It's here...Real Estate is back!

It's official, Joby Slay is calling the bottom of the real estate market. Well at least in my mind it's official. In January of 2006, I remember having a conversation with a business partner and even my wife about getting out of residential real estate completely. Not because I was some sort of genius, but I do read Fortune's. Not like a fortune teller where I look in a crystal ball or read people's palms. The Fortune I am referring too is Fortune magazine. The exact issue I am referring too is the October 21, 2005 issue titled "The World's Greatest Real Estate Investor". The punch line of the article was that Tom Barrack, CEO of Colony Capital, one of the largest real estate private equity players was getting out of US Real Estate completely. "Hmmm.... that's interesting", I said to myself. If this guy's getting out, maybe we should too, but hey what do I know. continued below...

	Home values rise for first time in 5 years
		money.cnn.com - NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Home prices hit a bottom and are finally bouncing back, according to an industry report released Tuesday. Nationwide, home values rose 0.2% year-over-year to a median $149,300 during the second quarter,...

Within a few months the real estate world turned on it's head and spiraled down into what most people would agree has been the most difficult and prolonged real estate downturn in US History. In 2007, I remember going back and studying past housing cycles. The booms, busts, recoveries, new construction starts, the S&L crisis, and whatever other charts and data I could find from the time they started recording and tracking this stuff to see if I could get a sense of how long we might have to hold our breath and when we might be able to breathe again. What can I say, I'm a real estate guy in 2007 with not a whole lot to do. I had never experienced a boom and bust before or even a slight up and down, so I wasn't sure what I would find. Through my research I did find that those 7 year cycles you always tend to hear about was actually quite accurate. While not exactly 7 years all the time, the charts and trends did generally show cycles lasting somewhere between 5-10 years. I believe, actually I know the downturn started in 2006. Some people believe we were still booming into 2007-2008, but we were on our way down way before then. So being that 2006 was the start of the downturn and adding 7 years to that we end up in the year 2013 as the end of the real estate downturn and the beginning of our new cycle up. My hope was that we would hit the bottom much closer to 2010 and while activity has certainly been picking up since then prices continued to fall. What we have seen in the first half of 2012 is a positive SHIFT in the market. continued below....

 

	Housing Market Turns Corner; U.S. Home Values Post First Annual Increase In Nearly Five Years
		forbes.com - Zillow's second quarter Real Estate Market Reports, released today, show home values increased 2.1% from the first to the second quarter of 2012 to $149,300 (Figure 1). On an annual basis, home values rose 0.2% from June 2011...

You may have noticed the titles of the article links above, "US Home Values Post First Annual Increase In Nearly Five Years" and "Home Values Rise for First Time in 5 Years". Also, take a look at the article link below, "Mortgage rates drop again". THIS IS AND WILL BE THE GREATEST TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE THAT WE WILL EVER SEE AGAIN IN OUR LIFETIMES. I am willing to say it, Warren Buffett is willing to say it, and Tom Barrack, Fortune Magazine's, "World's Greatest Real Estate Investor" who was getting out of real estate in 2005 is making a full court press into buying residential real estate. Again, I'm no genius, but if these guys are putting their money in, hmmm......maybe I should and you should too. continued below....

	Mortgage rates drop again, Freddie Mac says; 30-year at 3.53%
		latimes.com - The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit another new low this week, dropping to 3.53% from 3.56% last week, according to Freddie Mac 's survey of what lenders are offering to well-qualified borrowers.

Joby Slay is the Team Leader of The Harvest Group with Keller Williams Realty, a full-service real estate brokerage helping clients in the South Florida region buy and sell properties in all price ranges. Joby specializes in short sale and foreclosure transactions and has quickly become recognized as one of the premier short sale experts in the area. Since 2004, Joby has successfully negotiated short sales in 4 South Florida counties (Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, and St. Lucie) from Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Pierce and often sought out for his advice on short sale matters across the U.S. He understands the financial and emotional difficulties that often accompany families faced with foreclosure. Joby and his team successfully complete dozens of short sales a year and have saved dozens of individuals and families from losing their homes to foreclosure. Joby earned an MBA in Real Estate Development from Nova Southeastern University graduating in the top of his class with Sigma Beta Delta Honors and a 3.90 GPA. He also earned designations as a CDPE – Certified Distressed Property Expert, IMSD - Internet Marketing Specialist Designation, and PPMC - Professional Property Management Certification. He is a Florida Licensed Real Estate Salesperson and a Member of the National Association of Realtors and Florida Association of Realtors.

Joby lives in Palm Beach Gardens, FL with his wife and 2 children. For more information, call Joby at 561-667-4171 or visit www.PalmBeachShortSales.net.

	Goldman Sachs Sees ‘Strong’ Recovery Starting for Housing
		bloomberg.com - U.S. homebuilders are an attractive investment as the housing market starts a “strong” recovery that may drive a surge in new-home sales, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a report today.