Experts Predict US Property Market Will Reach Bottom in 2012

THURSDAY, 22 DECEMBER 2011

Residential property prices in the United States are expected to fall by 1.57% in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the December Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey.

Prices are forecasted to decline until the market's bottom is reached in late 2012 or early 2013. After 2013, the panelists expect a relatively steady annual appreciation rate of roughly 3% through to 2016, which is slightly below appreciation rates experienced during the pre-bubble years.

There is a consensus among the nation's top housing experts that we have not yet reached a bottom and are instead working through a prolonged bottoming process. Negative equity, unemployment and low consumer confidence remain the key factors delaying a true recovery,’ said Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist.

This report suggests that the trend of eroding expectations for a housing market recovery has come to a halt. This is encouraging, but the average survey data are still consistent with a sluggish recovery scenario where eventual price increases will be less than those thought of as normal during the years preceding the national housing bubble,’ said Terry Loebs, founder of Pulsenomics, the firm that conducts the survey for Zillow.

Looking at the expected housing market performance through the five year period ending in 2016, there continues to be significant variation among the panelists regarding their individual home price forecasts. The most optimistic quartile of panelists projects nearly 18.3% price growth over the next five years, while the most pessimistic quartile projects a 1.4% decline.

Given the current economic climate and uncertainty around the government's future role in housing, it's not surprising to see such a wide dispersion in long term forecasts. As the market starts to stabilize, we should see individual forecasts start to converge,’ explained Humphries.

In the December survey, the panelists also offered their views on last month's increase to loan limits for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages, as well as their assessments of the likelihood that the FHA would require a federal government bailout within the next two years.

Among other findings on these matters, the panelists were almost equally split on the loan limit increase, with 51% opposed and 49% in favour of it. Some 28% of the 91 panelists who expressed a view indicated the likelihood of a bailout of the FHA by the federal government within the coming two years as high or very high.

The survey panel included a diverse group of economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists. The survey is based on the projected path of the S&P/Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index over the coming five years.

http://www.propertywire.com/news/north-america/us-real-estate-outlook-201112225905.html

CNN Money: Best Places To Be a Landlord

Based on home prices, area economy and rents, and ranked by job growth, per Local Market Monitor:

 

1. Houston 2.5% Annual job growth:

Projected 3-year rent increase: 18%
Q2 home price: $174,000
Current monthly rent: $818

2. Grand Rapids 2.4% Annual job growth:

Projected 3-year rent increase: 15%
Q2 home price: $128,000
Current monthly rent: $636

3. Rochester, N.Y. 2.3% Annual job growth:

Projected 3-year rent increase: 25%
Q2 home price: $148,000
Current monthly rent: $785

4. Dallas 2.2% Annual job growth:

Projected 3-year rent increase: 16%
Q2 home price: $166,000
Current monthly rent: $877

5. Tulsa 1.8% Annual job growth:

Projected 3-year rent increase: 19%
Q2 home price: $146,000
Current monthly rent: $671

By Carolyn Bigda, Beth Braverman, Kim Clark, Donna Rosato and Tali Yahalom

Forbes: Texas tops the list of the best states for jobs

The Texas jobs miracle has received a lot of attention since Rick Perry announced his candidacy for president in August. The numbers are impressive. Texas added 1.2 million net jobs since Perry took office as Texas Governor in December 2000, while the U.S. as a whole lost 1.1 million jobs during the same time.

The gains have been fueled by a 40 percent rise in education and health services jobs the past decade, as well as a 67 percent jump in mining jobs, which includes the thriving oil industry. The jury is still out whether Perry can convince voters that his success in Texas can work on a national scale, but it remains that the Texas jobs story is far from over.


Texas leads the way when it comes to states that will add the most jobs over the next five years on a percentage basis. Total employment in Texas is forecasted to expand 2.9 percent annually through 2015 according to research firm Moody’s Analytics. That represents 1.6 million new net jobs for the state over five years.

Texas offers a low tax, business friendly climate with a surging population that offers a nearly unlimited supply of young labor. Texas ranks sixth in our look at the Best States for Business and Careers. The state has aggressively courted companies to come to Texas to take advantage of these attributes. “Everyone is singing from the same hymn book at the Austin Chamber of Commerce,” says Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.

Gov. Perry sent letters to roughly 90 Washington State companies including Amazon.com, Microsoft and Starbucks last year when Washington was considering a tax increase on the state’s top earners. Perry wrote:
“As the State of Washington considers a multibillion-dollar tax increase for citizens and businesses … I invite you to consider your future in America’s new land of opportunity: the State of Texas. If Washington doesn’t want your business, Texas does. Texas has no personal income tax and no interest in getting one.”
The state uses its Texas Enterprise Fund to sweeten economic development deals for companies that are looking to relocate or expand. General Electric, eBay, Electronic Arts, 3M and TD Ameritrade have all announced expansion plans this year with help from the Texas Enterprise Fund.

The job picture in Texas is not all rosy. The state’s population is growing so quickly that despite the job gains, unemployment is 8.5 percent, the highest in 24 years. It is double the rate from 2007. Minimum wage jobs represented 9.5 percent of Texas’ hourly workforce last year which is the highest rate in the country.
The No. 2 state for job growth over the next five years is Nevada which Moody’s forecasts will expand 2.9 percent annually (Texas nips Nevada if you do not round the growth rates). Nevada has been decimated by the collapse of the housing market and recession. Home prices are off 60 percent and unemployment has soared from 4.2 percent five years ago to a recent 13.4 percent, the highest in the U.S.

 

Yet Nevada and the rest of the southwest remains an attractive spot for businesses thanks to low business costs relative to California, an abundance of land and its proximity to Mexico. Arizona (No. 3), New Mexico (No. 4) and Oklahoma (No. 8) all expect strong employment gains.

 

Most of the states expecting strong job gains have one thing in common: all but two (New Mexico and Oregon) are right-to-work states. These states give employees the right to decide if they want to join a union or not. There are 22 right-to-work states.

Economist Arthur Laffer pulled together economic data on states as part of a new book, "Eureka! How to Fix California," being published in February by California think tank Pacific Research Institute. Laffer found that in the past decade right-to-work states outperformed their union-shop counterparts in almost every metric. Gross state product growth was 53 percent versus 42 percent. Personal incomes rose 50 percent compared to 39 percent for union states. Job growth was 2.8 percent versus -1.3 percent and the population increase was 12 percent opposed to 6 percent.

Companies are increasingly shunning union-shop states. Boeing is currently battling the National Labor Relations Board over its right to operate a $750 million aircraft assembly line in South Carolina instead of Washington State. The NLRB claims Boeing located the plant in South Carolina in retaliation for Boeing union workers in Washington going on strike. Boeing cites lower business costs in its choice of South Carolina for the plant.

By Kurt Badenhausen

Greetings From the Waller Group-- Texas Tuesday!

We're sending you this greeting because you're one of our most valued clients. We want to thank you for the business you send us and give you a glimpse of how we do what we do for you!

Recently, Logan has been busy teaching REO training classes, recruiting and training new agents on negotiations with our lender clients, and implementing our new investor platform. In order to handle our increase in investor inquiries, we are streamlining our valuation and management team to provide our clients turn key solutions. Our team has doubled since last year and we expect to the same for 2012.  Thanks for letting us be your Texas team of choice! Happy Assigning!

Why Real Estate Investing is Better than Gold - Investors Workshops

In this video, Shawn Watkins discusses why real estate investing is better than investing in gold.

Investors Workshops is an investment club for real estate investors of any level. We feature speakers that do not pitch products.

Do you like to learn in an environment with like minded people? If you're like me the answer is a resounding 'yes!'. I have created Investors Workshops to allow real estate investors the chance to learn with other creative people. Each month, we will present a speaker covering a different topic relating to real estate investment and the creation of wealth through real estate.

http://www.investorsworkshops.com

U.S. Federal Reserve Beige Book: Dallas District

The following is the text of the Federal Reserve Board’s eleventh District--Dallas.

ELEVENTH DISTRICT--DALLAS

The Eleventh District economy continued to expand at a modest pace since the last report. Manufacturing activity was mixed. Service sector activity held mostly steady, although retailers noted a recent pick-up in sales. There were some signs of improvement in the housing sector, and apartment demand remained brisk. Office and industrial leasing activity continued to increase, but commercial real estate investment activity fell. Loan demand was mostly unchanged, according to financial contacts. The energy sector continued to expand at a strong pace, while agricultural conditions deteriorated further. Many responding firms across industries noted their outlooks were less optimistic, reflecting uncertainty about the U.S. and global economies.

Prices

Price pressures eased slightly since the last report. Most firms said input prices were unchanged or down, although retailers noted some increases in apparel and jewelry prices. Raw materials prices were flat or down. The exception was food producers who noted increased prices for some inputs. Contacts in the agricultural sector said commodity prices moved down since the last report.

The price of WTI held between $80 and $90 per barrel for most of the survey period, but slipped under $80 by early October. As the driving season ended, the price of on-highway diesel and gasoline fell by 11 and 16 cents per gallon, respectively.

Labor Market

Employment levels held steady at most responding firms, although there were several reports of slight hiring activity. Staffing firms continued to note steady demand at high levels. Most primary metals manufacturers reported increases in payrolls and some continue to look for additional workers. Scattered reports of hiring came from contacts in the legal, auto sales, airline and transportation manufacturing industries. Contacts in food manufacturing and financial services said hiring activity had abated. Wage pressures remained minimal, although upward pressure was noted by select retail, lumber and transportation manufacturing firms.

Manufacturing

Reports were mixed among construction-related firms, but most contacts described demand as steady during the reporting period. Several responding firms said ongoing public projects were buoying activity. Fabricated metals firms noted a slight pickup in demand and two lumber producers noted a pickup believed to be due to home improvement projects and demand from homebuilders. Construction-related outlooks were mostly unchanged, with a slow recovery expected.

Respondents in high-tech manufacturing said that sales growth remained positive but continued to slow and new orders declined. Demand weakened across consumer and business markets and throughout most regions of the world. Producers of consumer electronics are reportedly very cautious about demand over the holidays and into the first half of next year, and have reduced their orders for semiconductors. Because of the decline in new orders, respondents in the high-tech sector expect sales to weaken over the next six months.

Reports from paper manufacturers were mixed. Box producers noted orders from the food and beverage industry had fallen, but demand from retailers had picked up. One paper firm said strong demand was leading to lower inventories. Outlooks were mostly downbeat, due to fluctuations in the stock market and speculation about another recession. Non-defense transportation manufacturers said demand held steady at pretty good levels, and is up significantly from a year ago. Responding firms were cautiously optimistic in their outlooks, noting troubles at the national level had not impacted them yet. Food producers said sales were flat since the last report, and outlooks were positive, although firms were not hiring because of concerns about current U.S. economic conditions.

Petrochemical demand weakened in September. Ethylene spot prices fell despite two large plants shutting down. Domestic demand for polyethylene is weak, and the strong dollar has cut off exports to Asia and Europe. Exports to Latin America also weakened as Asian producers offered prices low enough to displace U.S. exports. Refiners said demand for refined products fell slightly as summer ended. Margins remain strong, but have narrowed.

Retail Sales

Retail sales growth slowed over most of the reporting period, but picked up in the final weeks of September. A long hot summer led to delayed fall clothing purchases, however contacts said cooler weather recently spurred seasonal sales. The higher end of the market continues to fare better than lower price point offerings. Eleventh District growth trended roughly in line with the nation, according to one large retailer. Expectations are for modest growth this holiday season.

Automobile sales were steady with some slowdown in traffic attributed to economic concerns caused by pessimistic headlines. Despite concerns, customers continue to buy vehicles. Inventories are somewhat light, but at appropriate levels for the most part. Used car supply remains constrained resulting in high prices. Expectations are for a continued moderate pace of sales growth.

Services

Overall demand for staffing services continued to hold steady at high levels. One contact noted a slight pull back that was characterized as “fear driven.” Direct hires continue to outpace temporary placements. Outlooks were mixed, with half of the respondents more cautious and half more positive. Even contacts with positive outlooks expressed concern about the upcoming election cycle and regulatory uncertainty. Accounting firms said demand for accounting services remained steady. Outlooks were unchanged, but one contact noted the next few months will be telling, as customers appear to be waiting for greater clarity about the economy and possible regulations. Demand for legal services remained unchanged.

Most transportation services firms said demand held steady or rose, but many firms’ outlooks weakened further since the last report. Intermodal cargo volumes were flat, and contacts say outlooks are negative for 2012. Railroad firms said volumes increased during the reporting period, but that the numbers were somewhat artificially inflated due to capacity coming back online after the flooding in the northern U.S. Container volumes declined modestly over the past three months, but picked up in August. Small parcel shipments held steady in August, but shipping firms have lowered expectations of growth this year. Airline traffic was reportedly holding up well and has been flat to slightly improved over the last six weeks in terms of passenger volume. Demand for travel to Latin America remains strong, and travel to Japan is weak. Airline industry outlooks are positive, but more uncertain.

Construction and Real Estate

Contacts in the housing sector noted some improvement, although most characterize conditions as choppy. Inventories of existing homes declined since the last report, and new home inventories remain lean. Most contacts say sales are better, although many note the strict lending environment, along with nervousness about the path of the U.S. economy, is keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines.

Apartment demand continued to rise since the last report, and contacts are positive in their outlooks. While construction has increased, demand has kept up, and respondents believe it will be a year or two before much of the new product is available. Apartment rents continued to increase.

Commercial real estate contacts said demand for office space remained strong overall during the reporting period, but that in recent weeks clients have deferred decisions to expand. Demand for industrial space was being spurred by lease renewals rather than the expansion by existing tenants. Real estate investment activity declined in August amid uncertainty.

Financial Services

Financial firms reported relatively flat loan demand overall. National banks noted modest increases in loan demand, although contacts were uncertain the gains would continue. Regional banks said loan demand was flat, and loan pricing remained competitive. Still, outstanding loan quality continued to hold up, according to contacts. The improvement in lending conditions noted in the last report has stalled, due to both the modest level of demand and more caution in supplying loans to anyone but the most creditworthy of borrowers.

Energy

Drilling activity remains strong. Contacts in the energy sector said oil field activity is at high levels and expanding. The Texas rig count rose by 11 during the reporting period. Despite the strength, many noted concern about the recent dip in the price of oil and U.S. and global economic weakness.

Agriculture

Drought in the Eleventh District remained severe during the reporting period, particularly in Texas where more than 85 percent of the state is in exceptional drought. Already poor grazing and stock water conditions deteriorated further, forcing many ranchers to sell off part or all of their herds. The drought caused low yields and record-high abandonment rates for some crops, including cotton. Export demand for beef continued to grow while the volume of exports for most crops was lower than six weeks ago. There was growing concern about continued drought conditions and the negative impact of low soil moisture on 2012 crop production.

Waller Group Investment Coordination

The Waller Group is not only a full service brokerage but offers turn key services for residential property investors. Our services include the following:

Residential Investor Business Platform available to Investors who purchase and execute a management agreement with 5 or more properties from the Waller Group.

Logan Waller provides a consultation with our investors to review a business plan to achieve the investors long term goals. This includes:

1.       Long Term goals and strategic plan. Logan and the investor complete a phone interview to adjust and review the investor’s long term goals, property characteristics, management theory, financial capacity,  and scope of services. Proof of funds or documentation to support financial capacity is required to move forward to the acquisition strategy.

2.       Acquisition Strategy and associate placement. Logan reviews your monthly acquisition expectations with sample properties to indicate the availability, time, and expectations between the investor and the Waller Group sales associate.

3.       Virtual introduction or personal introduction with the Waller Group Associate and investor including the investor’s criteria is completed within a scope of services and a buyer representation agreement is executed between the Waller Group and the Investor.

4.       Business Plan is followed by the Waller Group and investor. Logan Waller reviews with investor on quarterly basis to ensure expectations are met between the Associate, Property management division, and marketing team.

Waller Group Turn Key Services Include

1.       Seamless Acquisition and Property placement that does not require a time commitment or due diligence coordination for the investor.  The acquisition and property placement services are completed AT NO CHARGE to the investor. A nominal $500 transaction fee is  charged for the first purchase at closing.

a.       Property Sourcing eliminates investor tiresome property searches

b.      ROI analysis with repair estimates eliminates investors obtaining repair bids and viewing properties

c.       BPO (Broker Price Opinion) including as is and ARV, After Repaired Value for streamlined decision analysis is submitted to investor with investment summary for each property after purchase contract is executed to streamline investor decision analysis

                                                               i.      BPO includes: pricing trend for neighborhood, demographic information, local economic data, as is value, repaired value, repair estimates, rental analysis, highest and best use analysis.

d.      Investor is required to sign purchase documents to execute contract and wire earnest money to title company

e.      Waller Group coordinates due diligence on the investor’s behalf and Waller Group vendor coordinator sends scope of estimated repairs for contractor to bid and provide timeline.  If any variances arise from the BPO repair estimates then investor is consulted before repairs are authorized.

f.        Investor executes closing documents, notarizes, overnights to title company and wires funds to close transaction.

2.       Seamless Lease up and Vendor Coordination for Make ready. These services range from $500 to $1,500, depending on the scope of repairs coordinated and managed. $1,000 is placed in reserve account for utility coordination and payment

a.       Utilities are initiated by Waller Group, paid by Waller Group and billed back to investor monthly or quarterly.

b.      Property insurance is authorized by the investor placed on the property by Waller Group on the investor’s behalf.

c.       Waller Group repair coordinator authorizes contractors to complete scope of recommended work. Work is completed within pre-designated timelines, QC is completed by the Waller Group. Upon scheduling of repairs marketing team pre-markets property to Waller Group Property Management and tenant base.

d.      Signs, lockbox is placed, property is cross marketed with other managed homes. Home is offered simultaneously for sale or for rent to achieve highest return for investor. Home is cross marketed to Waller Group credit repair database, Waller Group sales team,  AND First Time home buyer database.  If home is sold through these methods before listed in the mls sales commission is reduced.

3.       Waller Group Marketing Services Sales commissions range from 4.5%-7%, Listing Lease Marketing services are 1 month’s rent

a.       Upon completion of repairs if property is not leased or contracted Waller Group marketing team lists property. Property is scheduled for photography when final clean is scheduled. Listing detail is completed by associate, syndicated to multiple websites, listed on mls for sale and for lease.

b.      Waller Group Marketing  Plan is executed by sales associate. (inquire within for sample marketing plans)

c.       Lease application screening includes, background check, credit report, rental history report, rental history verification,  work and income verification.

d.      Lease applicants are screened by management division, purchase offers are qualified and reviewed by investor.

e.      Upon approval of qualified rental applicant or acceptable purchaser offer contract is executed or referred to Waller Group Property Management

4.       Waller Group Property Management fees vary from 5%-10% depending on monthly management revenue and number of properties for landlord managed by Waller Group

a.       Property Management agreement is executed by Waller Group and investor.  Waller Group is pre-authorized for nominal repair authorizations, rent collection, maintenance service coordination.

b.      Taxing authority is contacted and tax statements are mailed to the Waller Group to provide seamless coordination and monitoring of tax assessment and market value. (County Tax Assessment Protest services also provided by Waller Group)

c.       Lease between tenant and landlord is coordinated and executed by all parties

d.      Rental move-in form is completed by tenant

e.      Deposit and first month’s rent is collected by tenant

f.        Utilities are transferred by Waller Group and final billing is requested

g.       Yard maintenance Is discontinued by Waller Group contractors

h.      Locks changes and rekey is coordinated by Waller Group and completed before tenant move-in

i.        Ongoing monthly recurring services

                                                               i.      Rental proceeds are direct drafted to landlord’s account

                                                             ii.      Third party mortgage information is received from landlord and payments are drafted to mortgage company monthly.

                                                            iii.      Maintenance repairs are documents, photographed and e-mailed to landlord with monthly billing statement

                                                           iv.      24 hour repair hotline to ensure property preservation items and emergency repairs are coordinated without hefty upcharges and are timely attended to without a hassle to the landlord.

                                                             v.      Quarterly property inspections are documented with photos and sent to landlord to ensure proper property maintenance and tenant monitoring

                                                           vi.      Annual tax protest services. No up front charge to the landlord. Only charge if taxes are reduced. Fee is ½ the reduction of the annual tax.

j.        Eviction and collection coordination is completed if tenant falls behind on rent. Hourly rates apply for court ordered representation and or coordination.

Dallas ranked 3rd best market for residential real estate investments

It's Time to Buy That House

• By JACK HOUGH

• Article
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U.S. house prices have plunged by nearly a third since 2006, and homeownership rates are falling at the fastest pace since the Great Depression.
The good news? Two key measures now suggest it's an excellent time to buy a house, either to live in for the long term or for investment income (but not for a quick flip). First, the nation's ratio of house prices to yearly rents is nearly restored to its prebubble average. Second, when mortgage rates are taken into consideration, houses are the most affordable they have been in decades.
Two of the silliest mantras during the real-estate bubble were that a house is the best investment you will ever make and that a renter "throws money down the drain." Whether buying is a better deal than renting isn't a stagnant fact but a changing condition that depends on the relationship between prices and rents, the cost of financing and other factors.

But the math is turning in buyers' favor. Stock-oriented folks can think of a house's price/rent ratio as akin to a stock's price/earnings ratio, in that it compares the cost of an asset with the money the asset is capable of generating. For investors, a lower ratio suggests more income for the price. For prospective homeowners, a lower ratio makes owning more attractive than renting, all else equal.
Nationwide, the ratio of home prices to yearly rents is 11.3, down from 18.5 at the peak of the bubble, according to Moody's Analytics. The average from 1989 to 2003 was about 10, so valuations aren't quite back to normal.
But for most home buyers, mortgage rates are a key determinant of their total costs. Rates are so low now that houses in many markets look like bargains, even if price/rent ratios aren't hitting new lows. The 30-year mortgage rate rose to 4.12% this week from a record low of 3.94% last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. (The rates assume 0.8% in prepaid interest, or "points.") The latest rate is still less than half the average since 1971.

Real Estate Tools at SmartMoney

• Mortgage Calculator
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As a result, house payments are more affordable than they have been in decades. The National Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Index hit 183.7 in August, near its record high in data going back to 1970. The index's historic average is roughly 120. A reading of 100 would mean that a median-income family with a 20% down payment can afford a mortgage on a median-price home. So today's buyers can afford handsome houses—but prudent ones might opt for moderate houses with skimpy payments.
For example, the median home in the greater Phoenix market, including houses, condos and co-ops, costs $121,700, according to Zillow.com. With a 20% down payment and a 4.12% mortgage rate, a buyer's monthly payment would be about $470. Rent for a comparable house would be more than $1,100 a month, according to data provided by Zillow.com.
Of course, all of this assumes mortgages are available—no given now that lending standards have tightened. But long-term data on down payments and credit scores suggest conditions are more normal than many buyers think, according to Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. "If you have good credit, a job and a down payment, you can get a mortgage," Mr. Humphries says. "There's more paperwork and scrutiny than five years ago, but things are pretty much like they were in the '80s and '90s."
Not all housing markets are bargains. Mr. Humphries says Zillow has developed a new price/rent ratio that uses estimates for each individual property rather than city medians, to better reflect the choices facing typical buyers. A fresh look at the numbers suggests Detroit and Miami are plenty cheap for buyers, with price/rent ratios of 5.6 and 7.7, respectively. New York and San Francisco are more expensive, with ratios of 17.6 and 17.2, respectively. The median ratio for 169 markets is 10.7.
For investors seeking income, one back-of-the-envelope way of seeing how these numbers stack up against yields for other assets is to divide 1 by the price/rent ratio, resulting in a rent "yield." The median market's rent yield is 9.3% and Detroit's is 17.9%.
Investors would then subtract for taxes, insurance, upkeep and other expenses—costs that vary widely. But suppose total costs were 4% of the purchase price. That would still leave a 5.3% rent yield in the typical market. With the 10-year Treasury yield at 2.2% and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index carrying a dividend yield of 2.1%, rents for residential housing in many markets look attractive.
A few caveats are in order. First, not all transactions are average ones. Even in low-priced markets, buyers should shop carefully. Second, prices could fall further. Celia Chen, a senior director at Moody's Analytics, expects prices to drop 3% before bottoming early next year and rising slowly thereafter. "If the economy slips back into recession, however, we could easily see a 10% drop," Ms. Chen says.
And property "flipping" can be dangerous even when prices are rising. That is because, absent a real-estate boom, house price gains simply aren't that exciting. Research by Yale economist Robert Shiller suggests houses more or less track the rate of inflation over long time periods.
Houses aren't the magic wealth creators they were made out to be during the bubble. But when prices are low, loans are cheap and plump investment yields are scarce, buyers should jump.
—Jack Hough is a columnist at SmartMoney.com. Email: jack.hough@dowjones.com

Texas Foreclosure law and adverse possession situation..interesting story from fox news

A Texas man who reportedly claimed a $300,000 home for $16 through an obscure legal maneuver known as "adverse possession" is drawing attention to a practice that isn't new and isn't limited to the Lone Star State, but could become more popular with a housing market still flat on its back.

Adverse possession, which allows individuals to take property considered "abandoned," has been around since the 1800s with its origins in British common law and to this day, all 50 states have statutory provisions on their books covering the concept.

It was originally used as a way to deal with the boundaries of farmlands that weren't always clear. For example, if a homeowner put up a fence that encroached on a neighbor's property, the homeowner could claim the territory after a period of time if there was no objection.

"It's kind of a quirky doctrine -- a common-law doctrine designed to acknowledge that if you got possession of a property and no one's been challenging it, you should have some type of title to it," said Larry Morandi, director of state policy research for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But the concept has evolved, leading to abuses and extraordinary cases.

In Texas, Kenneth Robinson moved last month into a foreclosed home worth $330,000 after he paid a $16 filing fee at the local courthouse, WFAA-TV in Dallas reported. If Robinson stays in the house for three years, he can obtain the title and become the legal owner. In other states, it can take as long as 20 years to become eligible for legal ownership.

Robinson told the local news outlet that the original owner would have to pay off a massive mortgage debt and the bank would have to file a complex lawsuit to get him out the house -- a scenario he said he views as unlikely.

After outraged neighbors asked police to arrest him for breaking and entering, Robinson posted "no trespassing" signs, the station reported, adding that officers said he can't be removed from the house because it's a civil matter, not a criminal one.

Real estate attorneys told FoxNews.com that the practice will become more widespread as foreclosures continue to flood the housing market amid a sluggish economic recovery.

"It's going to be a trend that going to grow more and more," real estate attorney Gennady Litvin said. "We haven't seen the bottom of the real estate market yet."

Real estate attorney Stephen Meister noted that in Florida, some people began forming companies to seize properties on a large-scale basis through adverse possession and rent out the houses. Some were arrested on felony charges.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/21/texas-mans-16-property-seizure-throws-obscure-law-into-spotlight/#ixzz1SqabQMIN

wallergrouphomes.com

view wallergrouphomes.com for information on dallas and surrounding foreclosures. The Waller Group is the leading brokerage for selling foreclosures in Dallas, luxury foreclosures, frisco foreclosures, plano foreclosures, the leading brokerage for dallas foreclosure sales and free foreclosure search.