Over the past five years, much of the home buying and propping up of home prices in the U.S. has been driven by large institutional investors. Hedge funds, real estate investment trusts, private equity firms, and similar institutional investors have spent more than $20 billion in just the last two years to buy about 200,000
Will some people never learn? Everyone should recall the collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market, as real estate prices plunged just a few short years ago. Belatedly, investors found out that declining home values mixed with homeowners who could never truly afford to buy a house made for lousy investments. The investors were left holding
They’re back! Late night infomercials are once again seeking the gullible to talk about how easy it is to make money in real estate with little risk. The newspaper headlines help them, with announcements of skyrocketing housing prices and values reaching their peak in cities like Denver and Dallas. Savvy investors and mortgage note buyers
Using the word “guessing” is not something that you see among writers and commentators these days. Most of them, using data confirming their theory and ignoring all other facts, state with conviction what will happen next with the general economy, the housing market, or most anything else. After all, the general public doesn’t want wishy-washy
Hardly anyone was surprised by the news earlier this week that property values had climbed 6.8% from December 2011 to December 2012, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. Phoenix led the group — where 19 out of 20 cities saw value increases – by gaining 23% over that 12-month period. Note buyers, real estate investors, and
