.0: The New Rental Paradigm” we're more confident that 2012 will be a big year for real estate investors. For one, the financial services company boldly concludes, “…gross rents are historically attractive relative to current distressed prices. Adding to this attractiveness is the fact that multifamily data shows rents continuing to rise.”
Optimism can only be rewarding if one takes action. Without it, it’s like driving a car that runs out of fuel; you’ll never arrive at your goal. Your past mistakes or apprehension about the future has nothing to do with what you can do today or what you should act upon. Decision-making may be risky but there are great results if it is coupled with a conscious effort to do what is right.
While homes prices continue to be on the decline, rent prices are actually on the rise and showed a 3 percent increase from January 2011 to January 2012, as opposed to home values, which dropped 4.6 percent during that same period, according to a recent Zillow Real Estate Market Report.
It used to be that home-ownership was a part of the American dream. Home-buyers would scour for properties that suit their needs whether it was for their growing family or for a second home. But the global economic slump that has plagued the real estate market has created a major shift on the housing landscape.
One of the most exciting things about being a real estate investor is knowing what markets will produce the greatest long-term returns – especially while in the middle of a challenging housing market.
