Happy Summer to everyone,
I thought I would share some information with you which I obtained while doing some research for a real estate investment group. Yes a real estate investment group, much like a stock club or investment group but these people put their monies together to purchase real estate. Here is what I found;
The home ownership rate took another dip in the fourth quarter of 2011, falling for the seventh year in a row as fewer Americans own their homes. The home ownership rate now stands at 66 percent, a level that hasn’t been reached since 1997; the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. The home ownership rate peaked at 69.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, and has gradually fallen ever since. The largest decrease was in the West, standing at 60 percent — a big drop compared to 64.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006, per the Census reports. With the ability to obtain a loan getting more difficult each week, more people are turning to renting. Nearly 34 percent of occupied homes in the fourth quarter were rentals, Census data shows.
You may be asking yourself who is buying up all these homes well, private equity firms are stepping up to acquire many of these single-family homes to manage as rentals. GTIS Partners (a private equity group) has already earmarked $1 billion by 2016 to acquire single-family homes to manage as rentals. GI Partners also says it will invest $1 billion on rental housing. The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to offer some of its 180,000 foreclosed homes through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to private operators who will turn them into rental properties, Bloomberg News reports.
What does all of this mean to you? There are opportunities galore in single family homes. With as little as 25% down there is investment money available at as low as 5.25%. Just be careful on where you invest. I would suggest staying away from communities which have HOA (Home Owner Associations), the Associations are not doing well and are passing the addition cost on to the owners. Find something maybe built in the past ten years. That time frame is where most of the short sales are coming from along with most foreclosures. Remember the first rule of real estate, Location, Location, Location. Do your home- work, if you need any assistance please by all means do not hesitate to call my office. It will be my pleasure to assist.
All the best with your investments,
