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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Vosilla who wrote (38219)	8/16/2005 11:18:01 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Most of us believed that 3 years ago too." Isn't that pretty typical with any bubble - hence the saying "the markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent". These things ALWAYS go on for longer than people think. Doesn't matter what the asset class is I don't think. Of course you are always going to get some people that call every asset a bubble no matter how cheap it is. Like the bears calling for another 40% stock market crash in Oct 02, there were plenty of those. You have to wait for discernable evidence things are falling- which I think we have now

To: John Vosilla who wrote (38219)	8/16/2005 11:53:50 PM
From: Riskmgmt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

The Houston townhouse would make sense, based on the numbers you state. Have you actually seen something like that recently? Anyone here live in Houston? As a rule of thumb, anytime monthly rents fetch over 1% of sales price, it is a workable R.E. investment. Things to verify, as you know, would be vacancy rates, expenses such as H.O. fees etc. Sometimes, what seems a bargain isn't, when you check it out. I flew to Houston to check out rental apts that were selling for less than we were paying for the land in Florida. $3,300 per unit. I was told they rented for $500 a month. When I got there, I found, block after block of partly vandalised apt buildings, 60-80% vacant. Added costs, not mentioned included, security, chain linked fencing, vandalism etc. This was back in the early 80's. If one had the cash and the fortitude perhaps it was a good investment although I heard the city condemned and tore down many of them. Haven't been in Houston for years so things may be good there now. Let me know if you find out more.

To: John Vosilla who wrote (38219)	8/17/2005 12:00:08 AM
From: CalculatedRisk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Housing market dips a bit Experts say it's too early to tell if market is faltering or resting sfgate.com "It's going to take several more months of information before we know whether this month was the turning point, but it sure smells like it," said Ed Leamer, economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast.