AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog/media/feedlogo.gif AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Why Real Estate Investors Have the Edge in Housing Markethttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/why-real-estate-investors-dominate-housing-market/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/why-real-estate-investors-dominate-housing-market/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/why-real-estate-investors-dominate-housing-market/#commentsFiled under: , ,




Prospective homebuyers are entering some markets today to find it rife with competition and the pickings slim. While many put off home purchases during the financial crisis, Wall Street investors dove right in and snapped up all the good buys while they were cheap. This was especially prevalent in areas where housing prices bottomed out during the recession. And now, with interest rates historically low and the economic recovery under way, average consumers want in -- but they're running into fierce competition over what's left to choose from.

Matthew Ong of Nerd Wallet on HuffPost LiveA recent discussion on HuffPost Live -- shown in the video above -- looked at why real estate investors make much more attractive buyers than others in the housing market. Said Matthew Ong, a retail analyst at Nerd Wallet: They bid in cash, in full and higher than the asking price. Investors also have the funds to give homes much-needed repairs. But instead of selling those properties they rent them out, altering the social fabric of the neighborhoods as people begin to move in and out more frequently.

"The problem here is that investors buy when something is cheap, whereas consumers buy when they're ready," Ong said.

But waiting for buyers to be ready is not how the market works, so average consumers might need to be prepared for a long, hard search.

See more news about homebuying:
More Young Couples Say 'I Do' to Buying a Home Before Marriage
Investors Betting on Housing Recovery Big Time
Where Castles Offer Big Bang for Your Buck

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]]>consumersfinancial crisishome buyinghousing marketinvestorsreal estate investorsrecessionwall streetwhy real estate investors dominate housing marketAol Real Estate Staff2013-05-22T14:16:00+00:00Should You Put a Real Estate Investment on Your Credit Card?http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/20/real-estate-investment-credit-card/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/20/real-estate-investment-credit-card/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/20/real-estate-investment-credit-card/#commentsFiled under: , ,

credit cards stacked to resemble a housebigger pockets logo

By Paula Pant

Imagine: You're a beginner real estate investor. You want to flip a house for the first time. You don't have much money.

Someone recommends that you get a Home Depot or Lowe's credit card, which offers 0-percent financing for 12 months, and use that credit card to fund the material purchase costs for your flips. What little cash you have can be used to pay for labor (and/or your own sweat equity can be used for labor). You'll presumably sell the house within a few months, use the profits to pay off the credit card before a single penny of interest is due, and pocket a decent payout, as well. Should you do it? In my humble opinion: Abso-freaking-lutuely NOT. No, no, no, no, no.

I don't have insanely strong opinions when it comes to most real estate investing topics. If you ask me if you should flip houses, become a landlord, try wholesaling or stick to REITs, I'll shrug and say, "Well, that depends." Then I'll walk you through the pros and cons of each. If you ask me if you should buy rentals in stable vs. shaky neighborhoods, I'll tell you that it depends on your goals and risk tolerance.

But I'm a fundamentalist on the issue of credit cards. I firmly believe that if you can't pay a credit card in full, immediately, on the same day that you make a purchase -- don't use it! Why? I can explain my stance in one word:

Risk

You hope that everything goes according to plan. You hope that your labor and material costs are close to the amount you estimated. You hope that you don't find any nasty surprises. You hope that the city inspector doesn't throw a wrench in your plans. You hope that you can sell the house in the amount of time you estimated, for the amount of money that you estimated.

Oh, you know that not everything goes according to plan. So you made conservative estimates. You tacked a 20 percent margin of error onto the material and labor costs. You pinned a 10 percent margin of error onto the after-repair value. And you hope that those margins of error are sufficient. But hope cannot defeat the reality of risk.

ANYTHING could happen that might derail your plans. The city could condemn your home. A major earthquake could cause your home to collapse and insurance could refuse to pay for the damage. Or Wall Street financiers could buy subprime mortgages and sell them to Norway as AAA-rated collateralized-debt obligations, feeding a complex chain reaction that results in housing values plummeting by 50 percent. All those situations sound far-fetched, I know. But s--t happens.

If you've borrowed at reasonable interest rates (e.g. single-digits), the fallout from risk-gone-wrong won't be as bad. It'll still be a setback, of course, but assuming you've leveraged wisely, it will be manageable. If you have tens of thousands in debt on a credit card which suddenly escalates into a 29 percent interest rate, though, you've dug yourself into the deepest pit of a hole that's going to be excruciating to climb out of.

When Can I Use a Credit Card?

Refer to my rule: Don't use a credit card unless you can pay the bill in full, immediately, on the same day that you make a purchase. If you have $20,000 sitting in a savings account, earning 1 percent interest, and you want to make a $20,000 purchase on your credit card at zero-percent interest for a year, go ahead. You have the cash in the bank to pay the credit card in full at a moment's notice. And you'll pocket the 1 percent spread. Congratulations, now you have an extra $200. (Personally, I'd spare myself the trouble and just pay the card immediately, but if you want to pinch pennies, be my guest.)

But if you don't have the cash on hand, don't subject yourself to the risk of getting hit with high-double-digit interest rates. It's not worth the risk.

Paula Pant runs a content marketing company and writes a blog, Afford Anything, which discusses wealth, freedom and living life on your own terms. This article was originally published on BiggerPockets.com.

See more on BiggerPockets.com:
5 Things Mom Taught Me That Made Me the Real Estate Investor I Am Today
How I Decide What I Buy
29 Pieces of Advice From a Seasoned Real Estate Investor

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How to Use Credit Cards Responsibly

 

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]]>buying a home on a credit cardcredit cardsreal estate investingreal estate investing adviceBiggerPockets.com2013-05-20T12:30:00+00:00Trulia: It's Still a Housing Rebound, Not a Bubblehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/14/housing-bubble-or-recovery/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/14/housing-bubble-or-recovery/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/14/housing-bubble-or-recovery/#commentsFiled under: ,

housing market photo illustrationHome prices today are rising nearly as fast as they did during the peak bubble years of 2005 and 2006. Since that bubble helped push us into the Great Recession, we should all be on high alert for the next housing bubble. To track whether home prices are in or nearing bubble territory, today we introduce Trulia's Bubble Watch, which is based on the most recent price data from the Trulia Price Monitor and other data sources. So are we in bubble territory? No. bubble-phobes can rest easy. Even with recent sharp home price increases, prices are still low relative to fundamentals and are far below bubble levels.

Back to Basics: How to Spot a Bubble

To see a bubble, you first need to know what you're looking for. A bubble in home prices (or in the price of any asset, such as stocks or even tulips) is when prices soar above their fundamental value. Fundamental value is based on supply, demand and realistic expectations about the future. We all learned in Economics 101 that prices move back toward an equilibrium determined by fundamentals of supply and demand. In a bubble, however, rising prices encourage speculation and fuel further demand -- up until when the bubble suddenly bursts and people rush to sell, which causes prices to accelerate downward, sometimes well below their fundamental value. Bubbles are notoriously difficult to predict and hard to confirm until after they've burst. It's impossible to be sure whether price gains are justified by fundamentals until, if and when, a bubble bursts. San Francisco home prices, for instance, are the highest in the country; is that "irrational exuberance" by speculative homebuyers, or are those prices justified by strong job growth, high incomes, great weather and constraints on the local housing supply?

To answer that question, we assess whether home prices are overvalued or undervalued relative to their fundamental value by comparing prices today with historical prices, incomes and rents. Incomes determine how much people can pay for housing, and price increases aren't sustainable if they push prices too high relative to incomes. Rents reflect how much people value housing even if they won't benefit from price appreciation (as renters don't, but owners do); the price-to-rent ratio is like the price-earnings ratio for stocks. Using data from multiple sources, we create several measures of fundamental value and combine them in order to calculate how overvalued or undervalued home prices are relative to fundamentals.

Home Prices are Undervalued 7% Nationally and Regionally in 91 of the 100 Largest Metros

We estimate that national home prices are 7 percent undervalued in the second quarter of 2013. During the last decade's bubble, prices were as high as 39 percent overvalued in the first quarter of 2006, then during the bust, they fell to 15 percent undervalued in the fourth quarter of 2011. Therefore, even with the recent price increases, home prices nationally remain undervalued relative to fundamentals and much lower than in the last bubble. That's why today's price gains are actually still a rebound, not a bubble. This chart shows how far prices are from bubble territory:



At the metro level, prices are below their fundamental value in 91 of the 100 largest metros. Prices are overvalued in the California metros of Orange County (plus 9 percent), Los Angeles (plus 5 percent), San Jose (plus 3 percent), and San Francisco (plus 2 percent), and the Texas metros of Austin (plus 7 percent), San Antonio (plus 5 percent), and Houston (plus 2 percent), as well as in Portland, Ore., (plus Honolulu, which at 0.01 percent is ever so slightly overvalued). The California metros are far less overvalued than at the height of the bubble -- Orange County prices were 71 percent overvalued in the first quarter of 2006! Even the Texas metros, which largely avoided the previous decade's housing bubble, are less overvalued today than at their peaks during the last bubble.

Prices are most undervalued today in Las Vegas and Detroit, even after their price gains in the past year. Several Florida and Ohio metros are also among the most undervalued. All of these metros were overvalued at the height of the bubble, some less so than others.

Other indicators aside from home prices, such as mortgage lending and construction activity, confirm that the housing market isn't forming a new bubble. Mortgage credit remains very tight, especially for people with lower credit scores, and the new "qualified mortgage" rules under Dodd-Frank intend to prevent the recurrence of toxic mortgages that artificially inflated housing demand in the last bubble. Also, construction activity, though rebounding, is still well below normal levels, and the vacancy rate is falling, so there's no evidence of overbuilding today like we had during the last decade.

Is the Next Bubble Coming Soon?

If prices keep rising as fast as they are today, we'd be back in bubble territory in several years. However, prices are unlikely to keep rising as fast as they are today for three reasons:

1. Inventory should expand. Tight inventory is boosting prices today as buyers bid up prices on scarce homes; however, as prices continue to rise, more people will sell as they get back above water or decide to cash out, and more new construction will add to inventory.

2. Mortgage rates should rise. Low mortgage rates today increase buying power because borrowers can afford a more expensive house for the same monthly payment. Rates are likely to rise as a result of the strengthening economy, either through market forces or Fed actions, which - along with more inventory - should slow down price gains.

3. Investor interest should fade. Undervalued prices have attracted investors, who have helped push up home prices as they have bought and rented out homes. But as prices rise, investor interest will fade.

Read the rest of this post at the Trulia Trends blog.

Jed Kolko is the chief economist for online listings site Trulia. This article originally appeared on the Trulia Trends blog.

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]]>home priceshome valueshousing bubblehousing recoveryTruliaJed Kolko, Trulia Chief Economist2013-05-14T14:15:00+00:00Does a Pool Make a Home a Better Investment?http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/29/invest-home-pool/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/29/invest-home-pool/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/29/invest-home-pool/#commentsFiled under: , ,

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By Tracy Royce

I know I'm not the only one with the looming feeling investors might face this time of year: "Should I buy a house that has a pool?" In places like Arizona, we might look at things a little differently (any relief from the scorching desert is a plus!). If you're in the Midwest, having a pool might mean different costs and value. But, let's look at the pros and cons of purchasing a rental or flip that has a pool.

How Bad Is It?

I've seen my share of distressed properties, and I guess after awhile, I feel like a Ghostbuster walking through freshly-minted foreclosures. ("I ain't afraid of no ghosts!") This comes with the exception of pools, though. A dark green pool may be hiding years of neglect, bad siding, algae, and who knows what else.

It can be difficult to estimate what pool repairs may be needed, and if you have, say, 20 minutes to do a full inspection of the house, the "ifs" of a range of $50 to $5,000 can swing your margins in the red quickly. If the home is a short sale, the pool may be sitting for months longer and cost more than you initially estimated, as well. If you have longer to get an inspection, and a pool person is able to give you an estimate on getting the pool back in working condition, then the initial costs may be worth the investment. However, there are further things to consider.

1. Who will be responsible for maintaining the pool?
2. Do your state laws require fencing, depending on who's purchasing/renting the house from you? If so, who's responsible for paying for that?
3. If you allow the renters (if you rent the property out) to take care of the pool, how are you assured they are actually checking and keeping the PH levels balanced and maintaining the cleaning?
4. Are you willing to accept the maintenance down the road for redoing decking/siding? Lost or stolen equipment?
5. What extra liability might you face if, heaven forbid, a serious or fatal accident should happen?

Liquid Gold?

Much of this might be negated if you're flipping the property. Similar to a fireplace in a warm-weather state building in more value (go figure!), a pool may add extra attraction to your property as well. It's advisable not to ever add the pool yourself, since dollar-for-dollar you will never recoup even your costs.

However, if there are matching houses and one has a pool, the one with the extra amenity may help you procure a buyer that much faster, therefore decreasing your holding time and/or increasing your sales price. I know many investors out there wouldn't touch a pool with a 6-foot pole (or a skimmer, I suppose!), but others find it to be a draw as a rental or a flip.

This story was originally published on BiggerPockets.com.

See more on BiggerPockets.com:
9 Steps to Flipping Houses
How to Screen Tenants
How to Rent Your House

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Smart Home 2013 Pool Tour

 

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]]>homes with poolsinvestingreal estate investingSwimming poolsBiggerPockets.com2013-04-29T08:00:00+00:00Overseas Real Estate Investments Can Earn You Good Moneyhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/overseas-real-estate-investing/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/overseas-real-estate-investing/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/overseas-real-estate-investing/#commentsFiled under: ,




So you want to be a real estate investor? It can be all about where you're buying property. You of course want to be in a market where you stand the best chance to get the most bang for your buck. So where to look?

Maybe not even in the United States. Try Panama. Buying homes overseas can be a cash cow for many. And Panama's economy is one of the few in the world that was virtually untouched during and after the economic crisis. But other overseas markets should be considered, too, as is explained in the above video.



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]]>overseas real estatereal estate investingAOL Real Estate Editors2013-04-16T08:00:00+00:00What the Kardashians Teach Us About Real Estate Investinghttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/15/kardashians-real-estate-investing/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/15/kardashians-real-estate-investing/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/15/kardashians-real-estate-investing/#commentsFiled under: ,

The KardashiansBiggerPockets logo

By Frank DeFazio

I'm ashamed to admit it but my wife has me hooked on "Keeping Up With The Kardashians." For those who are lucky enough to not know who the Kardashians are, they are a family of socialite reality TV stars whose lives are chronicled nightly on the E! Network. In addition to their reality TV success, the Kardashians have branched out to business ventures that include diet pills, women's perfume and even branded their own women's clothing line that they sell at the Kardashian boutique appropriately named Dash. Keeping up with the Kardashians may seem like a total waste of time, but I can assure you that buried somewhere in each episode is a business lesson that is relevant to the real estate investor. Here are a few pointers to help with your real estate investing compliments of Kim and the rest of the Kardashian family.

Use Social Media to Promote Your Product and Connect With the Consumer

Social media is now, and will increasingly become, one of the most important ways for business people to connect directly with the consumer. Often on "The Kardashians" the girls are using Twitter and Facebook to communicate with their clients and fans and millions of people, including my assistant, who awaits periodic updates every day. The Kardashians have successfully used social media to control how their brand is perceived by the consumer and also the frequency and type of message the consumer gets.

This translates seamlessly into the real estate investing world. We all know how people buying real estate love pictures and stories (see HGTV), and the flipper or developer could use this to his or her advantage. One use of social media for real estate investors might be be to engage the consumer at the beginning of a renovation project, using daily updates with pictures on the progress of a flip or construction project. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and virtually every other social platform could be utilized in this regard, and the end result will be that the real estate investor has more and better quality contact with the real estate consumer.

Don't Be Overly Picky

David Shafer recently wrote an instantly classic post about the dreaded paralysis by analysis. Often, would-be investors yearn to begin their investing careers but keep finding obstacles or impediments in highly improbable events. In this regard, Kim Kardashian can be thought of as an example to real estate investors everywhere. On the show, Kim is portrayed as someone who is not very picky about who she dates -- or marries -- and she doesn't let a little thing like being married (in her defense, separated) interfere with her getting pregnant with her new boyfriend, Kanye West. Sometimes investing in real estate requires you to take the plunge. Obviously, you don't want to jump in blindly so a certain amount of preliminary analysis is prudent, but you have to know where to draw the line.

Make Your Partnerships Count

Both professionally and personally, the Kardashians have forged meaningful partnerships with people and companies who make their brand better and more popular. Professionally, they have partnered with household names like Sears and Skechers, and this has given them more legitimacy and broader reach. Personally, they seem to date and marry professional athletes, celebrities and other Hollywood and music industry insiders who can help further their careers. Now I'm not advocating dating the best plumber in town or marrying the best roofer, but having a contractor list full of reliable, reputable, well-known partners can only help legitimize your real estate investing business. Remember, you're only as good as the people you rely on.

Don't Be Afraid to Mix Business and Pleasure

The old adage I'm sure you've heard a thousand times cautions you to never mix business with pleasure. The Kardashians indiscriminately mix business and pleasure, yet they benefit because it seems to allow them to "work" all the time. I too have found in my own life in real estate that the lines between work and play blur, and ultimately I'm doing something related to my real estate business every time I step out my front door. The good news is that work doesn't quite feel like work when you are able to mesh your personal life with your business, so don't be afraid to mix business and pleasure.

This article was originally published on BiggerPockets.com.

See more on BiggerPockets.com:
9 Steps for Flipping Houses
Tenant Screening Guide
Hard Money Lenders List

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Brody Jenner to Star in 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians'

 

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]]>keeping up with the kardashianskhloe kardashianKim Kardashianreal estate investingBiggerPockets.com2013-04-15T08:00:00+00:00Cities Where Housing Bubbles Could Be Starting to Formhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/cities-housing-bubble-forming/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/cities-housing-bubble-forming/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/cities-housing-bubble-forming/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Housing bubbleThere are rumblings in the real estate world about whether we're entering another housing market bubble. We took a look recently at California and whether some frenzied homebuying activity there is a sign that a bubble is returning. The consensus remains that, on a national level, no, we are not in a housing bubble -- yet. But there are cities that could be seeing the beginning of one.

According to real estate firm Redfin, the markets in four large metros are showing the kinds of overheating that typically lead to a housing bubble, though it's not necessarily safe to say that a housing bubble is happening just yet. In these areas, home prices are rising fast and listings are getting multiple offers. But Redfin also noted that a national housing bubble is not a concern right now. One of the major reasons for that, the online real estate brokerage said, is because home prices are not widely outpacing income levels. If they were, it would be a true sign of a housing bubble. Also, as many others have noted, the type of sketchy home financing that was prevalent during the last housing bubble is not available today.

Still, there are certain areas where the housing market's recovery has been so fast and furious that it raises concern that a bubble is forming. Click through the gallery below to see Redfin's most and least "bubbly" cities in America right now.

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See more on housing bubbles:
Is California's Wild Housing Market a Sign of a Bubble?
4 Current Myths About the Real Estate Market
Another Housing Bubble? Recovery Shows Dangerous Signs, Reports Say

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Another Housing Bubble? Realtor Not Fearful

 

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]]>bidding warscities housing bubblehome priceshome saleshousing bubblehousing recoveryAOL Real Estate Editors2013-04-12T12:20:00+00:0020 Best Cities to Buy Single-Family Rentalshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/04/best-cities-buy-single-family-rentals/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/04/best-cities-buy-single-family-rentals/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/04/best-cities-buy-single-family-rentals/#commentsFiled under: ,

One of the biggest driving forces of the housing recovery has been deep-pocketed investors snapping up single-family homes to rent out. But that works better for the corporate buyers, not always the individual investors. Still, it can be quite lucrative if you have the money.

According to online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac, there are still plenty of cities out there that offer ample opportunity for everyday buyers to purchase single-family homes and rent them out at a decent profit. These 20 cities are the best for buying single-family rentals.

"Buying single-family homes as rentals that actually generate good monthly cash flow has become more difficult over the past year as institutional investors crowded into the market, snapping up tens of thousands of properties in 2012 alone," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "But there are still opportunities for the more conservative, individual investor to buy rental homes that generate a healthy return on investment. It often just takes persistence and willingness to pass on bad deals. The top 20 markets we selected represent the best chance to buy rental homes that generate good cash flow, but opportunities are available in most markets across the country given the combination of relatively low prices, low interest rates and a strong rental market."

Click through the gallery below to see the 20 best cities to buy single-family rentals.

Note: Financed cash flow refers to the monthly profit you would make from renting out a single-family home for which you have a 20-percent down mortgage with a 4 percent interest rate; cash purchase cash flow is the profit if you bought the home in cash and have no mortgage payment.

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See more:
10 Best Cities to Find Short Sales
10 Best Cities to Own a Home
In the 10 Best Cities for Jobs, Hot Housing Markets, Too

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]]>best cities to buy single-family rentalsreal estate investingrentalssingle-family rentalsAOL Real Estate Editors2013-04-04T10:00:00+00:00Chinese Mom Reportedly Buys $6.5 Million Apartment For Toddlerhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/28/chinese-mom-reportedly-buys-6-5-million-nyc-apartment-for-toddl/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/28/chinese-mom-reportedly-buys-6-5-million-nyc-apartment-for-toddl/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/28/chinese-mom-reportedly-buys-6-5-million-nyc-apartment-for-toddl/#commentsFiled under: , ,

$6.5 million New York City apartment in the One57 Tower was reportedly purchased for a toddler in China.

If you worry that you're spoiling your child, then this might make you feel better: A mother in China has bought a $6.5 million New York City apartment -- for her toddler. According to reports by Chinese broadcaster CCTV, Sotheby's senior vice president Kevin Brown confirmed that the anonymous woman bought the apartment in preparation for her daughter's future college years at one of America's best universities.

"[The woman] said, well, her daughter was going to go to Columbia, or NYU, or maybe Harvard, and so she needed to be in the center of the city and that was why she was picking this one particular apartment," Brown told CCTV. "So I said: 'Oh, how old is your daughter?' And she said: 'Well, she's 2.' And I was just shocked."

The apartment is the One57 tower (pictured above), a 90-floor, 1,004-foot glass skyscraper overlooking Central Park. The New York Times reports that the tower is slated to be the tallest residential building in New York when it is finished next year.

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According to Time, the extravagant purchase has left "tongues wagging" in China about where the money could have come from, with rumors floating around on social media that the woman is related to a "corrupt government official."

That, or she might just be really, really rich.



See also:
The House In 'The Big Chill' Lists for $4.5 Million
Glass Penthouse Atop NYC Will Have You Seeing Stars

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]]>chinese toddler apartmentcollege apartmentNew York City apartmentNew York real estateOne57AOL Real Estate Editors2013-03-28T13:38:00+00:00German Castles Offer Big Bang for Your Buckhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/27/german-castles/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/27/german-castles/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/27/german-castles/#commentsFiled under: , ,




german castle for saleInstead of plopping down millions for an overrated Hollywood party pad, why not invest your money in a truly unique piece of property: a European castle. We're not talking just the abandoned ones (although some of those can be had for as little as one euro, apparently). Some of these castles, with their stately, old-world exteriors, have been entirely modernized on the inside for today's luxurious ideals.

According to The Wall Street Journal, there are about 5,000 castles in Germany left over from its days of nobility, and 20 to 40 of those grand homes hit the market every year. And it just so happens that for what you'll be getting, many of these properties are a great value. Take one Victorian manor about a half-hour outside of Hamburg: Built in 1894, it has 28 rooms, five bathrooms, four garages and sits on 20 acres. How much? Just over $5 million. But, hey, there are plenty more castles to sink your teeth (and perhaps your pocketbook) into. Watch the video above to check out other German castles on the market.

See also:
$9 Million Castle in Massachusetts
Miami's Real-Life Castle, With Moat
Tag This Castle as a Battle Zone in Graffiti Debate

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]]>castles for saleeuropean castlesgerman castlesgermany real estatehomes for sale in germanyinvestingAOL Real Estate Editors2013-03-27T16:00:00+00:00Another Sign of a Housing Boom? The Miami Condo Markethttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/20/miami-condo-boom/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/20/miami-condo-boom/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/20/miami-condo-boom/#commentsFiled under: ,

MIami condo building boom

By Diana Olick

During the height of the housing boom, some likened the feverish flipping game in Miami's condominium market to a circus. The circus is back, and more high-flying than ever. At a recent party to launch a new project from New York-based developer PMG, acrobats swung over the crowd, and in gravity-defying flourish, poured champagne into the glasses of wide-eyed investors. "It's exactly what we want. We wanted a little bit of show and a lot of flash," said Kevin Maloney, president of PMG, who re-entered the Miami market in 2010 to purchase some of the remaining beachfront and bayside construction sites.

Condominium development in greater Miami seems to defy not just gravity but reason. Cranes swing above the city from every angle, just as they did during the housing bubble in 2006. During the boom, 49,000 units were built as investor-flippers used easy mortgage money to swap properties and push prices. When it all came crashing down, the lights went out in Miami, literally. Tall buildings stood dark at night as banks took back properties and projects. Most thought it was all over for a good long time.

But somehow there are just 2,400 unsold units left, barely a year's worth at the current sales pace. Prices are up nearly 25 percent from a year ago, according to the Miami Area Association of Realtors. How did it happen? Foreign, all-cash buyers like Venezuelans, Russians, Chinese, Canadians and Brazilians. They were either looking for a safe-haven to park their money or were taking advantage of a weak dollar. Whatever the reason, they came, they saw, they bought.

Here's What CNBC Said About the Miami Market Last August


"It's mind boggling. I'm perplexed as to how all this can go forward this quickly," said Peter Zalewski of CondoVultures. He has been qualifying and quantifying the South Florida real estate market for over a decade and said this time around there is less short-term risk because the buyers have a real purpose. "The foreign buyer is deciding to take some chips off the table and park it up here and sort of put it away into a condo in Miami. If they use it or they don't use it, who cares, at least it's stable."

These cash-heavy buyers are allowing developers to require anywhere from 20 percent to 80 percent down, which appeases banks and private lenders alike. "It's much smaller inventory, which is holding the price point, and further, the deposit structure is much more beneficial to the developer at this point, so we're back," said PMG's Maloney.

Maloney has sold 100 of the 190 units that he plans to build in his "Echo" development, and that is without even breaking ground. The rest he hopes to entice with flash and fantasy, which is exactly what Miami is all about. "I believe in the future," said Argentinean Antonio Aguirre at the Echo party. "The prices are going to come up faster, so today is a great time to buy."

Read the rest of this story on CNBC.

See more on CNBC:
Housing Recovery 'Strong' -- Lennar CEO
CNBC Explains: REO
CNBC Eplains: Underwater Mortgage

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]]>foreign real estate investorshousing boomhousing recoveryMiami condo boomMiami housing recoveryMiami real estatePMGCNBC2013-03-20T08:00:00+00:005 Cities Where Homes Are Still Cheaphttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/cheap-markets-buy-homes/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/cheap-markets-buy-homes/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/cheap-markets-buy-homes/#commentsFiled under: , ,




If you're bargain shopping for a home, don't be discouraged by the gigantic leaps home prices have been taking lately. There are still places where you can find cheap homes. You might start with the 10 best cities to buy short sales.

Short sales and foreclosures made up 43 percent of residential sales last year, according to RealtyTrac. And why is that? Because of the huge savings for buyers. A short sale or foreclosure offers a 30 percent to 40 percent discount off a non-distressed property, RealtyTrac said. And they're gaining in popularity: Short-sale purchases bumped up 4 percent from a year prior; foreclosure sales notched up 6 percent.

Market Watch took a look at some cities with cheap homes, led primarily by their abundant short sale and foreclosure offerings:

Santa Barbara, Calif.Santa Barbara, Calif.

Average short-sale price: $283,825.
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 42.69 percent.

Short-sale purchases in Santa Barbara rose 107 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to a year prior. That was the largest increase in the U.S. It's not hard to see why: The median price of all properties in the city was about $600,000. That lured a lot of homebuyers back into the market.

Find homes for sale in Santa Barbara, or search listings in your area.

Phoenix

Average short-sale price: $149,094.
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 37.84 percent.

Though investors make up a large chunk of the short sale and foreclosure buying activity, Phoenix has the added benefit of everyday homebuyers getting in on the action, too. Short sale and foreclosure purchases rose 43 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to a year prior. But time is of the essence for buyers: Inventory of these properties is falling rapidly.

Find homes for sale in Phoenix, or search listings in your area.

Las Vegas

Average short-sale price: $124,555
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 33.4 percent

It's what's coming in the Las Vegas market that makes it ripe for real estate deals. About 8,000 homeowners in Vegas are in default on their mortgages, according to RealtyTrac, and their properties could flood the market as short sales or foreclosures very soon. "Short sales aren't going anywhere for another two to three years," Paul Rowe of Henderson, Nev.-based Shelter Realty told Market Watch.

Find homes for sale in Las Vegas, or search listings in your area.

Cleveland

Average REO sales price: $57,782
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 56 percent

Bank-owned homes are dirt cheap in Cleveland, and that has enticed many buyers. REOs were selling for less than $60,000 on average in Cleveland in the fourth quarter of 2012. That's a 56 percent discount on the average price of a non-distressed property there.

Find homes for sale in Cleveland, or search listings in your area.

Charlotte, N.C.

Average REO sales price: $111,260
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 43 percent

Bank-owned home sales in Charlotte increased 109 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 from a year prior, according to RealtyTrac. The hike is apparently coming from new residents who are moving to Charlotte from more expensive markets like New York and Boston. These out-of-towners are using the money from the sale of their old homes to buy bank-owned properties in Charlotte in cash, Market Watch said.

Find homes for sale in Charlotte, or search listings in your area.

See also:
Homebuyers Searching for Deals in Hurricane Sandy Wreckage
10 Best Cities to Buy Foreclosures in 2013
10 Best Cities to Own a Home

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]]>cheap real estate marketscities with cheap homesforeclosureshome discountsshort salesAOL Real Estate Editors2013-03-13T16:00:00+00:0010 Best Cities to Find Short Saleshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/best-cities-short-sales/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/best-cities-short-sales/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/best-cities-short-sales/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Short sale signDon't worry, the housing recovery isn't wiping out the discounts on homes that were prevalent at the height if the housing decline. Short sales and foreclosures are still aplenty in many housing markets around the country. And the savings are steep.

Short sales went for an average of 23 percent below market rate in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac. But there were plenty of markets where the discounts stretched further than that. "Short sales are on the rise as a better alternative to foreclosure in many areas -- good news for buyers and investors in markets where short sales are closing more quickly at solid discounts," said RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist. "But buying from the bank may still be a better option in other markets because of increasing REO inventory, deeper discounts and shorter times to close."

Click through the gallery below to see the 10 best markets to find a short sale.

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See more:
10 Best Cities to Buy Foreclosures in 2013
5 Worst Cities to Buy Foreclosures in 2013
10 Best Cities to Own a Home

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The Pros of Buying a Short Sale Home

 

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]]>best cities to buy short salescheap real estateforeclosuresshort salesAOL Real Estate Editors2013-03-12T10:00:00+00:00How to Choose an Investment Property That Earns You the Mosthttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/02/28/how-to-choose-investment-property/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/02/28/how-to-choose-investment-property/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/02/28/how-to-choose-investment-property/#commentsFiled under: , ,

investment propertyBy Jeff Brown

What type of investment property should you buy -- a condo or single-family home? Until recently, that was a trick question, as real estate was too risky and illiquid for most investors. But growing evidence of a rebound in the housing market reduces the risk your investment property would lose value. Rising prices also improve your chances of selling without too long a wait if being a landlord doesn't suit you.

On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices reported that its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed home prices gained 7.3 percent nationwide last year. Various other surveys have showed gains, but the Case-Shiller gauge is widely viewed as one of the most definitive, and it's a very healthy gain. "As of the fourth quarter of 2012, average home prices across the United States are back at their autumn 2003 levels," the firm said. That's a good-news/bad-news statement: good because the market's improving, but also a reminder of how bad things were.

More from TheStreet: Get Ready to Buy a Home This Spring

Low mortgage rates make homes very affordable at today's prices, and investors have become very active in many markets. If you've already decided you can live with the hassles of being a landlord, what type of property is best -- a single family home or condo? To a large extent, that will depend on the individual market. In communities such as the Florida coast, there may be many more condos than single-family homes. In suburbs and rural areas, single-family homes dominate.

Rental rates on the two types of properties are a key issue. Investors generally assume that it will take four or five years of rent increases for income to cover maintenance costs, taxes and other expenses. If there's a glut of condos or single-family homes, you may not be able to raise rents very fast, prolonging your time in the red. Of course, a glut also means home prices will not rise very fast. The ideal rental property is in high demand, allowing the owner to raise rents every year and assume that property values will rise at a good clip.

More from TheStreet: Why It's Time for Buyers to Reconsider an ARM

Generally, operating costs are easier to estimate on condos, because the exterior work is covered by your association fees. With a single-family home, costs for a new roof, landscaping and exterior painting could hit you out of the blue. Another factor to consider: the type of renter likely to be drawn to your property. A recent survey by Premier Property Management Group, which manages 1,700 properties in 20 U.S. cities, found that renters of single-family homes are 18 percent more likely to stay in the home for five years or longer. Generally, that's good for the property owner, because each change in tenants can mean going a month or two without rent.

The survey noted an increase in recent years of the number of single-family homes for rent. That's due, in part, to the large numbers of foreclosed properties that have been turned into rentals and the difficulty many renters have had in getting mortgages. "Single-family renters make more money and are nearly twice as likely to have children as apartment dwellers," the survey found. Around the country, the median income for single-family renters ranges from $75,000 to $100,000, compared with $50,000 to $75,000 for renters in multifamily housing. About 63 percent of single-family renters have children, compared with 34 percent of multifamily renters. Single-family renters also tend to be older.

More from TheStreet: 5 Worst Housing Markets for 2013

No doubt, there are lots of terrific tenants among the childless 20- and 30-somethings who prefer multifamily housing and are likely to move fairly often. But tenants who are older, more prosperous, used to dealing with responsibilities such as children and likely to stay in the home for a number of years can be especially appealing for the property owner. With an unusually large number of renters of this type looking for homes, the single-family investment property is worth considering.

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Is Real Estate Still A Good Investment? From Maria Bartiromo

 

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]]>how to choose an investment propertyinvestment propertylandlord issuesreal estate investingreal estate investorsTheStreet.com2013-02-28T10:00:00+00:00Investors Betting on Housing Recovery Big Timehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/02/04/investors-housing-recovery/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/02/04/investors-housing-recovery/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/02/04/investors-housing-recovery/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Housing recovery can't come too soon for half-built developments like this.

By Maureen Farrell

Investors are betting big on the housing recovery. Hedge funds and private equity firms have been rushing in to buy up companies and assets in every part of the housing supply chain, including undeveloped land, homebuilders, foreclosed homes, and building parts manufacturers. One of the most notable moves is coming from hedge fund manager John Paulson, best known for his big (and lucrative) bets against subprime mortgages in 2006 and 2007.

Now, he's turned his attention to snapping up undeveloped land in areas hardest hit by the housing crisis. "Land is the accordion in the home building equation," said Michael Barr, who runs Paulson's real estate investments. "It falls the most in a downturn, but also rises the most in an upturn."

Over the past two years, Paulson & Co. has bought up enough land in California, Arizona and Nevada to build up to 25,000 homes and is aggressively scouting for more, according to Barr. Private equity firms are also getting in on the game. Blackstone Group spent $2.7 billion last year to buy 17,000 single-family homes, post-foreclosure, around the United States and plans to continue ramping up those efforts in 2013.

Related: Find Foreclosures for Sale in Your Area

Pine River Capital Management took real estate investment trust Silver Bay Realty Trust public in December. Silver Bay, which acquires, renovates, leases and manages single-family homes, has already purchased more than 2,500 homes in areas hard hit by the housing crisis. In a recent SEC filing, Silver Bay said that it plans to purchase 3,100 more homes.

And in a sign of investors' growing appetite for a piece of the housing market, shares of publicly traded homebuilders have been soaring. PulteGroup, KB Home, and Lennar are all trading near 52-week highs. Pulte's shares have more than doubled over the past year, while KB Home and Lennar's shares have nearly doubled. And for the first time since 2004, homebuilders are testing the IPO waters.

Tri Pointe Homes, which builds single-family homes in California and Colorado raised $232 million through an IPO last week. Shares of the company, owned by Starwood Capital, rallied 20 percent on their first day of trading. Others are lining up.

Related: Single-Family Rentals Draw Millions Affected by Housing Crisis

Scottsdale, Ariz., homebuilder Taylor Morison has filed to go public and is expected to kick off its investor roadshow in the next few weeks. And building supply company Boise Cascade, jointly owned by PE firm Madison Dearborn and OfficeMax, plans to make its public debut next week. Investment bankers and IPO investors say they expect more homebuilders to go public this year.

"As the sector rotates back into favor again, it makes sense for housing companies to monetize," said Brad Miller, co-head of global equity syndicates at Deutsche Bank. Brad Geisen, CEO of Foreclosure.com, which keeps a database of foreclosures around the nation, said he's been seeing a lot of interest from investors looking to buy up large numbers of foreclosed properties over the past three months.

"A lot of investors see a short window of opportunity where there's good inventory on the market at bottom market prices," said Geisen. "No one knows how long it will last, so these investors are trying to buy as much as they can right now."

See more on CNNMoney:
Living in a Converted Gas Station
Million-Dollar Foreclosures
America's Best Places to Live

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Shadows Hover Housing Recovery


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]]>housing recoveryinvestorsinvestors buying homesinvestors housing recoveryreal estate investorsCNNMoney2013-02-04T09:15:00+00:00What Florida Shows Us About the Real Estate Markethttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/25/florida-real-estate-market-lessons/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/25/florida-real-estate-market-lessons/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/25/florida-real-estate-market-lessons/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Florida real estate market offers lessons for homebuyers.By Jeff Brown

Sick of the cold? Maybe you should buy a place in Florida, where temperatures are warm and the housing market is heating up.

The cold snap gripping much of the country is surely prodding many to dream of owning a second home someplace warm, or of moving there for good. Data show that Florida's housing market might be in a sweet spot. Prices remain low, as Florida was among the states hit hardest by the collapse of the housing bubble, but prices are on the rise, so a purchase now would appear less risky than it would have a year ago.

But Florida also offers some object lessons. Its volatile housing market demonstrates the importance of thinking clearly about the pros and cons of buying a home when you don't have to. Placing the wrong bet can be very, very dangerous.

A large portion of Florida's housing market is driven by people who don't really need to buy, such as retirees who could stay where they are in other parts of the country and second-home buyers who could wait if conditions aren't right. That makes them more fickle than people who must move for a job or growing family. As a result, Florida home prices tend to swing to extremes.

Now things are getting better. The number of housing sales that closed in December was nearly 16 percent higher than a year earlier, according to Florida Realtors, a trade group. And the number of pending sales, or those with signed contracts that have not yet closed, was up nearly 40 percent. The median sales price remained affordable, at $154,000, up about 14 percent from a year earlier. Nationally, the median sales price was $180,600 in November, a 10 percent increase from a year earlier.

Median sales prices need to be taken with a grain of salt. They don't necessarily mean the average house value has grown 14 percent in Florida, because sometimes it's the pricier homes that move more briskly, other times it's the cheaper ones. A year ago, sales included more foreclosed homes going for fire-sale prices.

Because of the market's volatility, anyone considering buying a retirement or second home in Florida should pay special attention to some key questions.

First, how easily can the balance of supply and demand change? On many of the barrier islands off the East Coast, for instance, there's not much room for further development, so it's unlikely that a flood of new homes will depress prices in these areas. But in many areas just a few miles away on the mainland there's plenty of undeveloped land. As prices rise, developers tend to break ground on single-family homes and condos, and that new supply slows the price gains or reverses them.

In areas popular for retirement and second homes, condominiums are very popular, and condo fees can be very high. In fact, you could pay more in condo fees than you would on your new mortgage. In an economic downturn, growing numbers of condo owners stop paying their fees. The association may respond by skimping on maintenance or jacking up fees.

So potential buyers eyeing the warm winter temperatures in Florida should be especially attentive to the basic lessons of the recent housing crisis: A home is a home, not an investment. And the best way to minimize your risks is to resist the temptation to buy the most expensive home you can afford, and to plan to own it long enough to ride out the downturns.

See more on TheStreet.com:
America's 5 Most Affordable Housing Markets
America's 5 Least Affordable Housing Markets
Where to Buy -- and Not to Buy -- a House in 2013

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Asian Investors Dive Into U.S. And European Real Esta

 

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]]>buying a home in floridaflorida housing marketflorida real estateFlorida real estate marketTheStreet.com2013-01-25T11:25:00+00:0010 Best Housing Markets for Home Price Discountshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/16/best-housing-markets-discounts/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/16/best-housing-markets-discounts/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/16/best-housing-markets-discounts/#commentsFiled under: , ,

best housing markets to find discounts: price reduced signNow is the bargain real estate season: asking home prices typically hit their seasonal low point from November through January. This winter, however, home price discounts are harder to find. Among all non-foreclosure homes for sale on Trulia in early January, 33.6 percent of homes were priced lower than their original listing price. (For homes originally listed more than six months ago, we compared the current price to the price six months ago, not the original price.) One year ago, in early January 2012, 36.7 percent of homes for sale were marked down from their original listing price.

However, the national average of 33.6 percent hides huge local differences. In January 2013, the share of homes with price discounts ranges from just 15 percent in Oakland, Calif., to 48 percent in Springfield, Mass. Among markets with the fewest reductions today, Miami and Fort Lauderdale stand out as the two locales that also had relatively few reductions one year ago.

Related: Where Haunted House Discounts Got Scared Off by a Housing Boom

Springfield, Mass., on the other hand, has the most price discounts in the country, followed by Hartford, Conn., and Omaha, Neb. Of the 10 metros with the highest share of price reductions, five are in New England. The rest are in the Midwest or nearby. Most of the markets with lots of markdowns at the start of 2013 had even more price reductions at the start of 2012. In fact, among the 100 largest metros, 83 have fewer price discounts now than one year ago.

What explains why some metros have few markdowns, while others have many? Two factors stand out among markets with fewer reductions: bigger price gains and a lower vacancy rate. In metros where prices are rising, asking prices are less likely to start out too low: Oakland, Las Vegas, and Miami all had big price gains in 2012, according to the December Trulia Price Monitor. In metros with low vacancy rates, buyers are competing with each other for the few available homes on the market, so sellers don't need to lower prices to attract buyers: Ventura County, Calif., for instance, had only a 0.9 percent year-over-year increase in prices in December 2012, but has among the lowest vacancy rates in the country, which means sellers don't need to drop prices to attract interest. Overall, a decline in price reductions is yet another sign that the housing market is tightening. Take a closer look at the 10 markets where price reductions are everywhere.

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Jed Kolko is the chief economist for online listings site Trulia. This article originally appeared on the Trulia Trends blog.

See also:
Home Appraisals Lower Than Prices? What to Do
Guns at Home: Do Firearms Permits Lower Property Values?

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Home-Price Rise Is a Positive Sign for 2013

 

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]]>discount homeshome price discounthome price reductionhome price reduction best marketshousing markets most discountsJed Kolko, Trulia Chief Economist2013-01-16T16:00:00+00:00Haunted House Discounts in Hong Kong Scared Off by Housing Boomhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/15/haunted-house-discounts-hong-kong/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/15/haunted-house-discounts-hong-kong/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/15/haunted-house-discounts-hong-kong/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Buying a haunted house often means a discounted price.

The only thing more terrifying than a haunted house? A housing boom. So says one Hong Kong man who told The Wall Street Journal that since real estate prices have spiked there, buying a good old-fashioned horror house sure isn't what it used to be.

You see, stigmatized properties -- such as where a previous tenant or owner died of unnatural causes -- tend to sell at deep discounts (because if you're gonna buy a haunted house, it better be 50 percent off!). And that was great for Ng Goon Lau, a real estate investor who would buy stigmatized properties for a song and flip them for a profit. But Hong Kong's recent housing boom has driven prices so far up that now the average "haunted house discount" is only 5 percent below market rate, the Journal noted. For Lau, that's pretty scary.

Tips on Buying Spooky Properties



"The market is crazy now," Lau said, adding that he was able to buy only one haunted house -- or hongza, as it's called in Cantonese -- in 2012 because the prices have shot up so high. But there may be a little consolation: He's able to rent a few of his properties at the market rate. "All my tenants are very happy," Lau said. "No one has complained that they've seen ghosts."

Whew! Well, then, feel free to troll some haunted house listings in Hong Kong. If you're like lawyer Aaron Bleasdale, living with ghosts should be a piece of cake. Bleasdale told the Journal about his experience renting a $1,700-a-month two-level penthouse in Hong Kong (that's 40 percent below market for the area). He put it simply: "It was a great location with a rooftop garden. I'd live with a ghost for that price."

So good news, Mr. Lau! You really can sell (or rent) anything. Now how about you head out our way and try your luck with Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood home, still on the market for $329,000. We hear it's lovely.

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]]>buying a haunted househaunted house discounthaunted housesHon Kong haunted housesHong KongHong Kong housing boomhousing boomstigmatized propertiesGraham Wood2013-01-15T14:58:00+00:00Best Housing Markets of the Real Estate Recoveryhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/14/best-housing-markets-recovery/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/14/best-housing-markets-recovery/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/14/best-housing-markets-recovery/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The nationwide housing market is now in full recovery mode after suffering greatly during and following the market meltdown, and it's believed that 2013 will be a big year for many markets. However, some cities did much better than others, according to data from the real estate tracking firm Trulia, with the best housing markets turning out to be places that also added jobs.

"What a difference a year makes," said Jed Kolko, Trulia's chief economist. "In 2012, prices rose in 82 of the 100 largest metros, compared with just 12 metros seeing price increases in 2011. The 2012 price turnaround was strongest in the West and Southwest, where steady job growth and vanishing inventories lifted home prices by more than 10 percent in many markets."

Kolko also noted that all these improvements bode well for property values nationwide headed into 2013, the report said. He added that because prices particularly accelerated in the third and fourth quarters of the year after a slow start, it's reasonable to assume that rising prices will encourage more new constructions and entice more existing homeowners to put their properties on the market once again.

However, some experts have also said that there may be some amount of slowdown in acceleration over the coming year, simply because the improvement in the last six months or so has been so impressive that it likely cannot be repeated. Click through the gallery below to see the five best housing markets of the real estate recovery.

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]]>best housing markets recoveryhousing markets recoveryhousing recoveryCredit.com2013-01-14T17:40:00+00:00Foreign Investors Buy Florida Homes Sight Unseenhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/14/foreign-investors-florida-homes/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/14/foreign-investors-florida-homes/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/14/foreign-investors-florida-homes/#commentsFiled under: , ,

You'd never dream of buying a home without seeing it (in person) first, right? Well, there are other buyers who move much more quickly -- so fast, in fact, that they sign on the dotted line before they've even toured the house.

Foreign investors are so anxious to snag real estate deals in the U.S. -- before the housing recovery pushes home prices too far up -- that they're buying homes over the Internet before they've even looked at them in person, The Toronto Star reported. The Florida market is where they're turning their focus. And Canadians looking to score Florida homes are facing stiff competition from Asian investors who are swooping in and snapping up homes, sight unseen, according to the Star.

Related: Find Homes for Sale in Your Area

"Some Chinese investors bought up 35 [townhouse-condo] units without even flying in first," Wayne Levy of Toronto-based Florida Home Finders told the newspaper. "They looked at a picture. They wrote checks. That's what's happening now."

The urgency comes because foreigners, particularly Asians, are "seeing the U.S. as a safe haven to put their money," said Realtor Shant Epremian of Boca Raton-based Pink Palm Properties.

We've heard this before. We were speaking with Albert Hakim, a Detroit-based RE/MAX agent who specializes in bank-owned properties, about homes selling for $1 in the area. He told us that he has seen foreign buyers get so excited over the minuscule price tag that they call him up and make the $1 transaction over the phone or on the Internet.

But here's what they don't understand: A home that's selling for $1 is generally going to be pretty dilapidated and in need of major rehabilitation. The banks just want them off their books, which is why they're selling these homes at such a cheap price. Hakim told AOL Real Estate that once the foreign buyers actually tour the properties they've bought for a song, they're disappointed.

It just goes to show: Always check out a real estate investment yourself -- and get the home thoroughly inspected -- before you buy.

Foreign Buyers Binge on U.S. Homes

See also:
Hey, Foreign Investors: Buy a House, Get a Visa!
When It Comes to Square Footage, the U.S. Is Cheap
Key to the Housing Recovery? It's Still Investors

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Foreign Investors Fuel Florida Housing Boom

 

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]]>buying homesbuying homes sight unseenflorida real estateforeign buyersforeign investorsforeign investors florida homeshomes for salehousing recoveryGraham Wood2013-01-14T14:50:00+00:00