Looks like we should have smooth sailing in 2020, but the National Association of Business economists (NABE), the premier professional association for business economists counting Alan Greenspan as their past president, just released their business outlook predictions...
After years of increasing credit scores, FICO, the fico credit score used by the majority of lenders, has done an abrupt shift. FICO Score changes in how the most widely used credit score in the U.S. is calculated will make it harder for many Americans to get loans. ...
The ink was barely dry on Wall Street’s 2020 outlooks when the first case surfaced in China. A quick tally shows the coronavirus has wiped $1.5 trillion off the value of world stock markets since Jan. 20, when a slide in Hong Kong shares kicked off concerns among...
As the economy shrugs off recession fears with unemployment hovering near record lows and the stock market continuing to heat up there is one major byproduct that could be impacted, mortgage rates. There was a ton of bad news priced into the market last year that...
If you missed the article in the Wall Street Journal, you need to read it. The reporter demonstrated how he went dumpster diving and resold the items on Amazon. This is not a new concept and appears to be happening quite frequently to unsuspecting buyers. ...
Yes, it is hard to believe but you, along with me and millions of others, are actually making mortgage rates go down and therefore real estate relatively less expensive. How is this possible? How are your thoughts influencing long term rates and in turn real...
Realtors are typically an optimistic bunch so I was surprised at the recent forecast out of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicting a 2% decline in closings next year. Mortgage rates are at historic lows and should remain low through 2020 and wage...
Happy Holidays to you and your family. With 2019 coming to an end quickly it is time for my 2020 real estate market predictions. 2020 is shaping up to be considerably more exciting than 2019 economically speaking! The main economic drivers in 2020 will be consumer...
The jobs report last week was a welcome surprise beating expectations with 266k jobs created, almost 50% more than expectations. This is the lowest jobless rate since 1969 underpinning a strong consumer that continues to spend and drive the bull market. What does...
The two largest purchases by consumers are houses and cars. Cars are starting to look like the prior housing debacle. Some 33% of people who traded in cars to buy new ones in the first nine months of 2019 had negative equity, compared with 28% five years ago and 19%...
The National Association of realtors last week voted to ban the use of “whisper listings”/ “Pocket listings”. The new rule will require listing brokers who are participants in a multiple listing service (MLS) to submit their listing to the MLS within one business day...
First, I wanted to wish each of you and your families a Safe, Happy, Healthy, and relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday. As you sit around the table, I wanted to provide a little food for thought. A gentleman that lost his home in the California wildfires is now...
Although, the recent November election was an off year with few major items on the ballot, there was one big takeaway from last election that could be precedent setting for cities throughout the country. It is amazing that Airbnb spent over 4.2m on one small...
According to ATTOM data, gross profit on home flipping has fallen six quarters in a row and eight of the last 10, and now stands at the lowest level since Q4 2011. At the same time the number of flips across the country has increased to 7.3% of all sales and number...
The Federal reserve dropped the federal funds rate again which wasn’t a big surprise as the market was pricing in a 96% probability of a rate cut. This is the third cut this year effectively creating a “floor” under real estate. How did the federal reserve create a...
The House of Representatives passed a cannabis banking bill with bipartisan support that would allow banks to provide services to Cannabis companies where it is legal. What was in the bill? How will this impact real estate throughout the country? Before you pop the...
In September, Toyota's year over year auto sales plummeted 16.5%, Honda down 14%, and Nissan down almost 18%. The severity of the slide stokes fears that a long-anticipated car sales collapse may be arriving. Why should you care about Autos in real estate? Autos are...
It is interesting to watch the release of indexes like the Case Schiller on a regular basis. Many of the same cities continue to pop up like Atlanta and Denver. Why? What continues to drive markets like Atlanta and Denver? Can you predict what cities will show up...
With recession talks all over the headlines and stock markets tumbling around the globe are you ready whenever the next real estate cycle occurs? Do you know the mushroom theory and how it can help you plan for the next cycle? I developed this theory after...
President Trump announced the revocation of the California clean air waiver act. Regardless of where you sit on this particular issue, the impacts will be profound on States rights, on real estate and one industry in particular. Why are 33 states impacted? Which...
California recently passed a bill (AB5) to target “gig workers” like Lyft and Uber drivers to ensure they are classified as full time employees as opposed to contract workers but there will be other side effects. This law will drastically alter the real estate...
It is crazy, the last real estate crisis was 10 years ago and the government is still debating what to do with Fannie/Freddie, the largest securitizers of 30 year fixed mortgages. Why are we still debating the governments role in housing? Why is this increasing the...
The economy is currently in a “transition” phase. To determine if the sun is setting on our current cycle, it is critical to watch for leading indicators of where we might be heading. One of the strongest predictors of a recession is consumer purchases of one...
As US superstar top 20 real estate investment cities thrive, the weaker ones get left behind. In many ways the country has seemingly recovered from a 2007-2009 recession that was the worst downturn since the 1930s. But a Reuters analysis of federal data...
Looks like we should have smooth sailing in 2020, but the National Association of Business economists (NABE), the premier professional association for business economists counting Alan Greenspan as their past president, just released their business outlook predictions...
After years of increasing credit scores, FICO, the fico credit score used by the majority of lenders, has done an abrupt shift. FICO Score changes in how the most widely used credit score in the U.S. is calculated will make it harder for many Americans to get loans. ...
The ink was barely dry on Wall Street’s 2020 outlooks when the first case surfaced in China. A quick tally shows the coronavirus has wiped $1.5 trillion off the value of world stock markets since Jan. 20, when a slide in Hong Kong shares kicked off concerns among...
As the economy shrugs off recession fears with unemployment hovering near record lows and the stock market continuing to heat up there is one major byproduct that could be impacted, mortgage rates. There was a ton of bad news priced into the market last year that...
If you missed the article in the Wall Street Journal, you need to read it. The reporter demonstrated how he went dumpster diving and resold the items on Amazon. This is not a new concept and appears to be happening quite frequently to unsuspecting buyers. ...
Yes, it is hard to believe but you, along with me and millions of others, are actually making mortgage rates go down and therefore real estate relatively less expensive. How is this possible? How are your thoughts influencing long term rates and in turn real...
Realtors are typically an optimistic bunch so I was surprised at the recent forecast out of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicting a 2% decline in closings next year. Mortgage rates are at historic lows and should remain low through 2020 and wage...
Happy Holidays to you and your family. With 2019 coming to an end quickly it is time for my 2020 real estate market predictions. 2020 is shaping up to be considerably more exciting than 2019 economically speaking! The main economic drivers in 2020 will be consumer...
The jobs report last week was a welcome surprise beating expectations with 266k jobs created, almost 50% more than expectations. This is the lowest jobless rate since 1969 underpinning a strong consumer that continues to spend and drive the bull market. What does...
The two largest purchases by consumers are houses and cars. Cars are starting to look like the prior housing debacle. Some 33% of people who traded in cars to buy new ones in the first nine months of 2019 had negative equity, compared with 28% five years ago and 19%...
The National Association of realtors last week voted to ban the use of “whisper listings”/ “Pocket listings”. The new rule will require listing brokers who are participants in a multiple listing service (MLS) to submit their listing to the MLS within one business day...
First, I wanted to wish each of you and your families a Safe, Happy, Healthy, and relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday. As you sit around the table, I wanted to provide a little food for thought. A gentleman that lost his home in the California wildfires is now...
Although, the recent November election was an off year with few major items on the ballot, there was one big takeaway from last election that could be precedent setting for cities throughout the country. It is amazing that Airbnb spent over 4.2m on one small...
According to ATTOM data, gross profit on home flipping has fallen six quarters in a row and eight of the last 10, and now stands at the lowest level since Q4 2011. At the same time the number of flips across the country has increased to 7.3% of all sales and number...
The Federal reserve dropped the federal funds rate again which wasn’t a big surprise as the market was pricing in a 96% probability of a rate cut. This is the third cut this year effectively creating a “floor” under real estate. How did the federal reserve create a...
The House of Representatives passed a cannabis banking bill with bipartisan support that would allow banks to provide services to Cannabis companies where it is legal. What was in the bill? How will this impact real estate throughout the country? Before you pop the...
In September, Toyota's year over year auto sales plummeted 16.5%, Honda down 14%, and Nissan down almost 18%. The severity of the slide stokes fears that a long-anticipated car sales collapse may be arriving. Why should you care about Autos in real estate? Autos are...
It is interesting to watch the release of indexes like the Case Schiller on a regular basis. Many of the same cities continue to pop up like Atlanta and Denver. Why? What continues to drive markets like Atlanta and Denver? Can you predict what cities will show up...
With recession talks all over the headlines and stock markets tumbling around the globe are you ready whenever the next real estate cycle occurs? Do you know the mushroom theory and how it can help you plan for the next cycle? I developed this theory after...
President Trump announced the revocation of the California clean air waiver act. Regardless of where you sit on this particular issue, the impacts will be profound on States rights, on real estate and one industry in particular. Why are 33 states impacted? Which...
California recently passed a bill (AB5) to target “gig workers” like Lyft and Uber drivers to ensure they are classified as full time employees as opposed to contract workers but there will be other side effects. This law will drastically alter the real estate...
It is crazy, the last real estate crisis was 10 years ago and the government is still debating what to do with Fannie/Freddie, the largest securitizers of 30 year fixed mortgages. Why are we still debating the governments role in housing? Why is this increasing the...
The economy is currently in a “transition” phase. To determine if the sun is setting on our current cycle, it is critical to watch for leading indicators of where we might be heading. One of the strongest predictors of a recession is consumer purchases of one...
As US superstar top 20 real estate investment cities thrive, the weaker ones get left behind. In many ways the country has seemingly recovered from a 2007-2009 recession that was the worst downturn since the 1930s. But a Reuters analysis of federal data...
