A prolonged property slowdown in China is one of the biggest risks financial markets face this year, but there's one sector that may be immune: Asian real-estate investment trusts (REITs).
Declining real estate activity in the world's second-largest economy could create more opportunities for acquisitions as mainland developers look to sell assets amid falling prices and tepid demand, thus boosting the REIT market, said Victor Yeung, chief investment officer at Admiral Investment. The acquisition of a Shenzhen shopping mall by Hong Kong's Link Real Estate Investment Trust, Asia's largest REIT, is one such example. While details of the purchase haven't been released yet, Standard Chartered believes the deal will undoubtedly boost Link REIT's stock valuation. "People may not recognize this, but half of the growth of REITS on average comes from management actions, such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and other forms of development and restructuring," Yeung told CNBC on Tuesday. REITs in Hong Kong and Singapore are waiting for such acquisition opportunities, he said, which are likely increase their market cap significantly. "Much of the outperformance of our fund in 2014 came from identifying these [acquisition] opportunities. For 2015, this will also be the story," he noted. Click here to read more
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My August 2015 Real Estate Newsletter is now available for download as a PDF (Adobe Acrobat) file that all computers should be able to open.
Just click on the following link to download this month's newsletter: Download August 2015 Newsletter I hope that you will find this month's articles interesting and helpful. If you would like to receive these newsletters automatically each month in the future, just send me an e-mail and let me know. I would be glad to add you to my e-mailing list. You can e-mail me at: [email protected] or call me at: 813-783-4444 I also invite you to visit my my website where I think you will find a lot of useful information and links to other real estate resources. To get there just click on the following link:www.jelwell.century21bnr.com JOHN ELWELL - REALTOR at CENTURY 21 Bill Nye Realty, Inc. 813-783-4444 Licensed in Florida. Posted on August 01, 2015 in Buyers, General Real Estate, Sellers |Permalink Technorati Tags: 55+, august 2015, bill Nye realty, century 21, century21,florida, florida, homes for sale, john elwell, mobile homes for sale, real estate agent, real estate agents, real estate newsletter, real estate tips,realtor, realtors, Zephyrhills Click here to rad more Today, 8/13/2015, Freddie Mac reported that the average mortgage interest rate for 30 year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.94% up from 3.91% last week. The average interest rate for 15 year fixed-rate mortgages was 3.17%, up from 3.13% last week. A year ago the average rate for a 30 year fixed-rate loan was 4.12%.
A Freddie Mac spokesperson stated: "The jobs report for July (2015) showed that the economy added 215,000 jobs, in line with expectations. Wage growth remains modest at 2.1 percent compared to the same time last year, and another solid if not stellar employment report leaves a potential Fed rate hike on the table for September. However, this year's theme of overseas economic turbulence continues with the focus shifting east to China. Over the past few days the Chinese Yuan has fallen sharply.In the midst of these mixed data mortgage rates inched up, increasing 3 basis points to 3.94 percent. Headed into the fall, we'll likely see continued interest rate tension, with dollar appreciation weighing against possible Fed rate hikes leaving the rate outlook clouded." Click here to read more Today, 8/20/2015, Freddie Mac reported that the average mortgage interest rate for 30 year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.93% up from 3.94% last week. The average interest rate for 15 year fixed-rate mortgages was 3.15%, up from 3.17% last week. A year ago the average rate for a 30 year fixed-rate loan was 4.10%.
A Freddie Mac spokesperson stated: "There was little movement in financial markets this week as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate remained steady, dropping only 1 basis point to 3.93 percent. Overall inflation grew an underwhelming 0.2 percent year-over-year in July, but core inflation remains steady at 1.8 percent keeping chances alive for a potential rate hike in September. Housing markets have responded positively to low mortgage rates -- the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been below four percent for five consecutive weeks. The latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for August 2015 was 61, the highest level in more than nine years. One-unit housing starts in July 2015 jumped to 782,000 units, up 12.8 percent from June and up 19 percent from last year. Overall housing markets remain on track for the best year since 2007." Click here to read more NEW YORK – Aug. 25, 2015 – The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rebounded in August after a July decline. The Index now stands at 101.5, up from 91.0 in July.
The Present Situation Index increased from 104.0 last month to 115.1 in August, while the Expectations Index – a measure of consumers' attitudes six months in the future – rose to 92.5 from 82.3 in July. "Consumer confidence rebounded in August, following a sharp decline in July," says Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. "Consumers' assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market." Franco says the uncertainty "last month about the short-term outlook has dissipated, and consumers are once again feeling optimistic about the near future. Income expectations, however, were little improved." Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved considerably in August. The percent of consumers who said that jobs are "plentiful" increased from 19.9 percent to 21.9 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" decreased from 27.4 percent to 21.9 percent. However, those saying business conditions are "good" decreased marginally from 23.4 percent to 23.2 percent, but the ones claiming business conditions are "bad" also declined modestly from 18.2 percent to 17.6 percent. Click here to read more WASHINGTON – Aug. 26, 2015 – In an insidious wire scam, hackers break into a real estate licensee's email account and obtain information about upcoming real estate transactions. After monitoring the account for a while to determine the likely timing of a close, the hacker sends an email to the buyer, posing either as the title company representative or the licensee. The fraudulent email contains new wiring instructions or routing information, and will request that the buyer send transaction-related funds accordingly.
Some buyers have fallen for this scheme, and have lost money. A possible red flag is any reference to a "SWIFT wire" transaction, a term that indicates an overseas destination for the funds. Unlike many email-based "phishing" schemes, this particular scams appears more sophisticated and less recognizable. The communications do not contain grammatical or stylistic oddities often present in scam emails. In addition, because the perpetrator has been monitoring the licensee's email account, the fraudulent communication may include detailed and accurate information pertaining to the real estate transaction, including existing wire and banking information, file numbers and key dates, names and addresses. Finally, the emails may come from what appears to be a legitimate email address, either because the thief has successfully created a sham account containing a legitimate business's name, or because he or she is sending the email from a truly legitimate – albeit hacked – account. Many times, it could appear that the Realtor has given clients the false instructions. Click here to read more Comfortable Furnished Mobile Home For Sale with Lot in Zephyr Shores in Zephyrhills, Florida10/27/2015 This wonderfully remodeled and updated single-wide mobile home is located in the Zephyr Shores subdivision just to the west ofZephyrhills, Florida where you own the land under the homes. It is situated on a corner lot that is one of the largest in the park. It features 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and a bonus room which could be a third bedroom, office, or den.
The previous owner of this home added: laminate flooring, energy efficient windows, new fixtures in the half bath, comfortable furnishings, and much more. And the current owner updated part of the roof and replaced the AC/Heat unit while she owned the property. Though a single-wide, the remodeling that was done gives this home a much more open feel than one would imagine. It actually has more heated and cooled living space than many double-wide mobiles. The living room, kitchen, and dining areas run seamlessly together to create a very large & inviting space for you to enjoy. The bedrooms and bonus room will give you plenty of room for visitors. It has a pleasant patio on one side and a long carport on the other. At the end of the carport is a laundry/utility room. This home is sold beautifully furnished and move-in ready. Click here to read more WASHINGTON – Sept. 22, 2015 – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its latest monthly consumer complaints snapshot today, highlighting mortgage complaints. According to the report, consumers continue to face problems with mortgage servicing –particularly when they apply for a loan modification to avoid foreclosure.
"Despite strong protections that have been put in place to protect homeowners, this month's complaint report shows consumers are still having problems when dealing with their mortgages," says CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "The Bureau will continue to work to make sure that consumers are being treated fairly on their mortgage issues." With a total value topping $10 trillion, the mortgage market is the largest consumer financial marketplace in the country. In 2014, the CFPB put in place strong rules to protect consumers during the mortgage process – from taking out the loan to paying it back. Since the CFPB began accepting consumer complaints in 2011, the Bureau says it has received more mortgage-related complaints than any other type of financial product. As of Sept. 1, 2015 the Bureau had handled approximately 192,500 mortgage-related complaints. Click here to read more ATLANTA– Sept. 23, 2015 – Mortgage originations to people with subprime credit scores continued to climb steadily over the first five months of 2015, according to data from the latest Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report. Equifax is one of the big three U.S. credit score companies.
Each category of mortgages – first mortgages, home equity installment (HE) loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOC) – showed significant increases in subprime originations over the same period a year ago. The number of first mortgage originations to borrowers with low credit scores was up 30.5 percent; HE loans was up 29.5 percent; and HELOCs rose 20.4 percent. However, subprime approvals remain a relatively small percentage of overall mortgage approvals, Equifax says – and the total number is well below the pace of subprime lending prior to the Great Recession. One area where lending to those with low credit scores remains relatively slow is for HELOCs. Of the more than 525,000 HELOCs originated in the first five months of 2015, just 7,800 of them were considered subprime, having an Equifax Risk Score of less than 620. "The data make it very clear that almost nobody is getting HELOCs if they don't have a credit score above 620," says Amy Crews Cutts, chief economist at Equifax. "But we are seeing a rise in first mortgage and home equity installment loan origination subprime shares. It appears that American lenders still believe in second chances, and without subprime loans, there would be no second chances in the housing market. The underwriting on mortgages today is tough on everyone, and we believe that the subprime lending … is being underwritten even more carefully." Click here to read more The 2015 San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival & Run in San Antonio, Florida will soon be Here!10/27/2015 Another summer has come and gone. And that can only mean one thing in eastern
This is a very popular and unique event. And this year will be the 49th year that it has been held in our little corner of Florida. Something you are not likely to see in Boston, Indianapolis, or Boise. Of course the festival encompasses more than rattlesnakes. There is plenty for the whole family to enjoy. Some of the events this year are: Click here to read more |
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