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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: elmatador who wrote (81834)	10/22/2011 6:53:30 PM
From: John Vosilla	Respond to of 218633

I doubt they even have to 'think' before signing on the dotted line. Most thought they had hit 'paydirt' with monthly payments on their new house half what they paid in rent on their apartment or older ranch house half the size. Of course the loan officer never quite explained the reset, negative amortization or that RE taxes and insurance weren't being escrowed. What a total scam it was..

To: elmatador who wrote (81834)	10/26/2011 12:47:27 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 218633

Foreign capital has piled into big, multi-family apartment blocks and residential homes in the US in the past year as investors seek a global safe haven in increased American demand for rental property. Foreign investors look to US property By Anjli Raval and Jason Abbruzzese in New York Foreign capital has piled into big, multi-family apartment blocks and residential homes in the US in the past year as investors seek a global safe haven in increased American demand for rental property. In absolute terms, the dollar volume of foreign purchases of multi-family property to September 2011 has exceeded 2010’s full-year total by 73 per cent, according to data by Real Capital Analytics. Ben Thypin, director of market analysis at RCA, said he expected the year-on-year gain to be close to 100 per cent. “Investors are seeking less risky assets whose value won’t be as volatile as many of the other investment opportunities available in this turbulent global economy,” said Mr Thypin. Foreign investment represents 5.8 per cent of all multi-family purchases, up from 3.7 per cent in 2010, according to RCA. A weaker dollar, international market volatility and a continuing foreclosure crisis have combined to create an unlikely safe haven for international investors. “The foreclosure crisis has spurred the multi-family property rental market. If people cannot qualify for a mortgage on a home, they will most likely have to rent,” said Stephen Collins, international director at Jones Lang LaSalle, the global real estate services firm. “Foreign investors have become interested in multi-family as an investment type and are becoming more and more vested in the asset class by developing these buildings with local and regional partners. Asia Pacific and Middle East investors are especially interested,” he added. Foreign investors, who can include wealthy individuals as well as foreign pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and real-estate companies, have directly invested nearly $4.2bn in the US multi-family property market since the start of 2009, according to RCA data. Analysts say that the market share of such property owned by foreigners is significantly larger as the data does not include indirect investment through local intermediaries, which is difficult to track. Werner Sohier, senior portfolio manager at PGGM, the Dutch pension fund manager, said US multi-family properties provide a secure income yield as more people are choosing to rent. “It is a solid and defensive investment strategy. There are strong long-term demand drivers and limited new supply. Apartment rent growth will outpace the economic recovery. However, one has to be very selective as to where and how to invest.” New York City and Washington DC have proved to be hotspots since the downturn. Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats, a New York based real-estate broker, said: “The average Manhattan apartment rented for $3,331 [a month] in September of 2011. Rents have increased approximately 10 per cent on average since the financial crisis.” The national home ownership rate as of the second quarter this year was 65.9 per cent, according to the latest Census Bureau statistics, the lowest since 1998, while rental vacancies were at their lowest since 2002. Foreign purchases of existing single-family homes, town houses, condominiums and co-operatives have also risen, up by over a quarter in the year ending March 2011. They make up 7.7 per cent of the total market, according to the latest annual report by the National Association of Realtors. David Semmens, US economist at Standard Chartered, said foreign investors were also making the most of a poorly performing dollar. “The dollar has weakened significantly compared to emerging market currencies over the last decade. People are seeing incredibly low, real interest rates globally but are looking for a politically secure home for their wealth,” he said. Of the total foreign investment into the US from 25 countries, more than 80 per cent came from five; Canada – which accounted for a third of activity – the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and Israel. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.