According to an analysis of MLS data by Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie, Investors with cash continued to buy bargain priced foreclosures/short sales across the San Francisco Bay Area in the 4th. Quarter of 2011. Contra Costa County reported the greatest number of home sales (2,564)…… Ask us where Investors are buying…… read more.

In the last three month, the S&P Home Building index has shot up close to 50%. Top Analyst and Housing Expert Ivy Zelman: “It’s been six long years and I believe the fundamentals are now at that inflection point that we have confidence is really starting to come to fruition and we’re excited about it”. “I think we’re just in the beginnings of a very admittedly tepid recovery, but we’re coming from such an anemic base that the numbers percentage wise could actually be pretty big going into 2012/3. we’re looking for about a 20% increase, and we think that we’ll continue the upward trajectory as job growth gets better and family formation, household formation continues to come from very depressed levels.”….”There’s a lot of foreclosures that still need to be worked through, but we see very strong investor demand. In fact, we see so much demand that there’s not enough inventory to satisfy these investors right now with capital flowing from Wall Street”. “I think renters want to be homeowners. they want to have the freedom of being in their own home. Our surveys suggest there are probably close to 3 million people today that are renting that want to own and have the down payment…” …. read more and see the video.

As millions of distressed properties will likely come to market over the next few years… Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is working with the Obama administration on a plan to sell not just the quarter of a million foreclosed properties already owned by the GSE’s, but hundreds of thousands more in the pipeline heading to foreclosure… private equity firm Waypoint is likely positioning itself to be a player in a government bulk REO program… Connecticut-based Carrington Mortgage Services, are working on deals with major banks to buy foreclosures in bulk. Carrington says it is planning to invest nearly $1 billion in foreclosed single-family homes and turn them into rental housing……read more.

McKinley Capital Partners, an investment company that’s at the forefront of a new breed of big-money landlords. McKinley, which has acquired more than 300 foreclosed single-family homes in the Bay Area over the past two years, recently teamed up with Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, a New York hedge fund, with plans to buy at least 500 more foreclosed homes in the next year. …. Carrington Property Services LLC, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based property investment company that manages about 4,500 homes nationally, is in talks with investors to raise funds for a real-estate investment trust, to be called Residential National Trust, which would acquire foreclosed homes for rental. The company plans to buy as many as 5,000 more rental homes in markets including Chicago, Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas…… read more.

The Russian billionaire, Yuri Milner, has paid $100 million for a second home in California’s Silicon Valley, in Los Altos Hills. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, March 30th, it is the highest known amount paid for a home in the United States. It is 25,500+ square feet of living area, with five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a central entry court, ballroom, home theater, wine cellar, spa/gym, a tennis court, car wash, swimming pool and formal gardens.  The home was bought from another tycoon, Fred Chan, founder of ESS Technology, who has reportedly decided to live in Hawaii after building the Silicon Valley mansion. …. read more

The Wall Street Journal reported on January 11, 2012 that GI Partners in Menlo Park, CA, plans to invest $250 million in an Oakland-based company that buys foreclosed homes at discounts and rents them out to tenants… The private-equity fund could eventually expand its investment to $1 billion over the next two years if the initial round is successful. “They seem to be getting the kinds of yields we need for our investors,” said Mr. Richard Magnuson, Managing Director of GI Partners.
Note: If smart money is buying foreclosed homes, because of the yield, shouldn’t you do the same ? … read more

Because of the Foreclosure Crisis, Sacramento Homes are now selling for less than $100K. Yes, you can get a single family home with 3 bed/2 bath for that price. Hurry….

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