TheRealOBX's Blog: Real Estate

If you are sour on the United States real estate market, you will be interested in the finding by the Knowledge@Wharton Real Estate in Emerging Markets Forum.  The forum had good insight into countries like China, Brazil, India and Russia, to name a few.  The consensus from the forum was...look for countries with strong middle-class growth -- say, China or Brazil. Stick mainly to housing and retail. Focus on the long term. And don't attempt to do it without a local partner.

The consensus sounds simple but once you read through the entire article you realize how important it is to have a solid foundation and local partners.  The findings of the forum definitely provide some great insight into investing in foreign countries.  For those without the partners…

The month of September was a good month for Outer Banks real estate and it appears rather good for the rest of the country.  In some good news this week, the rate of existing home sales rose in its largest monthly increase since July 2003.  This is definitely some promising news.  The over 5% increase from August could be an indicator of the market turning in the right direction. As minimum it is an indicator that at current prices many homes are a becomming a bargain.  For many who were kept out during the housing boom, now is becoming the chance to pick up the home they wanted for a reasonable price.

Some negative news did come out late this week.  The prices paid for those homes in September fell by 9% from September a year ago.  This is not…

     Many home owners that are on the fence about selling their home due to market conditions may want to reconsider.  Now may be just the time to correctly price your home to sell.  The main determining factor to many home owners on whether to buy or sell has to be interest rates.  For those with ARM's that are readjusting now would be the best time to plan an exit strategy.

     The Federal Reserve as reported in Reuters is looking to keep interest rates steady for the next three meetings before looking at a possible rate increase.  Rate increases adversely affect both buyers and sellers.  Sellers especially those faced with adjustable rate mortgages that are going to readjust can face hundreds if not thousands more in monthly payments.  For buyers it…