Is the US economy turning the corner? A few market “experts” are cautiously calling the bottom of the cycle. Peter Schiff is not moving from his position and claims the worst is yet to come, recovery is a long way off and the market needs to self correct, the US can also look forward to possible hyper inflation and higher rates of unemployment. Is the US still heading into depression? There is also some discussion on the US percentage of share ownership which has grown, the rise of the investor class. Currently we might be looking at a “once in a generation” market rebound if you have the stomach to buy into the market today. The people who operate against the cycle and take the risks often make the largest gains..
Donald Trump is talking about getting out of New york, heavy taxes may push the rich out of New York to other statesor even other countries. Trump claims he’s spoken to at least 25 – 30 people who plan to leave if the new tax hike becomes a reality. The world is a big place with plenty of options when it comes to operating a business so why would you remain in a city or country that puts a target on your back? Some would argue your much better off giving these people an incentive to stay…
Detroit real estate has suffered large percentage drops over the last 12 months. Probably the largest of all the major US cities. Home prices are now well below the year 2000, short sales are becoming popular as are foreclosure sales and some homes have even been advertised for as little as 1 dollar.
Fort Lauderdale Real Estate – A city known for it’s climate, waterways and amazing homes has not been spared during the real estate downturn. Location and climate means there will be some good opportunites to invest for future price growth.
Fort Lauderdale real estate prices / against national average (right)
Turnover (Sold Within Last Yr.): 2.4% 2.2%
Property Tax: $5,344 $2,861
Median Condo Value: $275,000 $216,500
Median Single Family Home Value: $277,500 $234,000
Median 1-Bedroom Home Value: $159,000 $196,500
Median 2-Bedroom Home Value: $222,000 $205,000
Median 3-Bedroom Home Value: $310,500 $231,500
Median 4-Bedroom Home Value: $569,000 $337,500
How Fort Lauderdale looked in 2007
Estimated median household income in 2007: $52,264 (it was $37,887 in 2000)
Fort Lauderdale: $52,264
Florida: $47,804
Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $370,300 (it was $132,600 in 2000)
Fort Lauderdale: $370,300
Florida: $230,400
Miami Dade foreclosures – The news is not all bad if you take the time to do some research, there may be a legal loophole for home owners seeking to avoid foreclosure in the Miami area. A group of lawyers has come together to help home owners who are in trouble, the sale contract has a lot of fine print and in many cases there are legal ways to help people facing foreclosure.
Rick Santelli speaks his mind on the current housing / stimulus policy. “The government is promoting bad behaviour” by handing out money to bail out people who can’t afford the homes they are in. “Reward people who carry the water instead of drink the water”. Santelli calls it like is and you have to give the guy some credit for that.
The Schiff report, love him or hate him Peter Schiff has a knack of getting things right. He’s still predicting the demise of the US dollar and further drops in the share market. He’s not going to get a dinner invite to the Obama tabe anytime soon either, he’s highly critical of the new government and it’s response to the financial crisis.
Looking back at this story does give you a bit of a laugh, how could you not see housing prices were going to take a hit? Take a look at the real estate prices trend over 100 years and you will see the high’s and the lows. Right now we have another low so at some point a high will follow, you don’t have to pick the bottom to make a profit if your buying and holding for a few years then the profit will come as part of the natural cycle.
Florida commercial real estate is in bad shape, take a look at some of these empty buldings and you will see what we mean. The pictures tell the story, there is so much press about the residential market it tends to cast a shadow over the pain being felt in the business sector. As the clip shows you, peole have lost “millions” and plenty of people will argue this is only the start of the pain.
The banks have so many homes that they are willing to unload them at almost any price, right now may very well be the time to re enter the real estate market via one of these cheaper homes. The excess of inventory at low prices will not last forever. You can already hear the people saying “I should have bought real estate when it was so cheap” The difficult part of buying into the property market right now is clearly getting the finacnce, banks have tightened up the lending rules (as well they should have) and this is going to keep a lot of buyers from entering the market at this point in time.