Tag Archives: Real Estate

Luxury home prices finally getting too high?

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“The tables have turned in the real estate industry as luxury listing prices fell for the first time since 2012, according to a Redfin report. The brokerage firm suggests that the drop in prices stems from wealthy buyers and foreign investors refusing to buy at the top of the market.  Prices for luxury homes fell by 2.2 percent in the third quarter, compared to a year ago, according to the report.  While many market watchers feared that the Fed raising interest rates may increase mortgage prices further, White said: ‘A lot of our transactions are all cash, and even the slight short-term interest increase really doesn’t affect the mortgage rates in a significant way.'”

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/29/luxury-home-prices-finally-getting-too-high.html

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Where Rich Chinese Stash Their Cash: America’s Hotels and Strip Malls

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“While wealthy Chinese home buyers have pulled back on U.S. purchases in recent months amid the market turmoil at home, investors looking for commercial property have kept buying aggressively, brokers said. Many have centered on unlikely investments such as small office buildings, chain hotels and other nondescript properties in and around big U.S. cities, seizing an opportunity to place greater sums of money outside their government’s reach.  China’s middle-class families, meanwhile, have received attention for their purchases of individual homes and condo units in U.S. cities. Those transactions could be cooling, too, as Beijing tries to keep money from exiting the country.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/where-rich-chinese-are-stashing-their-cash-americas-hotels-and-strip-malls-1449556200

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HK property developers push HK$1.3 billion in home loans to buyers

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“Facing fierce competition amid a tightening of mortgage policies, a growing number of developers have been skirting bank regulations by providing home loans of up to 95 per cent of the purchase price through wholly owned financial institutions to lure buyers. They began offering mortgage loans after the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for bank mortgages for self-use residential properties with a value below HK$7 million was lowered from 70 per cent to 60 per cent in February last year. That meant home buyers needed to make a 40 per cent initial down payment, up from 30 per cent, when purchasing an apartment.”

http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1897925/developers-saddled-hk13-billion-mortgage-receivables

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John Paulson Is Starting to Cash In on His Big Land Grab

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“Hedge-fund manager John Paulson, who made billions wagering against subprime mortgages, has started to profit from a U.S. housing bet that took longer to ripen: owning land.  After acquiring about 35,000 lots since 2009, Paulson & Co. shifted toward selling last year and is accelerating its disposition pace. Paulson’s funds had invested $770 million, mostly in lots bought out of bankruptcies or other distressed sales, and acquired two dozen communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida and Nevada.  He’s joining other large land buyers who are selling.  Builders replenishing land holdings are finding that prices for finished lots across the U.S. jumped 57 percent since the bottom in 2009.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-12/john-paulson-starts-selling-land-to-reap-gains-in-u-s-housing

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Beef, big bucks and buy-ups: are Chinese investors changing the face of Australia?

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“The arrival of the Chinese as serious buyers into Australian agriculture coincides with the Abbott government dramatically raising the scrutiny of their farmland purchases.  It has slashed the threshold for Foreign Investment Review Board screening of agricultural land acquisitions by Chinese from $248m to $15m, which has focused new attention even on deals at the modest end of this space. The government has also tasked the tax office with collecting all data on foreign ownership of farmland, with a view to compiling a register next year.  These moves come well on the heels of Europeans, Americans, Japanese and Koreans acquiring great swaths of Australian agriculture.”

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/aug/06/beef-big-bucks-and-buy-ups-are-chinese-investors-changing-the-face-of-australia

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Australia Orders More Foreign Homeowners to Sell

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“Several foreign owners of residential property across Australia have been ordered to sell as the government intensifies its crackdown on the abuse of homeownership laws by buyers from China and elsewhere.  Treasurer Joe Hockey said foreign investors have been ordered to sell six properties in the cities of Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.  The treasurer said he expects more divestment orders will be announced soon, and promised to increase penalties for those who break the rules. The conservative government is under pressure to make housing more affordable, and rein in surging investor buying that some fear may push the market to unsustainable levels, causing a crash.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/australia-orders-more-foreign-homeowners-to-sell-1439024595

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J.P. Morgan makes it easier for rich to take out mortgages

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“J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is loosening its underwriting criteria for big mortgages, as lenders ramp up competition to grab a bigger share of the high-end housing market.  The nation’s largest bank plans to announce as soon as Tuesday that it is lowering the minimum credit score and down payment it requires for mortgages as big as $3 million.  At the same time, some big banks are backing away from smaller loans where they see higher regulatory costs and litigation risks.  By dollar volume, jumbo mortgages given out by lenders last year accounted for about 20% of all first-lien mortgages. That is up from 5.5% in 2009. The last time jumbo mortgages accounted for a larger share was in 2005.”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jp-morgan-makes-it-easier-for-rich-to-take-out-mortgages-2015-08-04

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Blackstone Selling 1,300 Atlanta Houses in Strategy Shift

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“Blackstone Group LP’s Invitation Homes, after spending more than $9 billion in a U.S. property-buying spree, is starting to sell some houses as it shifts focus from rapid expansion to fine-tuning its holdings.  Blackstone led private equity firms, hedge funds and other large investors in buying thousands of houses after the real estate crash, creating a new asset class of single-family rentals. Shares of publicly traded single-family landlords have trailed apartment companies as investors remain wary about the costs of running scattered-site rental properties. Landlords need thousands of homes in a market to achieve the scale needed for efficient management. That’s pushed smaller and mid-size owners to sell.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-13/blackstone-selling-1-300-atlanta-houses-in-strategy-shift

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House Flippers Are Back Together With Wall St.

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“Bridge loans, also known as hard-money or asset-based loans, give flippers cash for home purchases and construction with about a year to repay, and are backed by the real estate. Blackstone, the world’s biggest alternative-asset manager, is seeking to make $1 billion of the loans a year, according to Nick Gould, executive chairman of the firm’s B2R Finance unit.  Home flippers are benefiting from rising prices, limited new construction and a shortage of inventory on the market. While quick resales have decreased from the start of the housing market’s rebound, when investors snapped up discounted distressed homes, profits are getting bigger.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-08/hard-money-comes-easy-as-wall-street-funds-home-flippers

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U.S. Home Prices at Record High, Surpasses 2006 Market Peak

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“According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales in the U.S. increased in June 2015 to their highest pace in over eight years, while the cumulative effect of rising demand and limited supply helped push the national median sales price to an all-time high. All major regions experienced sales gains in June and have now risen above year-over-year levels for six consecutive months.  The percent share of first-time buyers fell to 30 percent in June from 32 percent in May, but remained at or above 30 percent for the fourth consecutive month. A year ago, first-time buyers represented 28 percent of all buyers.”

http://www.worldpropertyjournal.com/real-estate-news/united-states/june-2015-existing-home-sales-record-home-prices-median-home-price-in-us-lawrence-yun-nar-rising-home-prices-real-estate-sales-data-2015-9241.php

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