Over 50% of workers are 100% remote with another 20% sometimes working remotely due to the pandemic. Will this trend reverse this year with the rollout of the vaccine? How will this impact real estate in the short term and long term? What will be the primary driver...
Treasury yields jump to highest since March. What does the GA senate race mean for real estate?
Happy new year to everyone. It is crazy that we are still talking about the election … it seems like it is never ending. Fortunately the Georgia senate runoffs were the last of this cycle. As Georgia flipped Democratic, treasury rates jumped to their highest since...
Mortgage rates just set a record low, are we at the bottom? What should you do now?
Mortgage rates just blew through another record with the 30-year fixed rate dropping to 2.75%. If you have been watching the mortgage market, your head is likely spinning. How can mortgage rates go this low? Where do we go from here? How will the next president...
841 billion in forbearance, who will be left holding the bag? Will 2020 be a 2008 repeat?
Almost 10% of all government sponsored mortgages entered mortgage forbearance which accounts for almost 841 billion dollars in loans. 4 in 5 workers say they live paycheck to paycheck, with around 30 million people unemployed, the numbers could be daunting. Yet the...
Covid Vaccine, impact on real estate, biggest real estate risk on the horizon
Pfizer announced that their Covid vaccine in trials was 90% effective at preventing infection. The stock market took off and traders began reshuffling their pandemic bets with Zoom down 20% and Disney, hotels, and cruise operators up substantially. Will there be a...
Wall street the new landlord: one in ten properties
We are seeing interesting economic times; throughout the economy there is huge consolidation within industries as the big get even bigger. Real estate is following a similar trajectory to big technology companies. What is causing the huge changes in real estate? ...
Should appraised value be arbitrary? Is location important in value?
There is a new legislative proposal to radically alter the appraisal industry. Should the use of comparables be arbitrary when establishing appraised value? Do appraisers need to better “appreciate” a neighborhood (what does this even mean?) Should an appraiser use...
Large mortgage defaults on the horizon, are you ready for a 100 billion dollar March Madness?
FHA has placed a moratorium on foreclosures from mortgage loan defaults and offered any borrower that requests it an extension to not make payments for a year (HUD). This effectively kicks the can down the road and pushed out any impending actions until March of...
Will interest rates stay low forever? What did the fed just announce?
If you have been tracking interest rates in the mortgage market, your head is likely spinning. Mortgage rates hit a record low of 3% less than a week later rates have risen again. What is causing the drastic swings? Is now the time to lock in or refinance? What did...
Unemployment rate and housing at historic highs; How is this possible? Which will win?
The Coronavirus has created a unique financial situation. Unemployment rates are at record highs, with companies announcing long term downsizing. At the same time residential real estate is hitting new records and continues to increase in the face of the economic...
Mortgage defaults high in the 10 cities; how does your city rank?
Do you know where the next mortgage defaults will occur in your city? What cities and zip codes are most at risk during this recession? In every recession, there are two predictors of default/loss, collateral and equity. What does the data tell us today?...
Biden eliminates 1031 exchange values decline 12% and rents increase 13%
Presidential nominee Biden has rolled out his proposed tax plan with two major pillars that will impact real estate pros. 1) Elimination of the 1031 exchange provision 2) elimination of long term capital gains. These two changes, if passed, will have huge...
Forbearance drives house prices up; no impact on “credit score”, but can’t get credit?
From March 1 through the end of May, Americans deferred debt payments on more than 100 million accounts, according to credit-reporting firm TransUnion, a sign of widespread financial distress. Millions are out of work, yet house prices are increasing in most...
Nike sales plunge 40%, Microsoft closing all their stores, What about real estate? Who will win?
Nike is a bellwether for the retail industry and general economy generating over 40 billion in annual revenue making it one of the largest athletic retailers in the world. Since 2006 revenue has consistently increased every year. In June, Nike announced that sales...
Did housing market pull a V and defy all odds?
Happy summer to everyone, hopefully you are taking some time to get outside with your friends and family to de stress . Last week, I wrote about the general economy not following a V shaped economic pattern, which I still believe, but housing seems to be marching to...
V-shaped recovery? 106 million people say No.
The stock market has been pricing in a fast and rapid V-shaped recovery, yet 106 million people and various businesses like United Airlines are painting a radically different picture. As Alan Greenspan, the former fed chief, famously said: markets can exhibit...
2020 was already tough for real estate, then Coronavirus hit, what is the impact?
We are still funding in cash. Before the Pandemic, the United States economy was on track with the longest running bull market, record low inflation wages increasing, record low unemployment, and historically low mortgage rates. Even with all this good news, there...
NY Bans real estate fees: residents leave, will your state/city be a winner?
NY city is changing the real estate game implementing a ban on the NYC rental broker fee and making a host of other changes. At the same time New York leads all U.S. metro areas as the largest net loser with 277 people moving every day. What are the new laws? How...
GDP decline 30%, 22 million jobs lost, is this the real story?
I always love spring in the Rocky Mountains, to see the pull of the seasons with snow and flowers starting to bloom. Eventually spring always wins 🙂 If you read the news, it sounds like the world is crumbling with 22 million jobs lost and a predicted 30% GDP...
The new real estate drug, coming off this high will be tough
Like many of you I had a “rocky” ride in the last real estate recession and successfully learned many “million-dollar” lessons that were very painful. One of the key takeaways from the last recession is that risks lurk in plain sight. Hindsight 20-20 it was...
Labor market strong. Markets drop 20 % in a week.
With the labor market looking up, we decided to "hire" a new employee, Luna. She will be working out of our Colorado office and focusing on property inspections (and anything that has to do with snow). Please welcome her to the team 🙂 The Labor Department...
Markets tank from coronavirus scare
The picture above is a bit more relaxing to look at as opposed to the media barrage of the coronavirus and stock market (do you know where I took the pic, hint in CO, email me if you know). The Coronavirus has caused stock markets around the world to quickly sell off...
60% chance mortgage rates plunge: The fed disagrees!
We are at an interesting crossroads in the economy. The Federal Reserve and economic data show that the economy is very strong with consumer spending and confidence at all-time highs. At the same time the bond market is portraying a different picture after a new...
How to Invest in ski real estate: Are you a Costco or Walmart investor?
It is ski time in the Rocky Mountains with over 250 inches in many of the resort communities. Do you know where the picture was taken (hint it is a "Costco" resort, email me if you know)? Although there is plenty of snow and cold weather, mountain...























