Orlando Sentinal November 2010
Compared with 375 other metropolitan areas studied, Orlando had one of the most dramatic price drops in the country at the end of the second quarter, with prices falling 50 percent from what Fiserv considers the area's peak in the fall of 2006. Only 16 other metro areas had home values that shrank more. The company calculated a median home price for the metro area of $155,000 as of June 30. Joseph Doher, broker of Kissimmee-based Prudential Results Realty, said he wasn't in a position to second guess Fiserv economists but noted that prospective buyers can miss out of deals if they remain on the sidelines for too long waiting for a market to bottom out. "It's like timing the stock market: By the time it hits bottom, it's too late to invest," he said. "Everyone wants to time it perfectly, but you could miss a good opportunity by procrastinating."
All Business A D& B Company – October 2010
What they see in Southwest Florida is a market in which housing prices have come down so hard that renting makes sense again. They now can generate enough money to pay their costs of ownership, and then some.Positive cash flow is the name of the game -- a time-honored necessity in the rental business that temporarily vanished with the escalation of home prices during the boom.
Financial Forecast Centre
Bloomberg Business Week Dec. 2010
Globe & Mail Dec. 10/10
Parity is a rarity for the Canadian and U.S. dollars, so be sure you take advantage as an investor. A Buy American strategy is what’s called for hereInvestors who can afford to be patient should think about using the mighty loonie to snap up some bargains denominated in U.S. dollars.The collapse of the U.S. housing market has been epic. Home prices remain 30 per cent below the peak of May 2006, as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Unlike stocks, bonds and commodities, U.S. real estate has not had a big run-up in prices since the crash of 2008. It’s one of the few asset classes where bargain hunters might still be tempted to jump in. The values are even more enticing for Canadians due to a gain of more than 30 per cent in the loonie against the U.S. dollar since 2004. “These are the best buying prices I have ever seen for U.S. houses,” declares Bob Keats, a financial planner since 1981 and author of The Border Guide: A Canadian’s Guide to Living, Working and Investing in the United States (now in 10th edition). "Canadians are able to buy one-third more than they could have a few years ago.”
Toronto Star Dec 3, 2010
Major Canuck investors have been looking south to take advantage of low prices and a soaring loonie, which hit par earlier this week. Analysts expect the Canadian dollar to stick just above parity for the next six months.Canadians are the largest foreign buyers of property in the U.S., representing 23 per cent of all sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. And it’s not just office workers looking for a second home in the sun. Companies with massive market capitalization such as Brookfield Asset Mangement Inc., Oxford Properties, Minto Group Inc. and Clublink have all been scouring the market looking for opportunity.“The U.S. housing market is still unglued after all these years,” said David Rosenberg, chief economist for Gluskin + Sheff and Associates.
“There is a wave of new supply that is going to be hitting the market in the future,” says Rosenberg, estimating that only 20 per cent of the 1.2 million homes in the foreclosure process are on the market so far.