Showing posts with label Wall Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wall Street. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Median Prices are Rising

The headline from the article link below states "Median Price Rises in nearly 60 percent of US metropolitan areas in first quarter".

This is an exuberant headline that would lead one to believe that the macro real estate market is out of the woods and on the road to recovery. We all hope this is the case but we will only have an idea as to the true health of the national market after we have 3-4 quarters with successive gains without the Government's underlying support mechanisms in place. First time home buyers have accounted for a huge percentage of transactions spurred on by huge incentives. Also, the mortgage market has benefited from a plummeting Euro in the last month.

There are some good signs in the market but I think it is a bit early to say that the broad market is out of the woods and that we are in full recovery mode. So, how do you know whether to buy or not? It needs to make sense... what does that mean? It means that you're criteria alone will determine if it is a good time to buy. The reality is that now is a much better time to buy than 4 years ago if you are gainfully employed. Generally, your dollar goes a lot farther now than it did then...

http://www.fox59.com/business/sns-ap-us-home-stretch,0,1815580.story

From the desk of Zach Trailer

Monday, May 10, 2010

A Wild Ride on Wall Street

What a wild ride on Wall Street last week. All of 2010 gains were temporarily wiped out and after a roller coaster couple of days the Dow is gaining back what was lost. At one point a 30 year mortgage was in the neighborhood of 4.5% as money fleeing from EU risk came pouring into US Treasuries. An EU bailout has caused the dollar to fall again today 5/10 which is good for the stock market.

The Real Estate market continues to show strength. Below is a great link to see just how strongly the housing market has come back in silicon valley. http://www.burbed.com/2010/04/25/silicon-valley-median-home-price-rises-29-percent/ Median prices have risen by 29%. Likely there are a few contributing factors. The expiration of the first time home buyers tax credit brought a lot of buyers into the market. Historically low interests rates continue to be a big incentive to buyers. The truth of the matter is that compared with a year ago those who are still employed are far less afraid of losing their jobs than they were a year ago, especially in here in Silicon Valley. In Silicon Valley companies are financially healthy and making a lot of money. Many including Apple have announced fabulous earnings which gives confidence to those who are employed. In fact, tech is hiring again which will only continue to build strength in the market.

Have a great Monday!

From the desk of Zach Trailer.