Big Market Players Focus on Filling Homes with Renters

Hi folks,
   I like to consider my readers as quite familiar with the way the Real Estate market works, namely, the ebb-and-flow of buying properties and selling properties. With that being said, you know that Investors make up an important chunk of overall home purchases. However, per data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), in early 2009, 25% of homebuyers were investors. Earlier this year (in February), they made up 22% of home buyers, but then, in July, that figured dropped to 16% Nationally.

   "Housing has morphed from a form of shelter to one of the most popular tradable assets, thanks to a huge influx of institutional investors in a mammoth, albeit decreasing, supply of distressed properties", writes CNBC Real Estate Reporter Diana Olick. Olick adds that this is why, "...it should come as no surprise the housing market is now nearly as volatile as the stock market". Indeed, it is volatile, but what happened to all of these investors?

   Not too long ago, large investors like funds Blackstone and Waypoint were buying properties by the bushel, and pushing up home prices. But now? Well, with all of the homes under management, they are working on filling the homes with renters, as Olick wrote in her article, "As investors shift, housing is the new stock market", now investors are focusing on filling those houses with renters.

   With the slowdown in investor purchases, Olick say that there could be a consolidation of investor firms (larger firms buying up smaller players). But the volatility remains. A contributor for Olick's story was Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin (an online real estate sales company), who said that, "We've seen more volatility in real estate in the past five years than we have in the past 500".

   Stay strong and Stay tuned!

Would You Like Our Blog Posts Sent Directly to your E-mail? Here's How:

1. Locate the "Subscribe by E-mail" box on the Right Side of your Screen.

2. Type your E-mail address in the box, and click "Submit"

3. Check Your E-mail and Confirm Your Subscription...it's That Simple !


Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes - Rent to Own Homes, since 2002
"Located at the Corner of Technology and Real Estate"
Rent to Own Homes and Real Estate Blog for HomeRun Homes: http://blogging.lease2buy.com

HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com



TAGS: #RealEstateinvestor #buyingproperties #sellingproperties #homepurchase #Realtor #NAR #distressed #housingmarket #sales

Not-So-Spooky Housing Numbers

Good Morning,
   Once again, Friday is upon us, and I'm ready to trick-or-treat...well, not me, my son (and I normally collect 10% of candy off the Gross Candy Margin - the "GCM"). Sorry, I needed to start the day with a little bit of sweet humor. OK, enough puns.

   Now, speaking of margins and indices, I just wanted to recap a few news items that were released from mid-week up to now, since we already touched on the Existing Home Sales numbers this past Monday.

   The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices were released, and it showed us that home prices slowed down in August, with a drop in the growth rates in 17 of the 20 large metropolitan areas that were covered, and 10 of the 20 city composites. Interestingly enough, the FHFA Monthly House Price Index reflected price increase of 0.4 percent from July to August.

   New Residential Sales numbers were also released, and they show a 6.6 percent increase over the revised August rate, however, substantially below September 2009 (to the tune of a 21.5 percent decrease). Comparing the August-September span for the New Residential Sales to the same period of time as the Existing Home Sales numbers from Monday (where the National Association of Realtors stated that, "Existing-home sales rose again in September, affirming that a sales recovery has begun".), things are looking up. Just don't pay attention to the last 12 months up to that period of time, since that will taint your happiness over this "housing recovery".

   Any comments? Questions? Concerns? Any specific topics you want to see covered in our Blog?

   Doing anything cool this Halloween weekend? If so, E-mail me with your exciting and scary plans for Halloween, and I'll send you a copy of "Secrets of Rent to Own". Over to you...

Have a Great Weekend, a Safe and Happy Halloween, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Regards,
Robert Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes
Web: http://www.lease2buy.com
Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
Public Speaking Appearances: http://www.lease2buy.com/speak.php
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/homerunhomes
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/homerunhomes

A Sales Recovery Has Begun

Hi Folks,

   Hope you had a great weekend.

   So, the word on the street, per the National Association of Realtors, is that, "Existing-home sales rose again in September, affirming that a sales recovery has begun". This was in response to the release of Existing Home Sales data for the month of September, which showed another strong gain.

   Additionally, as the jump was a double-digit one, with a 10% increase, it would certainly seem that there is a housing recovery.

   Please keep in mind that there are also some other important numbers coming out this week:
      Tues 10/26 9AM - S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
      Tues 10/26 10AM - FHFA Monthly House Price Index
      Weds 10/26 10AM - New Residential Sales

Please stay tuned for more (good) news !

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

33% Drop in Sales? Where do we Stand?

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back. We hope that you stayed cool this past weekend, because at least for us here on the East Coast, the humidity has been searingly painful. However, there are people who adore this weather, which shows that we are all unique in our likes and dislikes.

We had a whirlwind week here last week, with some fantastic publicity regarding Rent to Own Homes, along with a lot of work we have been doing on the website infrastructure (including making the website resolve even quicker on your screen).

Looking back to last week, in retrospect, we saw some numbers come out that were a little bit of a shock. By now, most of you already heard that new home sales (new single family homes) plunged about 33 percent from April to May. The tax credit incentive for purchasing homes ended April 30th, so that is a major contributing factor, but are we really shaping up yet? Are the fundamentals of the economy that strong yet to tout a recovery? Yes, there are definitely some promising areas in the country in terms of economic and housing recovery, but there are a lot more regions that are in trouble. Is it that a lot of the incentives are not as far-reaching as anticipated? Or just that it will take more time? On that note, we can only assume that "time will tell", as the old cliche says.

Now, there are some more numbers coming out tomorrow (S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices), but these have a 2-month lag, so I really am interested in seeing their next release (the next one after this release). Let's all keep an eye on them together, as it effects each and every one of us.

Advice for the moment: Keep your focus on the Rent to Own Home that you are either looking to buy or looking to sell. Stay tuned to us for new information, announcements, and contests. We will try to be your liaison and will try to provide you with updates whenever we have them.


Have a great week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

Pending Home Sales and Real Estate Trouble Spots

Hi Everyone,

Hope everyone had a healthy and productive week. Not only is Friday upon us, but yes...May is upon us !

Living on the East Coast has it's perks, and being a couple hours away from Atlantic City is one of them. That is if you enjoy that kind of stuff. I came across an article citing Atlantic City as one of "Tomorrow's Real Estate Trouble Spots". No surprise that Atlantic City, N.J., is on top of the list, however, I always thought that aside from the Casinos, the area outside of the bright lights was depressed, in terms of home prices and the economy. So, basically, it's more of a yesterday and today "Trouble Spot". As a side note, this was from a survey of 315 cities, so the sampling size they used was pretty large, and it carries some weight with it.

We have been doing a lot of internal work on our site, in terms of aesthetics and our database. We will have a new Press Release coming out next week, and we'll be sure to notify everyone here regarding it.

Next Week (Tuesday, May 4Th), The Pending Home Sales Index numbers will be released, and this should be reflecting the tax credit for (new) home buyers.

Finally, for additional background on our Rent to Own website and a peak at our history, please read more about us here: http://www.lease2buy.com/rent-to-own-homes.php

A lot of exciting and cool stuff coming next week - so stay tuned.
Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Existing Home Sales, and Secrets of Rent to Own Contest

Happy Friday Everyone,

Can anyone believe it is just about the end of April? Weren't we just shouting "Happy New Year!". WOW!

OK, a few things to cover here, along with a cool contest!

We had a very interesting interview with American Express (Open Forum - for a new publication that will be released in June). We discussed the "twenty-something" age demographic, and how a Rent to Own agreement (or lease purchase/lease option) can be beneficial to them as either a buyer or a seller. The interview will be published in June (we'll post a link to it when it's out), but I'm told the format will be similar to their current publication.

On the Housing Front; Next week, there are some very important figures coming out: "Existing Home Sales" (National Association or Realtors, or "NAR"), and also, "New Residential Sales". These are both very important figures for everyone, so let's keep a close eye on them.

Now - for the Contest !!
To the first 5 people who send us an E-mail (at homebuyer@lease2buy.com) with the Subject line, "SECRETS OF RENT TO OWN, we will E-mail you over a Free Copy of our E-Book, "Secrets of Rent to Own".
More details about the E-Book are available here: https://www.lease2buy.com/rent2ownbook.php


***REMEMBER: We can only do this with the first 5 people...The Contest ends by 7PM EST Today, or whenever we get the first 5 E-mails, whichever comes first - so Good Luck !!

Have a Great Day, a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !