In this post, we are sharing the top real estate news of July 2014 that created maximum buzz amongst US property investors & influenced property investment. Go through all the major updates, market reports and latest facts of July at one place.
Property Investors Keen on US, Turkey; China Stumbles
The United States dominates the list of places that global commercial real estate investors would prefer to put their money this year, while China has lost some luster and Turkey has added sparkle, according to a survey of international investors.
For the first time since 2001, four of the top five cities that investors said they favor were in the United States, according to an annual survey that the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) released Monday… Read More
U.S. Real Estate Prices Up 8.8% Year-on-Year and Why the Housing Market is Hot
Realty Biz News recently reported that real estate prices in the United States increased by a remarkable 8.8 percent in the last 12 months ending in May. Citing CoreLogic data, the report said prices are expected to increase by another six percent for the next 12 months.
It added that prices have been increasing for the last 27 months, according to Propertywire.
All states recorded an increase in real estate prices while the District of Columbia and 25 other states had “peak home price appreciation…
Read more at: http://www.benzinga.com/14/07/4728126/u-s-real-estate-prices-up-8-8-year-on-year-and-why-the-housing-market-is-hot
Chinese homebuyers are flocking to these U.S. states
Chinese buyers are now the biggest international players in the U.S. housing market and some states are seeing billions of dollars in real estate deals as a result.
More than half of the $22 billion Chinese buyers spent on U.S. homes during the 12 months ended in March was spent in California, Washington and New York, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The hottest markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York and Seattle, according to Juwai.com, a Hong Kong-based website that connects Chinese buyers with U.S. properties… Visit News Source
U.S. seasonally adjusted home prices fall short of expectations in May
U.S. single-family home prices fell in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, falling short of expectations calling for a slight gain, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.
The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.3 per cent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis. A Reuters poll of economists forecast a gain of 0.2 per cent.
Non-seasonally adjusted prices rose 1.1 per cent in the 20 cities, compared to an expectation of a 1.5 per cent rise… Source of the news
The Future of Online Learning and The Real Estate Industry
As independent contractors, who are entrepreneurial by circumstance and design, real estate professionals must be competitive in a dynamic and increasingly global marketplace.
The best way for these individuals to achieve that goal – the most effective and convenient means for them to leverage and profit from this environment – is through online learning.
This option, which enables realty firms to offer their existing seminars and training courses to a broader audience, while simultaneously transforming residential agents into teachers – with the privilege of monetizing their own intelligence – is, in a word, revolutionary… News Source
Zillow deal to buy Trulia creates real estate digital ad juggernaut
Real estate information websites such as Zillow and Trulia have in short order revolutionized one of the world’s oldest transactions.
The $3.5-billion deal announced Monday for Zillow to buy Trulia creates a digital advertising juggernaut that could control more than 70% of online real estate searches. And it could further open up information about the market to buy and sell houses, while vacuuming up advertising dollars in the process. It also could add tension to the already uneasy relationship between the sites and some agents and brokerages… Read More
Luxury property market in Barbados picking up
After six years of sluggish activity, the Barbados luxury homes market is picking up according to the latest report from Knight Frank.
Christian de Meillac, Knight Frank’s Head of Caribbean sales said that he has seen a marked increase in buyer enquiries and this is backed up by the number of online property viewings being generated via Knight Frank’s Global Property Search Website which have increased 56.7% in the year to June 2014.
‘The sun seems to be rising again on the Barbados property market as the traditional selling season is extending into summer. Buyers are back and we are seeing regeneration in the market with more and more sales along the premium west coast from Bridgetown to Speightstown,’ he explained… Click here to read more
For Sale: A Nearly Nonexistent Insurance Agency
One of the country’s largest overseers of troubled home loans, Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc., is quietly trying to sell a $100 million insurance agency that doesn’t appear to exist.
Harwood Service Co. has no website, no independent offices and only a single registered agent. The switchboard operators at Nationstar’s headquarters in Lewisville, Texas, haven’t heard of Harwood. Call-center employees of Assurant Inc., the insurance carrier whose policies Harwood sells, say the company is just a name used to refer Nationstar business… Visit Source
Sellers need to smarten up homes, investor argues
If you want to fetch the best price, you need to start re-investing in the property.
Home sellers need to pump some cash back into their property if they want to get their desired price and in best time-frame. That is especially true in the buyers markets, such as Montreal, where many remain on the fence on whether to take the jump.
“If you can fix the practical things that can be fixed, such as windows, roof or doors, then do it. Don’t worry about the aesthetics of the property. Sellers need to fix the items that no buyer wants to be left with after buying,” says Paul Hecht, the Montreal-based Realtor and investor… News Source
These 10 small cities are the snobbiest in America
If you have a bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 in your home’s wine cellar, you might reside in one of the cities atop this list.
Image Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/do-you-live-among-snobs-2014-07-29
Movoto.com, a real estate research and brokerage site, recently ranked more than 300 U.S. cities as what they considered the smallest but “snobbiest” locales, based on 2010 U.S. Census Data.
Did your small city (45,000 to 65,000 residents) make the Movoto cut?
According to Movoto, what counts is having the highest median household income, the highest median home values, the largest percentage of the population with a college degree, and having a good deal of art galleries, private schools and performing arts locales. And oh, the fewest “fast food” restaurants… Click Here to read more
WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust Announces July 2014 Distribution
WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (the “REIT”) (WIR-U.TO) announced today that its Board of Trustees has declared a cash distribution for the month of July 2014 of US$0.0583 per unit. The distribution will be payable on August 15, 2014 to unitholders of record as of the close of business on July 31, 2014 … Visit Source
Restored, updated landmark Victorian mansion for sale
Seattle is known more for its grand, old Craftsman houses than for Victorians. But the landmark Charles R. Bussell Residence, which just hit the market, is a notable exception.
Real Estate developer George S. List built the mansion, at 1630 36th Ave., in 1892, and sold it to businessman Charles Bussell and his wife E.V. “Nina” Bussell in 1900, according to an essay that Dave Wilma wrote for HistoryLink.org… News Source
