Our Real Estate Economy is Rebounding

Guest Post

Thanks for this article to Jim William, real estate investor and coach of the Triad Mastermind group for real estate investors here in the Triad of North Carolina:

Here are some random thoughts about the past 90-120 days of our own team’s activity.

What we have seen in every area of our business is GROWTH. We have recently experienced more profitable activity than in the past three years. Prices are stabilizing and we see median priced homes, $100k-$200k, being sold, rented or rent-to-owned in lightening time. Add to that the fact that our tenants are paying more consistently than ever!

While some activity is seasonal, some of it shows signs of the end of the down cycle. I expect an overall flat lining for another year or so, then an upward trend with a slight bounce at first, followed by a more steady strong climb within the next three to four years.

It’s important that you be in the real estate game NOW before this growth takes place because, when the climb happens, wealth will develop easily through Automatic Appreciation.

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Are you Collapsing with the Dow?

Don’t. Take control. Make a plan and make it happen. Your options are unlimited and the one we’ve chosen is real estate investing. How about you? Is your future secure?

You may have heard that yesterday, August 4, 2011, was Wall Street’s worst day since 2008. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 have all three dropped 10% in the past 10 days.

Markets Overview

 

Overnight, Japan’s Nikkei, Australia’s ASX 200, South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng all closed down around 4 per cent.

So, what’s happening with your economy? How’s your retirement, your 401k?

If you have money, do you buy real estate now while interest rates are still unbelievably low? (Some economists predict a steady increase in interest rates for the next 13 years.) Is it better to hold onto your cash? Will you jump into the stock market?

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State of the Real Estate Economy

House

Facts and figures are coming at us from everywhere.  The important thing for you to know is what’s happening in your market, in your economy.  Those are the numbers that will really affect your property values, what you can pay when you buy and what you can expect when you sell.

That being said, here are some interesting recent figures from Standard and Poor’s and the US Census Bureau.

According to David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s, average home prices across the country are now at the levels they were in the fall of 2003.

“It still looks possible that the housing market might bounce along the bottom for the foreseeable future before showing any real improvement that will filter through to the rest of the economy,” Blitzer stated.  This statement, by the way, seems to be the one that I read most consistently, no matter what the source.  I, personally, believe it will be three more years before we see a measurable turn around in the real estate market.

Data just released by the US Census Bureau states that the U.S. homeownership rate dropped to 66.9 percent during the second quarter of this year, hitting its lowest mark in more than 10 years.

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How is Your Ecomony Holding Up?


Highlights from an interview by Meredith Whitney currently on CNBC:

* A double dip in housing is a certainty
* State economies are plunging and are $200 billion underwater, will lead to 2 million in state-level layoffs leading to a low-end impact; raising taxes at state level will impact the top-end
* Retail sales have been stronger only due to consumers not paying mortgages, retail sales have already topped as is
* Second quarter bank results will finally catch up with accelerated mortgage foreclosures; charge-offs and delinquencies in credit cards are better due to mortgage non-payment cash flow going to other obligations. This will soon top as well.
* Structural employment issues in the US won’t get better any time soon

The experts are saying that the economy is going to get worse. How’s your personal economy? What are you doing to prepare and care for your family?

Again, if you’ve paid attention to global economics, I hope you’ve taken care of your personal finances. I focus on my own micro economy because I’ve done what I can to set myself up to ride this economic wave.

What have you done to prepare?

North Carolina #5 on Forbes list of “Best Places for Business”

North Carolina

I moved my family to North Carolina in 1985 after reading Chamber of Commerce surveys on top areas in the country to live. 24 years later, Raleigh is still a top area in the country to live.

North Carolina ranks number 5 in Forbes magazine’s 11th annual ranking of the Best Places for Business and Careers.

Forbes bases its rankings on costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.

North Carolina rates high for costs (No. 3), regulatory environment (No. 4) and quality of life (No. 3). It ranks No. 15 for labor, No. 16 for economic climate and No. 33 for growth prospects.

Raleigh grabbed the top spot for a third straight year on the strength of strong job growth (both past and projected), low business costs and a highly educated workforce.

Helping fuel Raleigh’s strong economy is the Research Triangle Park, one of the oldest and largest science parks in North America. RTP is located between Raleigh and Durham and is home to 170 companies employing 42,000 people.

One of the original 13 colonies is still one of the best places to live in the United States.  Congratulations North Carolina!