Today’s News Synopsis:

Home prices increased 5.1% year-over-year and 1% month-over-month in June, although the increases were primarily located in the South and West.  Profits from independent mortgage bankers increased twice as much in the second quarter, now at $1,686 from $825.  CoreLogic reported a 2.1% decrease in distressed sales, putting them at 8.4% of total sales.

In The News:

Wall Street Journal – “Chinese Cash Pours Into U.S. Real Estate” (8-30-16)

“For eight years, a pair of local developers gradually readied a 42-acre strip of waterfront land 10 miles south of downtown San Francisco for a major project, steering it through local land-use approvals.”

Bloomberg – “Workers All Over America Are Getting a Raise” (8-30-16)

“‘Wage growth is picking up across America — and even non-oil states are getting in on the action.  The median U.S. worker benefited from a 3.4 percent year-on-year increase in wages in July, only marginally lower than the bumper 3.6 percent the previous month, which was the fastest pace of wage growth since January 2009, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s wage growth tracker.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “Independent Mortgage Banks’ Profits Double in 2nd Quarter” (8-30-16)

“Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a net gain of $1,686 on each loan they originated in the second quarter of 2016, up from a reported gain of $825 per loan in the first quarter of 2016, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today in its Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report.”

S & P Down Jones Indices – “Home Price Gains in June Concentrated In South And West According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices” (8-30-16)

“S&P Dow Jones Indices today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices.”

Bloomberg – “Is Fischer ‘Stan the Man’ or the ‘Odd Stan Out’ on Rate Hikes?” (8-30-16)

“At Jackson Hole, Stan was the man.  Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s long-awaited speech on Friday was interpreted by the markets as somewhat dovish on future interest rate hikes, with five-year real yields lower after investors digested her commentary.”

DS News – “Distressed Sales Drop Down in May” (8-30-16)

“Distressed sales, which include REO and short sales, accounted for 8.4 percent of total home sales nationally in May 2016, according to a recent report from CoreLogic.”

Fox News – “Real estate agent reportedly lets in jewel thieves during open house; $150,000 in loot stolen” (8-30-16)

“A distracted real estate agent holding an open house in Southern California apparently didn’t notice two unwanted guests: a pair of crafty jewel thieves.”

Bloomberg – “Macy’s Drags Its Feet On Real Estate Sales” (8-30-16)

“How serious is Macy’s about selling off its real estate?   I’ve written a lot about how slow Macy’s has been trying to wring cash out of the hundreds of properties it owns.”

Wall Street Journal – “Real-Estate Shares to Get Own Sector” (8-30-16)

“On stock markets around the world, real-estate companies have been lumped into a category with banks and insurance firms since 1999.  But property will break free from the financial sector on Thursday into its own dedicated group. Analysts say the move is likely to increase the attention investors pay to real-estate investment trusts.”

Bloomberg – “Goldman Sachs Said to Have Lost $1.8 Billion U.S. Property Deal” (8-30-16)

“Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was the original winner of Alecta’s U.S. real estate sale before the transaction fell apart amid a disagreement over terms, leading Blackstone Group LP to prevail with a $1.8 billion deal, said people with knowledge of the matter.”

 

Bruce Norris will be speaking at the AOA Million Dollar Tradeshow and Landlording Conference 2016 on Tuesday, September 20.

Bruce Norris will be presenting his newest talk Stay Put, Cash Out, Or Change Seats? with InvestClub for Women on Wednesday, September 21.

Bruce Norris will be presenting Stay Put, Cash Out, Or Change Seats? with InvestClub for Women and Robert Hall & Associates on September 28.

Bruce Norris will be presenting Cashing In On a Boom: Investing in Quadrant 4 at the Back Bay Conference Center on Saturday, October 8.

Bruce Norris of The Norris Group will be presenting the 9th annual I Survived Real Estate 2016 on Friday, October 21.

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