Saturday, May 23, 2009
The report also showed that 448,000 homes, or about 1 percent of loans being serviced, began the foreclosure process during the first quarter. This is up from 382,000 homes, or 0.83 percent which entered foreclosure in the last 3 months of 2007.
The seasonally adjusted rate of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments also hit a record high. Nearly 3 million home loans, or 6.4 percent have missed at least one payment, while about 737,000 are at least three months past due, but not yet in foreclosure.
Monday, May 4, 2009
The following was released today by Scott Robinson, Visiting Clinical Professor, NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, and Joseph Neckles, an M.S. in Real Estate student at the NYU Schack Institute, and assistant vice president, Lexington Realty Trust:
At last month's 14th Annual REIT Symposium (hosted by the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate), keynote speaker Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of the Starwood Capital Group, outlined positive signs for the real estate capital markets. Conceding that no one can know what to expect with exactitude in the next three to five years, Sternlicht confirmed his long-term confidence in real estate as an investment vehicle.
"Growth bails you out eventually in property, and it is not a question of 'if,' but 'when' the housing market will recover," said Sternlicht.
He described the U.S. credit markets as frozen after Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in September 2008. After almost seven months, it seems that these markets are beginning to see the first signs of thawing. Cash flow is being created by the government for people to fix their problems, and this will be the first step toward recovery. Though debt is not yet available for real estate, the government is finally paying attention to the commercial side of the business, and Sternlicht said he expected that this will set the stage for recovery in the real estate sector.
Sternlicht expressed optimism for the global economy and the real estate market. Regarding the thawing of frozen capital markets he said, "It is $3.5 trillion earning one percent, and it doesn't want to be there. The turnaround will happen at some point in the future, and it will be swift. The key is to stay out the crisis, remain liquid, and survive in order to capitalize."
About the NYU Schack Institute -- The NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, part of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS), was founded in 1967 and is the University's home for graduate and continuing education programs, industry conferences, and applied research in real estate, construction management, and related fields.
Website: http://www.nyu.eduLabels: 2009 NYU REIT Symposium Real Estate Long-Term Investment
