A great newsletter at no charge.

[Dan Auito]

A really insightfull newsletter by one of our members. Mr. John Burns.
I highly suggest you sign up for this free and very professional newsletter that comes about twice a month. John really packs it with solid investment advice and current trend information!
http://www.realestateconsulting.com/strategic/strategic200408.html
:thumbup:

[Dan Auito]

2005 Housing Outlook: Job Growth vs. Mortgage Rates
As we prepare for 2005, we find a housing market that is no longer a national boom, but instead a mix of regional booms, slowdowns and mostly “status quos.” Nationally, the outlook is for slowly rising mortgage rates and slowly improving job growth. If both occur, the change in housing construction levels should be minimal in 2005. The Likely Scenario is for the U.S. economy to move along the red arrow below.

Demand: Job growth is slowly increasing in most markets around the country, with the most noticeable improvements in the markets that were hit hardest by the technology downturn in 2000. Population growth is likely to be greater in the more affordable markets where jobs are also plentiful. While we will continue tracking these statistics for all of the markets in the country, your best local barometer for housing demand is probably the number of cars on the road during rush hour. If you are looking for the best submarkets, find out where the office and industrial building construction is occurring and seek great neighborhoods near these emerging job centers.

Supply: Some markets such as Houston and Dallas should see supply decline, while supply in other markets such as Phoenix should continue to grow since builders are finding buyers for all of the 55,000+ homes that are being built every year. Many of the coastal markets are building half as many homes as they built during the 1980s, so you can be sure that at least a large portion of the price appreciation in those markets is permanent.

Affordability: Thanks to low mortgage rates, affordability is still excellent in most markets around the country. While we can make a very strong case that some of the coastal markets are overpriced, the typical cycle of poor affordability leading to job and population losses is not occurring. Job and population growth are solid and improving in some of the supposedly most “overpriced” markets in the country. If the job growth continues, these markets should continue to prosper.
Thank you to those of you who helped make 2004 a phenomenal year for us. We are looking forward to an even better year in 2005.

Ladies and Gents, I really encourage you to sign up for Johns free newsletter, he delivers quality information that really hits the mark in my eyes. Dan

[Dan Auito]

The latest market conditions as of Feb 9th 2005
http://www.realestateconsulting.com...ysis200502.html :SM113: