Industry News and Data

Updated News and Data About
the Real Estate Industry

 

May 5, 2008:
Realty Viewpoint: Why Buy Now? Media Is Wrong About Housing Slump

The financial press is worried that they might have gone too far -- paralyzing the nation into recession by piling on housing. So they're finally beginning to question the indexes where they get their data, and whether the news is really as bad as it seems. Slowly but surely, headlines are changing from Don't Buy A Home Now to Is It Time To Buy? We said it here first on Realty Times -- that consumers aren't getting the full story. Indexes can be misleading because of the locations, prices, types of housing, and rates of increase they track.

Click here for the video link.
(by Blanche Evans - Realty Times)

 

May 2, 2008: Firms Stop Paying Cash Interest

The ability to suspend cash interest payments was a significant factor in the willingness of private equity firms to buy many cyclical companies, because it gives them time to ride out an economic downturn. The existence of these notes also helps to explain why many bankers expect that defaults are likely to remain low, even if economic conditions worsen. Companies taking advantage of the option to pay interest with more notes include Apollo Management's Realogy, a real estate brokerage, and Laureate Education, whose buy-out was led by management and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Realogy's decision was hardly surprising because of the downturn in the property business.

In a letter to his investors on February 29, Leon Black, Apollo's founder, said: "We factored a substantial downturn in our original investment thesis and believe once the housing market rebounds, Realogy will benefit." The letter also said Realogy "is well capitalised from a financial standpoint and has significant breathing room in its only meaningful [debt] covenant". (by Henny Sender - Financial Times)

 

May 1, 2008: Home-price Data Has it's Flaws

Commonly cited measures of U.S. home prices are overstating the degree to which the vast majority of Americans' home values have declined in the last year, producers of two of the most widely tracked indexes acknowledged this week. Top officials with the National Association of Realtors and Standard & Poor's, which issues the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, agreed this week their monthly reports are giving imprecise readings of price changes at all levels -- national, state and regional -- due to rare market conditions that are skewing survey results. (by Chris Plummer - MarketWatch)

 

March 28, 2008: Real Estate Franchise Owner's Opinion on Market

Open letter from David Michonski, a Coldwell Banker franchise owner in New York City. In the letter he expresses his strong views on certain national housing indices. Click here to read David's Letter.