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Ready to get your read on? Dive into the article archive to help you build wealth through real estate investing. We feature top subject matter experts exploring every facet of the industry.

Articles

Ready to get your read on? Dive into the article archive to help you build wealth through real estate investing. We feature top subject matter experts exploring every facet of the industry.

Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow, says more low-end homes will come on the market in 2015.

Logjam at the low end of the housing market is caused by negative equity that is too deep

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
While the U.S. negative equity rate is dropping,  more than four million homeowners still owe the bank at least 20 percent more than their homes were worth, according to a release of the latest report from Zillow real estate research. "It's great news that the level of negative equity is ...
urban infill study for real estate investors by Pete Reeb, John Burns Real Estate Consulting

High-density detached urban infill is a booming real estate business so what are the challenges?

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
By Pete Reeb John Burns Real Estate Consulting Our urban infill feasibility business is booming, thanks to a confluence of trends that are creating heightened interest in high-density single-family detached urban infill housing deals: Gas expense. Uncertainty over gas prices and a growing desire for shorter commutes Time savings. Re-prioritizing ...
Zombie foreclosures down overall but still up in half of the metro areas surveyed says Daren Blomquist of RealtyTrac

Zombie foreclosures down overall, but still up from a year ago in half of U.S. metros

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
A new report shows that in the second quarter of this year there were that 127,021 homes actively in the foreclosure process had been vacated by the homeowners prior to a completed foreclosure, called zombie foreclosures, representing 24 percent of all active foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac. These owner-vacated foreclosure properties ...
Down payment averages drop to 14 percent on new home purchases RealtyTrac report says

Down payment average for home purchases drops to 14.8 percent, a three-year low

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
The average down payment for single family homes, condos and townhomes purchased in the first quarter was 14.8 percent of the purchase price, down from 15.2 percent in the previous quarter and down from 15.5 percent a year ago to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2012, according ...
Rental growth where you least expect it, single-family homes despite the hot apartment construction market

Rental growth where you least expect it: single-family homes

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
By David Guarino Senior Research Analyst John Burns Real Estate Consulting Take a drive through the urban portion of any major city and you will likely see cranes and construction crews dotting the landscape, building what appears to be an endless supply of apartment units. Your eyes are not deceiving ...
Home buyers purchasing below market value in 60 percent of markets according to a new study from RealtyTrac says Daren Blomquist, vp

Home buyers still purchasing below market value in 60 percent of markets, new study says

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
Home buyers in about 60 percent of the markets surveyed in a new report by RealtyTrac.com are buying at below market value, while sellers are getting above-market prices in about 27 percent of the markets, the report shows. “Nationwide in April single family homes and condos sold for almost exactly ...
Bank repossessions (REOs) and foreclosure filings hit an 18-month high according to a new report from Realty Trac

Bank repossessions (REOs) hit 18-month high across the U.S. as foreclosures put new inventory on the market

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
Bank repossessions (REOs) and foreclosure filings were reported on 125,875 properties in April, up 9 percent from a year ago representing an 18-month high, according to a new report from RealtyTrac. The U.S. foreclosure rate in April was one in every 1,049 housing units with a foreclosure filing. “The REO ...
Mortgage loans originated on single-family homes were up 17 percent year over year says RealtyTrac's Daren Blomquist

Mortgage loans originated on single-family homes up 17 percent year over year, new study says

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
Mortgage loans originated on single-family homes and condos were up 17 percent year over year according to a new report from RealtyTrac.com, led by California, Florida and Massachusetts. The majority of the loans were for refinancing and new mortgages for purchases were up only about 1 percent during the same year ...
Strong returns for home flippers in the first quarter yielded an average gross profit of $72,000

Strong returns for homes flipped in the first quarter yield average gross profit of $72,000

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
A new report shows that 17,309 single family homes were flipped — sold as part of an arms-length sale for the second time within a 12-month period — in the first quarter of this year, 4.0 percent of all single family home sales during the quarter, according to RealtyTrac. And, more ...
3 ways to build your real estate investing portfolio

3 ways to build your real estate investing portfolio

| Larry Arth | Article | Operations
What excites me is watching new investors build up ta real estate investing portfolio—the self-discovery, if you will—that comes with them finally taking that first big step into buying their initial investment property. With such fast changes in the real estate industry it is easy to get confused as to ...
4 Ways to Start Small as a Real Estate Investor

4 Ways to Start Small as a Real Estate Investor

| Kevin Guz | Article | Fundamentals, Operations
I speak from experience when I say that taking that first step is one of the most significant and common obstacles for a new or part-time investor who is looking to get started. Most people struggle to take that first step. I’ll admit it is the most difficult step and ...
2 ways to do a fast flip: the art of the deal

2 ways to do a fast flip: The art of the real estate deal

| R J Palano | Article | Operations
The real estate business avails itself of many opportunities with different types of properties located throughout the world. Like any business, you must have goals and a business model. In our model, we focus on single-family houses as they are easy to understand and the most liquid of all real ...
Charles Sells, co-founder and CEO of The PIP Group

The Straight Story on Investing in Tax Liens

| Susan Thomas Springer | Article | Profiles
Charles Sells is the Voice of Experience By Susan Thomas Springer Ever since he was a teenager, Charles Sells knew he wanted to be in real estate. So he didn't mind starting at the bottom for a real estate company in Atlanta by stuffing envelopes for the firm’s direct mail ...
5 Faulty Assumptions About Real Estate Investing

5 Faulty Assumptions About Real Estate Investing

| Larry Arth | Article | Operations
I have discovered in many conversations with investors a distinct difference in the way beginners and veterans think. New investors are thinking based on what they hear and what they read. They then create their own interpretation of what that means to them. On the other hand, a seasoned investor ...
Foreclosures jump in March driven by bank repossessions

Foreclosures jump in March driven by bank repossessions

| Editorial Staff | Article | Market & Trends
Foreclosures jumped in March recording the first year-over-year increase since 2010 as bank repossessions pushed up the numbers, according to a new study from RealtyTrac. The increase in March was driven primarily by a jump in bank repossessions (REOs), which at 36,152 were up 49 percent from the previous month ...
The best markets for rental rate returns for investors are highlighted in a new report

The best markets for rental rate returns for investors are highlighted in a new report

| Editorial Staff | Article | Market & Trends
A new report ranks the markets with the best, and worst, potential returns on residential rental properties that real estate investors can expect, according to RealtyTrac. The study also shows the most affordable, and least affordable markets, from a renter's perspective. Too, the residential rental property analysis report from RealtyTrac for ...
Home price appreciation slows year over year in 65 percent of metro areas

Home price appreciation slows year over year in 65 percent of metro areas

| Editorial Staff | Article | Market & Trends
Annual home price appreciation in February slowed, compared to a year ago, in 60 of the 92 metros of 500,000 or more population analyzed in a new report from RealtyTrac. “While still significant at 33 percent, the average discount buyers are realizing on distressed homes has been shrinking over the ...
Rise in home prices led by Denver, Dallas and Miami new report says

Rise in home prices led by Denver, Dallas and Miami new report says

| Editorial Staff | Article | Market & Trends
Home prices continued their rise across the country over the last 12 months, however, monthly data reveal slowing increases and seasonal weakness, according to the latest release of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index report for January. The index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 4.5% annual gain in ...
Pending home sales jumped in February says Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors

Pending home sales jump in February led by the Midwest and West

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
Pending home sales in February increased to their highest level since June 2013 as sizeable gains in the Midwest and West offset smaller declines in the Northeast and South, according to a release from the National Association of Realtors. The number of contracts to buy, called the pending home sales ...
Texas cities top new list of best markets for real estate investment

Texas cities top new list of best markets for real estate investment

| Editorial Staff | Article | Market & Trends
Texas cities top a new list for best markets for real estate investment, according to a new release from Local Market Monitor and HomeVestors. "The Top 10 markets for real estate investment all have a common thread: a fast growing economy, which means more jobs and more renters," Ingo Winzer, ...
Climbing housing prices have renters feeling the squeeze

Climbing housing costs have renters feeling the squeeze in many parts of the country

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
The gap between rental costs and household income is widening to unsustainable levels in many parts of the country, and the situation could worsen unless new home construction meaningfully rises, according to a release of new research by the National Association of Realtors. NAR reviewed data on income growth, housing ...
The millennial generation represents the largest group of home buyers in new study

Millennials represent the largest share of recent home buyers, new study says

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
The millennial generation represented the largest share of recent buyers, despite the economic and financial challenges young adults have faced since the recession, according to a release from the National Association of Realtors. The 2015 National Association of Realtors Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study, found that an overwhelming majority ...
Foreclosures down 33 percent in the past year according to CoreLogic

Foreclosure inventory down 33 percent in the past year

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
Foreclosure inventory declined 33 percent year over year according to the latest research in a release from CoreLogic. "Job growth and home-value appreciation have worked to push the serious delinquency rate to the lowest since mid-2008 and foreclosures down by one-third from a year ago," Frank Nothaft, chief economist at ...
Doug Duncan chief economist for Fannie Mae says consumers are not yet ready to move on housing

Consumer confidence toward homeownership continuing to grow, new study says

| Editorial Staff | Article | Market & Trends
Most consumers expect home rental prices to continue to rise in the next year, but 43 percent still think it is too difficult to get a mortgage, according to a release of the Fannie Mae February 2015 National Housing Survey. "Continuing improvements in consumer attitudes in this month's National Housing ...
David Blitzer

Home prices up moderately in the West, but housing recovery continues to falter new study says

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
San Francisco, Denver and Miami were the strongest, but overall nine cities reported monthly home price increases in the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price data for December 2014, according to a release from PRNewswire. The 10-city composite gained 4.3% year-over-year, up from 4.2% in November. The 20-city composite gained 4.5% year-over-year, ...