In This Issue:
The news in August was great at Default Research, in many of our major markets, and even around the world.
Let’s start real local first and brag about our Default Research clients. Our savvy customers took full advantage of the August monthly special and are raving about the opportunity to experiment in different regions with only a one month commitment. It seems that the savvy clients got even savvier and we love to hear that!
The good news spread from Default Research to the nation as consumer confidence jumped from July to August, hitting the highest level since December of 2007. A big boost to that statistic came this month with the solid unemployment figures. All of this is helping our clients find even more investors for their foreclosed properties in our major markets, and the real estate business traffic light is going from red to yellow (check out our blog to learn all about that reference).
Finally, the news is even good on the worldwide economic front, especially in Europe and Asia. The stimulus money that governments have spent in places like China, Japan, France, and Germany is helping those major countries rebound. In fact, the Federal Reserve is helping too by saying that the worldwide economy seems to be “leveling out” and a second-half rebound is a good possibility.
The worldwide recession seems to coming to an end as economies recover from Arizona to Asia. The disclaimer is that we are not totally out of the recession yet and we still have a long ways to go. After what we have been through, any news is good news and I will take it.
Finding Stability
A market rally by September seemed unthinkable five months ago when stocks plunged to twelve year lows. It’s the end of August though, and the temperature is not the only thing heating up! Alright, maybe I shouldn’t go overboard, but we are seeing signs of a stable economy.
Need proof? U.S. stocks have been gradually seeing gains the past several weeks due to positive earnings reports. Predictions for stability in the construction, manufacturing and the auto market are adding a glimmer of optimism to the economy being on its way to recovery by the end of the summer. The S&P 500 has increased over 50% since March of 2009 equaling one of the biggest rallies since the 1920′s. Stability has become the catch-word that many market analysts are looking for when it comes to the stock market and to the economy as a whole.
Stability is not what we have in the housing market – yet (unless you are talking about Default Research and we will always provide the freshest lists to our clients). However, optimism is sneaking back into the market. Many homeowners are expecting their homes to begin to appreciate in the next six months. This also means that many homebuyers will be taking advantage of the rock bottom market.
Some states are seeing a leveling out of foreclosures, but remember that they are doing so at still very high levels of foreclosures. Therefore, with stability in the air and the market recovering, get ready for a hotter winter!
Slowly Shrinking Home Sizes
For the past decade, it seemed that good things, and especially homes, did not come in small packages. Actually, those big houses came in large packages on small lots, and they looked like they were just dropped and squeezed into the neighborhood.
Now, good things and quality home builders are back in the “good things come in small packages” frame of mind. According to a recent CNN Money article, homes are being built now seven percent smaller and that averages out to a room cut out of each home being built! Therefore, with the smaller homes and smaller price tags, new home buyers are now able to seriously consider purchasing which is a major reason for the rise in new homes being purchased.
What does this mean for our savvy investors? Since this trend in smaller home size is expected to continue, when making long term investment decisions, commercial or residential, it is important to consider what will appeal to most buyers. Smaller packages, in terms of home sizes, will mean larger profits and more deals for you.