Weekly State of Market

http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/17/real_estate/zombie-foreclosure-debt/inde...

http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/06/real_estate/most-expensive-listing/index...

Before I get into my question I would like to make it crystal clear that I am not trying to start a debate over political ideology. Whether you are a Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican or anything in between, I respect your opinion and beliefs and don't want to get into it here. My question with respect to real estate is, do you think that the shift in power in Washington will have any effect on the real estate market and therefore your investing strategies? As Dean has shown, there is money to be made in Real Estate whether the market is going up or down. However, do you see yourself doing more "buy and flips" or holding on to properties as rentals? I know that we have some top notch investors here and I would really like to know what your opinions are on the subject.

Before I get into my question I would like to make it crystal clear that I am not trying to start a debate over political ideology. Whether you are a Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican or anything in between, I respect your opinion and beliefs and don't want to get into it here. My question with respect to real estate is, do you think that the shift in power in Washington will have any effect on the real estate market and therefore your investing strategies? As Dean has shown, there is money to be made in Real Estate whether the market is going up or down. However, do you see yourself doing more "buy and flips" or holding on to properties as rentals? I know that we have some top notch investors here and I would really like to know what your opinions are on the subject.

Slow down by the big investors

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102021503

Real Estate Updates?

Does anyone know how to have google notify you when a new article regarding real estate comes out and is sent to your email?

Zillow.com, the giant real estate online portal, just released their second quarter Real Estate Market Report. It covers home values, rents, foreclosures, inventory levels, and hazards an outlook for the near future. Let’s take a look at an overview of this report.
In general, national home values rose 6.3% year-over-year from June 2013 to $174,200. The article doesn’t mention it, but this is likely the median, not average price. The last time prices were at this level was back in March of 2005. Rents were up 2.5 percent year-over-year. The largest segment of the report addresses home values.
Home Values

Let’s take a look at the data and conclusions of a couple of newly-released reports about the housing market and the current status many refer to as a “recovery.” They draw some of the same conclusions, but they’re not necessarily together on the current strength of this recovery.
The State of the Nation’s Housing from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
The overall conclusion of this report stated in one sentence is that “Homebuilding strengthened in 2013, but remains below historical averages. There’s no startling revelation there, but there is some informative data in the report:
• Housing starts in 2013 were up more than 18 percent from 2012, but were down to 925,000 units from the historical average of 1.46 million.

The bulk of the foreclosure crisis is now behind us, seven years after it started, and the number of foreclosure starts are down significantly across the country.

With that being said, a specter of the crisis – zombie foreclosures – is rearing its head once again.

Zombie foreclosures are homes that have started down the foreclosure pipeline but have not yet been repossessed, and have been vacated by their owners. The title still remains in the homeowner’s name, instead of being sold to another entity.

There are articles all around the media that tell us rising student debt is crippling young Americans’ financial futures. There is no doubt that the numbers are staggering and still going up, and it’s definitely true that this keeps many young people out of the housing market. The “first time homebuyer” is becoming an endangered species.
We’re becoming a “nation of renters” according to many market watchers and economic experts. Home builders are betting on it, with multi-unit housing starts up a whopping 416% from the 2010 low. The U.S. population is still growing, and fewer people are buying homes. They’re not pitching tents, so renting is where the market is moving.