by Shawn Boday | Mar 19, 2024 | Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Tips
Real estate markets are cyclical, characterized by periods of expansion, peak, contraction, and trough. Understanding these cycles and their impact on property values, rental rates, and investment opportunities is crucial for real estate investors and stakeholders. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the concept of real estate cycles, explore the key phases of the cycle, and discuss strategies for timing the market for success.
- The Phases of the Real Estate Cycle:
- Expansion: During the expansion phase, real estate markets experience robust growth, characterized by increasing property values, rising demand, and strong investor sentiment. Economic factors such as low interest rates, job growth, and population growth contribute to increased demand for real estate assets. Rental rates and property values tend to rise steadily during this phase, attracting investors and developers.
- Peak: The peak marks the top of the real estate cycle, where property values reach their highest point, and demand begins to plateau. Speculative buying and excessive optimism may drive prices beyond fundamentals during this phase. However, signs of overheating, such as declining affordability, rising vacancy rates, and excessive leverage, may indicate that the market is nearing its peak.
- Contraction: In the contraction phase, real estate markets experience a slowdown or decline in activity, marked by falling property values, decreasing demand, and rising vacancy rates. Economic factors such as rising interest rates, job losses, and oversupply contribute to the contraction phase. Investors may become cautious, and property owners may struggle to sell or lease their assets amid weaker market conditions.
- Trough: The trough represents the bottom of the real estate cycle, where property values stabilize or begin to recover after a period of decline. During this phase, market sentiment is generally negative, and investor confidence is low. However, savvy investors may identify opportunities to acquire undervalued properties at discounted prices, positioning themselves for future growth and appreciation.
- Strategies for Timing the Real Estate Market:
- Research and Analysis: Conduct thorough research and analysis of local market conditions, economic indicators, demographic trends, and supply-demand dynamics. Monitor key metrics such as vacancy rates, absorption rates, rent growth, and employment trends to gauge the health of the market and identify emerging opportunities or risks.
- Stay Flexible: Real estate markets are inherently unpredictable, and timing the market perfectly is challenging. Instead of trying to time the market, focus on building a diversified portfolio of real estate assets across different property types, locations, and market segments. Diversification can help mitigate risks and position your portfolio for long-term growth and resilience.
- Adopt a Contrarian Approach: Consider adopting a contrarian investment approach by buying when others are selling and selling when others are buying. Contrarian investors capitalize on market inefficiencies and sentiment swings by taking positions contrary to prevailing market trends. However, contrarian investing requires patience, discipline, and a willingness to go against the crowd.
- Monitor Leading Indicators: Pay attention to leading indicators that may signal shifts in the real estate market, such as changes in interest rates, housing affordability, construction activity, and investor sentiment. Leading indicators can provide valuable insights into future market trends and help you anticipate changes in supply and demand dynamics.
- Plan for the Long Term: Real estate investing is inherently a long-term endeavor, and short-term market fluctuations should not deter you from pursuing your investment goals. Focus on acquiring high-quality assets with strong fundamentals and enduring value, rather than trying to time short-term market movements. Adopt a patient and disciplined approach to investing, and stay committed to your long-term investment strategy.
Conclusion:
Understanding real estate cycles and timing the market for success requires a combination of research, analysis, flexibility, and discipline. By recognizing the key phases of the real estate cycle, conducting thorough market research, staying flexible in your investment approach, adopting a contrarian mindset when appropriate, monitoring leading indicators, and planning for the long term, you can navigate the ups and downs of the real estate market and capitalize on investment opportunities. Remember, successful real estate investing is not about timing the market perfectly but about making informed decisions based on sound fundamentals and a clear investment strategy.
by Shawn Boday | Aug 7, 2021 | Business, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Tips, Shawn Boday
Searching for a new home to buy for your family can be a long and frustrating process, but there are things you can do to simplify your search. Some of the practices buyers use to search for homes may actually be hurting their chances of finding their ideal home. By following these tips, you can search more efficiently and find the home that suits you a little faster.
Don’t Refine Your Search
The common problem is that buyers limit their searches to particular criteria in an effort to ensure they find their dream home. Unfortunately, this means excluding homes that have your “must-have” features but may not have other features that you could do without. Keep your home search as broad as possible to find the greatest number of homes that will meet your family’s needs.
Don’t Rely on Photos
Ideally, every seller should hire a real estate photographer to create great staged photos of each room in the home. However, that’s rarely the case, and many sellers simply photograph their homes in as-is condition. Even if you don’t like the photos included in the listing, you should check out the other information that’s provided. If the home seems to meet your criteria, an in-person viewing can help you better understand the property’s true condition.
Read the Listings
Most people skim the headlines for listings and look at the photos. Unfortunately, this means buyers may be missing some key information. For instance, a seller may be especially motivated to sell or features to the home that can’t be captured well in photographs. By reading each listing, you may find homes that don’t appear to meet your needs until you learn more about them. The information contained in the listing can help you get a better deal on a home, and that may make it worthwhile to adapt the home to meet your needs.
You should also work with an experienced real estate agent. In addition to assisting you in your search, an agent can obtain paperwork on specific properties that will help you make a better-informed decision. You won’t have to pay the agent a fee, and they can help you find more properties that meet your needs.
by Shawn Boday | Dec 23, 2020 | Business, Home Buying Process, House Flipping, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Tips, Seattle, Shawn Boday, Washington
An essential skill in making a house flipping profit in the real estate business is knowing how to value a house properly. For individuals who are in the industry to make profits from low purchases. Here are ways to determine worthy homes to flip.
Average Value Determination: The house post-rehab value is determined by considering the cost of the houses in the general vicinity and the price of recently sold homes similar to the post-rehab vision. The final worth after repairs is the value you use for determining the worth of the house.
Standard cosmetic rehab: A general rule to estimate repair costs is $20 for every square foot. Based on this assumption, adjustments can be made upwards or downwards depending on the individual house’s specifications. This value will help determine whether to select the house for flipping.
Transactional expenses: Purchase closing costs are usually paid by the seller and account for 0.5 percent of the purchase price. The selling closing costs range between 1-6 percent, with an additional 1 percent as attorney fees. Holding costs such as property taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance costs should also be considered.
Offer price-setting- There are formulas to determine what offer price will be stated. One way is to get 70 percent of the average repair value deducting the repair costs. Another way is to subtract the repair costs, closing and holding expenses, and desired profit from the ARV to get the right offer price.
Geographical setting: Proximity to facilities such as shopping malls, transportation services, and school increases the property’s value while highways and airports decrease it. Different locales may have various school taxes, municipal and private trash collection companies with different days.
Physical attributes: As much as the seller wants the house to stand out, it shouldn’t be so significantly marked up in features that it overshadows the neighboring houses. It will only lead to a scenario where it will be too costly for that neighborhood. The most successful house flips are those that have the most work. However, if structural issues are suspected, it would be wiser to buy a house in better condition.
Lenders- Rehab lenders give between 65-70 percent of the ARV. This factor is because an investment is made with the anticipation of making money in the end. If the lender advises otherwise, then there will not be enough equity for the investing party to make money in the end.
by Shawn Boday | Sep 7, 2020 | Home Buying Process, House Flipping, Housing Market, Shawn Boday, Uncategorized
Selling your house may not be easy as you may think. Between getting it ready for showing and finding the best realtor to sell it for you, it’s a hectic and overwhelming process. There’s nothing as bad as placing your home on the market, only for it to remain unsold months later.
To increase the resale value of your home, it would help to be proactive about repair and maintenance. Planning a remodel job may also go a long way in adding value to your home when it’s time to sell it. Here are 3 home renovation projects you should do if you’re looking to sell your house.
A Bathroom Upgrade
Renovating your bathroom is one of the easiest ways of increasing the value of your home. Such a project will make it possible to install completely new plumbing fittings and fixtures.
You could also take advantage of this opportunity to put in shower heads that consume less water each minute, and toilets that utilize less water during each flush. This way, your new bathroom will lead to less water wastage, leading to cheaper water costs. This is bound to have a heavy impact on the house’s resale value.
Finished Basement Space
Having a completed basement will help ensure that your home is properly insulated. This means that there will be less leakage of heat into and out of your home, implying that you’ll spend less money cooling and heating up your house. It will also provide extra space that could serve as a wine cellar, gaming room, or even a family TV room. A finished basement is more than likely to jump out to a homebuyer that’s looking for maximum space.
Upgrade the Kitchen
The kitchen is arguably the most important room in every house. By providing the space to cook good and nutritious food, a functional kitchen plays a key role in making sure you and your household lead a healthy lifestyle. Renovating your kitchen would, therefore, be a great way of adding value to your home before putting it on sale.
Remember to upgrade the flooring, countertops and cabinetry to something new and elegant. If you can, put in a new kitchen island- this will make the kitchen even more functional.
Calling in a professional remodeling service will make sure you have someone you can entrust your home to. Although some home renovation projects may be quite expensive, it’s possible to get almost all your money back when you put your house on the market. These projects have great return rates, and will make sure you sell your home without having to compromise on prices.
by Shawn Boday | Aug 12, 2020 | Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Tips, Real Estate Value, Shawn Boday, Uncategorized
Flipping real estate is a major investment that has become popular not only due to its profit potential but for the enjoyment of turning an ugly duckling into a swan. However, there are rules that must be followed to ensure a successful flip.
What You Need to Know
Investors in foreclosed properties must educate themselves about financing and have a comprehensive knowledge of the local housing market they are buying into. They need to research the neighborhood surrounding the foreclosure property to view what types of homes are selling the fastest. Types of properties to pay attention to are multifamily dwellings like duplexes, apartment and condominium complexes and single residences.
The investor must learn about financing investment properties and know that investing in flipping homes is a bit different from traditional real estate investments. The financial plan must include the best way to finance the purchase with the added condition of maximizing profit when the property is ready for sale. Possible financing options are remortgaging an existing asset or obtaining a home equity line of credit.
Financing anything always requires a good credit score to obtain the best terms. A low credit score can be improved in many ways. It’s a good idea to have the highest possible score before searching out financial options.
Building a Team
It may be wise to consider an investment partner to help get through the challenges that will most certainly arise with flipping foreclosed properties. Ideally, an experienced real estate investor and foreclosure flipper would be the best collaborator.
A real estate investment network is not easy to build but it may be the most important asset a successful foreclosed home flipper can have. The network should include:
- Credit advisor or mortgage broker
- Real estate attorney
- Accountant
- Trusted and experienced general contractor
- Property appraiser
- Insurance agent
- Title company
This may seem like an expensive group of advisors, but bear in mind, they are on-call to be sought only when their services are required. They need to be trusted acquaintances that are familiar enough with your business that they will offer assistance immediately when called upon. Building and maintaining relationships with the network is an essential part of the flipper’s success.
All investments involve risk, but foreclosed home flipping is more fun than most because unlike stocks and bonds, it is a hands-on adventure where investors can clearly see the result of their efforts.
