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1995 was a pivotal year. Prices stopped going down. It had been 5 long years since prices peaked in 1989/90. Each year seemed to drag on with no end in sight. The fact that prices weren’t going down anymore seemed like little consolation because the market still felt dour, unexciting. Maybe prices weren’t going down [...]
If your personal financial household was experiencing a rough time, and you dipped into your savings or used credit cards to shore up your finances, make purchases or take trips, would you feel good about your newfound economic recovery? Probably not. But if you were the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics you would be [...]
In 1996, Penny and I had dinner at the “upper crusty” Canyon Club in Newport Beach with her great Uncle Bill. The conversation flowed to real estate and at some point great Uncle Bill emphatically stated that “It’s time to buy”. Not only was he right, he nailed it. You see, uncle Bill had been [...]
It’s no secret that short sales and bank repos sell for less. These low sales didn’t affect sellers until the advent of the HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct). This law, enacted by Andrew Cuomo, is an attempt to mitigate appraisal fraud. However, laws to regulate morality or integrity often do neither. If you want [...]
It takes years of experience to become a good negotiator. Much like a good poker player, a good negotiator is both technically competent, knowing odds and with years of experience, knows which rules to apply and how far they can “push it” for any given situation. In Real Estate, the strength of the hand you [...]
On May 1st new legislation (by Andrew Cuomo) went into effect, which is crippling the Real Estate market. The piece of legislation that I am referring to is know as the HVCC or Home Valuation Code of Conduct. Theoretically the intent of the legislation sounded good, to enhance integrity in the appraisal industry. The result [...]
Last year, we began looking to purchase a piece of income property with a partner. Our search started with the 5+ unit category because this is traditionally where you find the best cash flow. After scouring the market for 6 months, we came across very little inventory, and even less attractive deals. If the Real [...]
The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens starts off with a statement of contrast, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…..”. The real estate market, as well as the stock market, has embraced the opening line of this novel. One day the stock market is up 11%, then down [...]
Recap – Last Year – A sharp correction In the 2nd half of 2007 market activity and prices fell off a cliff. (see www.LBRE.com for previous newsletters). The correction was so abrupt and dramatic, it ranked as the largest year over year price drop in California real estate history. (See Case-Shiller S&P Stats next page) [...]
Credit Crunch – the Straw that Broke the Buyer’s Back. It was the perfect storm. A seasonally quiet time coupled with the now infamous “credit crunch”, quoted as the worst credit crunch in the last 20 years by Bear Stearns president, James Cayne. As the credit crunch started to unfold, it was unclear what would [...]