U.S. home ownership is around a 19 year low…banks are lowering their standards for jumbo loans…millennials aren’t buying houses…and the middle class is moving inland to more affordable markets.
Other than that, there’s not a lot going on. 😉
But what do all these headlines mean to everyday real estate investors?
Behind the shiny silver microphones to explore the Clues in the News:
- Your clued in host, Robert Helms
- His clueless co-host, Russell Gray
We like to watch the news. Each headline is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Viewed separately, it’s hard to see the big picture. But when you look at a series of headlines, they start to tell a story.
So when we’re not sitting in the studio or gallivanting around the world seeking out interesting guests and real estate markets, we bury our noses in the news.
For this episode, there were a few headlines that popped out.
First, Reuters reports that Wells Fargo is loosening their lending standards. But this time, it isn’t for the lowly sub-prime borrower…it’s JUMBO loans.
So it’s no surprise that Bloomberg reports million dollar home loans have surged to new records.
Why?
Well, partly because, as CNBC reports, millennials aren’t buying homes.
We also see that banks are showing interest in cash out refinances and home equity loans.
So on the one hand, this is all very exciting. We’re having flashbacks to 2003.
Yes, we know it all ended badly. But everyone made a ton of money until the music stopped.
Maybe it’s possible to take all the lessons from the last crash, and use them to prepare better for the next one?
We think so. But, as we’ve been discussing in our weekly newsletter, this isn’t your parent’s real estate market…which is both good and bad.
Of course, bad can be good too.
What’s good is that interest rates remain low and lenders are opening up to allow more people to qualify. They’re also creating loan programs which permit the repositioning of equity.
What’s bad is that first time home buyers aren’t pushing up the demand. In fact, a lot of the price appreciation is the result of hot money looking to real estate for yields. This includes both foreigners and hedge funds.
Of course, because hedge funds and foreigners don’t use loans, prices are up, but lending is down.
That’s bad for lenders, but good for borrowers…because as lenders try to create business, they lower their standards and their interest rates.
Meanwhile, every day real estate investors aren’t competing heavily with home buyers…at least not yet. And that’s good.
In fact, home ownership is at a 19 year low. The inverse of that is there are more people renting. Great!
It also means that without home buyers to bid up prices, even though prices are up in many markets, they are still at or below replacement costs.
In short, houses and the mortgages to buy them remain on sale!
How long will this window last? We don’t know.
But when you can buy a real asset for less than it’s replacement cost, and lock in low cost financing for the long term, it seems like you’d want to get all you can.
Of course, as we always say, market and team selection are important factors. And being sure to structure your deals so you can weather the next financial crisis….whatever that looks like, and whenever it comes.
For those with money in the bank, the latest inflation numbers should be giving you fits compared with real estate. Sure, there’s no guarantees with real estate. But it seems like the only thing a bank account can guarantee is the long term loss of purchasing power. The need to hedge inflation seems obvious.
With savers are being crushed by Fed policy, no wonder everyone has piled into the stock market. If you recall, this is exactly what happened last time.
Do you remember what came after the last stock market bubble?
Yep. It was the real estate bubble. But if you structure your deals right, even if there is a bubble, as long as you have the cash flow to service your low fixed rate loan, you have a fighting chance. We know many investors who rode out the last crash…and we took notes.
So it seems to us that properly structured income producing real estate could be one of the hottest investment opportunities right now.
We’ll keep watching the news to see if the forecast is changing…so listen in for each edition of Clues in the News!
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