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1.5 Million New Tenants


By Michael Douville - Real Estate

After 5 long years, the quality tenants are returning, with their tails between their legs, but returning just the same.
(Article interests Nasdaq: DPRRX, NYSE: AIV, NYSE: TOL, NYSE: HOV, NYSE: BZH, NYSE: LEN, NYSE: PHM, NYSE: NVR, NYSE: GFA, NYSE: MDC, NYSE: CTX, NYSE: KBH, NYSE: RYL, NYSE: MTH, NYSE: XIN, NYSE: BHS, NYSE: SPF, NYSE: MHO, NYSE: OHB, NYSE: WCI, NYSE: NYX, AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: QLD, AMEX: VNQ.)
The failed experiment in financing new homes for qualified and unqualified buyers alike removed rental demand from the supply-demand equation, and in its place, left the worst population of tenants in recent history to lease a growing number of residential rentals. This resulted in declining rents, greater vacancy factors, and, due to the poor quality of the remaining tenant pool, much higher maintenance and repair expenses.
Traditionally, household creation required planning and budgeting while the down payment was being accumulated to finance the first-time home purchase. Credit had to be established, as well as employment history. This was accomplished by leasing a home until you were fully qualified to own. Owning a home was a goal to be striven for, and once attained, to be cherished. Home ownership is a privilege, not a right.
The incredibly easy financing made available from aggressive lenders short-circuited this time-proven process. No down payment, no verification of employment, and even low credit scores made everyone a home owner; the rest is history - 1.5 million foreclosures.
A historical opportunity is unfolding. Properties are availing in great growth markets, discounted to sell, and at the same time, an equally abundant amount of tenants are arriving to fill the units. The growth demographics require at least 1.1 million new units to balance demand; builders are producing well below that in the 650-700,000 unit area. Thus, the excess units in the system are being absorbed.
Balance is being restored to the markets. The tenant population, though flawed, is improving. Rents should increase, thus restoring the traditional 3-5% revenue growth rate, and I believe an easy 20-30% capital gain could be garnered over the next 36-48 months as well. Opportunity is hidden from view by all of the news copy-writes who speedily arrange their gloomy scripts for commentators on major news networks.
However, we will recover! Foreclosure sales are delivering opportunity to the market by allowing an investor to purchase properties at a huge discount, AND, at the same time, the borrower who has lost the home will need to lease until his credit is restored, which typically takes about 3 years. Those who are astute enough to plan 3-5 years into the future should be richly rewarded, or just plain rich.




.Friday, November 13, 2009The Coming Inflation Trade
Making the case for Real Estate, Master Limited Partnerships and Alternative Hard Asset Investments

Visit the front pages of Wall Street Greek to see our current coverage of economic reports and financial markets.

(Tickers: ARLP, AHGP, APL, ATN, BWP, BBEP, BPL, BGH, CLMT, CPLP, CQP, CEP, CPNO, XTEX, DPM, DMLP, DEP, EROC, EPB, EEP, ENP, ETP, ETE, EPD, EPE, EVEP, EXLP, FGP, GEL, GLP, HLND, HEP, NRGY, NRGP, KMP, KSP, LGCY, LINE, MMP, MWE, MMLP, NRP, NMM, NS, NSH, OKS, OSP, PVR, PVG, PAA, QELP, KGS, RGNC, RVEP, SEP, STON, SXL, NGLS, TCLP, TGP, TLP, VNR, WES, WPZ, WMZ, BAC, FRE, FNM, GS, MS, WFC, TD, SRS, URE, IGR, XIN, RYHRX, TRREX, TOL, HOV, DHI, BZH, LEN, KBH, PHM, NVR, GFA, MDC, CTX, KBH, RYL, MTH, XIN, BHS, SPF, MHO, OHB, WCI, NYX, DIA, SPY, QQQQ, NYX, DOG, SDS, QLD, XLF, IWM, TWM, IWD, SDK)
Inflation Trade
Inflation is coming! Not tame, controlled increases in prices and wages that make everyone feel richer; this inflation will be nasty, double digit, 70's style inflation that will erode purchasing power and destroy the fixed income markets. Annuities, bonds, and pensions will provide the same income, but it will cost much more to buy everything... not just petroleum-based products, but water, utilities, food, clothing, and all the necessities of life.

The massive debt accumulated by the US Government will be repaid with dollars 90%, 80%, or 50% of their current value; the debt will be monetized! This inflationary period should start to become apparent at the end of the 4th quarter of 2010 or the 1st quarter of 2011. There is time to prepare and protect income and wealth, as well as reap enormous profits.

"The stage has been set to reap "generational" profits from the financial turmoil of the past few years..."

The premise of my article is the accumulation of assets that generate income and will grow and benefit from rising prices. The focus is on the inflation-hedged asset class of single-family residential homes purchased for the express purpose of rental income and capital gains. Those who have identified the trend and positioned themselves early in the "Inflation Trade" should reap explosive profits. These rentals can be easily accumulated: individually, conservatively, and dependably. The stage has been set to reap "generational" profits from the financial turmoil of the past few years, and create a lifeboat to protect the investor and his family against future economic cycle troughs.

This article has been written to prepare the individual investor for the coming economic change that I view inevitable. I hope to provide an incentive to individuals to execute a plan to create lasting wealth that can be used immediately, and that can also be passed along to future generations as an income legacy.

The extraordinary times present in the US will likely allow the traditional time frame of 10 years, which is needed to accumulate and season a rental portfolio, to be reduced to 4 years. I strongly believe the combination of: historically low fixed rate mortgages; the developing housing shortage, due to the lack of new construction necessary to keep pace with our expanding population; and the explosion of government debt, will drive those wishing to protect purchasing power into tangibles and income producing Real Estate.

I hope to provide a recipe to accumulate, manage, and harvest the profits during the coming "Boom Years," and to prepare the reader for the inevitable downturn needed to contain the inflation unleashed by government action. My wish is to provide economic signposts to gauge the cycles' progress, as well as an exit strategy to be employed prior to the next recession, which will potentially be worse than the 2007 - 2009 downturn.

A dire and yet highly possible scenario for the future is a 70's style true inflation across all sectors of the economy. While visiting Australia this past summer, I met with school teachers who were striking for higher pay. The Nurses Union had just been awarded a 21% pay increase, and the government had offered the teachers a 12% raise, which was turned down. The teachers' demand was for a 16% increase in pay. This behavior is typical in an economy entering into a Price-Wage Spiral. As prices go up, more income is needed to afford the prices, in turn causing a need to raise prices to afford the wages. The cycle invariably ends badly.

However, huge gains can be made by those positioned in inflation hedged assets such as master limited partnerships typical with commodity based products such as gas, oil, coal, pipelines, iron ores, etc, as well as tangibles such as art, stamps, and coins. Real estate rental properties have an income stream that can grow significantly during an inflationary "boom." Furthermore, property value/price generally exceeds the rate of inflation adding a "value-on" component.

Editor's Note:

A few publicly traded master limited partnerships include: Alliance Resource Partners L.P. (Nasdaq: ARLP), Alliance Resource Holdings (Nasdaq: AHGP), Atlas Pipeline Partners L.P. (NYSE: APL), Atlas Pipeline Holdings (NYSE: AHD), Atlas Energy Resources (NYSE: ATN), Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (NYSE: BWP), Breitburn Energy Partners (Nasdaq: BBEP), Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL), Buckeye Holdings (NYSE: BGH), Calumet Specialty Products (Nasdaq: CLMT), Capital Product Partners (Nasdaq: CPLP), Cheniere Energy Partners (AMEX: CQP), Constellation Energy Partners (PCX: CEP), Copano Energy (Nasdaq: CPNO), Crosstex Energy (Nasdaq: XTEX), DCP Midstream Partners (NYSE: DPM), Dorchester Minerals (Nasdaq: DMLP), Duncan Energy Partners (NYSE: DEP), Eagle Rock Energy Partners (Nasdaq: EROC), El Paso Pipeline Partners (NYSE: EPB), Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP), Encore Energy Partners (NYSE: ENP), Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP), Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE), Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), Enterprise GP Holdings (NYSE: EPE), EV Energy Partners (Nasdaq: EVEP), Exterran Partners (Nasdaq: EXLP), Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP), Genesis Energy (AMEX: GEL), Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP), Hiland Partners (Nasdaq: HLND), Holly Energy Partners (NYSE: HEP), Inergy (Nasdaq: NRGY), Inergy Holdings (Nasdaq: NRGP), Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP), K-Sea Transportation (NYSE: KSP), Legacy Reserves (Nasdaq: LGCY), Linn Energy (Nasdaq: LINE), Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE: MMP), MarkWest Energy (NYSE: MWE), Martin Midstream Partners (Nasdaq: MMLP), Natural Resource Partners (NYSE: NRP), Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM), NuStar Energy (NYSE: NS), NuStar GP Holdings (NYSE: NSH), ONEOK Partners (NYSE: OKS), OSG America (NYSE: OSP), Penn Virginia Resource (NYSE: PVR), Penn Virginia GP Holdings (NYSE: PVG), Plains All American (NYSE: PAA), Quest Energy (Nasdaq: QELP), Quicksilver Gas Services (NYSE: KGS), Regency Energy Partners (Nasdaq: RGNC), Rio Vista Energy (Nasdaq: RVEP), Spectra Energy Partners (NYSE: SEP), Stonemor Partners (Nasdaq: STON), Sunoco Logistics Partners (NYSE: SXL), Targa Resources (Nasdaq: NGLS), TC Pipelines (Nasdaq: TCLP), Teekay LNG Partners (NYSE: TGP), Transmontaigne Partners (NYSE: TLP), Vanguard Natural Resources (NYSE: VNR), Western Gas Partners (NYSE: WES), Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ) and Williams Pipeline (NYSE: WMZ).


Please see our disclosures
Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website, and Michael's on his bio page.Real Estate Market, by Michael Douville




Real Estate MarketSenior Analyst

Mr. Douville has been in the Real Estate Business since 1974, over 34 years. He started his career during the 1974 recession in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, where he experienced an inflationary period followed by the crash.

In 1981, having experienced enough cold and snow, he and his wife of now almost 30 years moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where for the last 25 years Mr. Douville has been associated with Realty Executives.

From 1982 through the early 1990's, the Douville's executed upon their well-thought-out business plan to accumulate income producing properties. Michael now represents and consults with investors while overseeing a portfolio of investment properties.

Michael has travelled extensively within Australia and New Zealand, and has journeyed on numerous occasions to the South Pacific, Europe, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, and of course throughout the US.

Wall Street Greek is enthused to have this strong real estate expert, with important front-line experience on board to cover the Real Estate Market for us. In this period of uncertainty, our readers deserve the steady hand Michael offers to guide them. We only have one complaint, that he's been all over Europe but NOT to Greece yet. However, I agree with Michael's view about money, that there are more important things in life. What we seek to do here at "The Greek" is to help people achieve and maintain financial security, or at least offer an interesting read. We thank Michael, and welcome his valuable contributions.

The Greek

Michael's Email: mdouville@wallstreetgreek. com
The Greek's Email: greek@wallstreetgreek. com



Thursday, January 07, 2010Real Estate Safety Net
History has taught that smart real estate investment can provide a safety net for personal wealth

Visit the front page of Wall Street Greek to see our current coverage of the real estate market, Wall Street and global affairs.

(Relative Tickers: NYSE: BAC, NYSE: FRE, NYSE: FNM, NYSE: GS, NYSE: MS, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: TD, NYSE: SRS, NYSE: URE, NYSE: IGR, NYSE: XIN, Nasdaq: RYHRX, Nasdaq: TRREX, NYSE: TOL, NYSE: HOV, NYSE: DHI, NYSE: BZH, NYSE: LEN, NYSE: KBH, NYSE: PHM, NYSE: NVR, NYSE: GFA, NYSE: MDC, NYSE: RYL, NYSE: MTH, NYSE: BHS, NYSE: SPF, NYSE: MHO, AMEX: OHB, NYSE: VNQ, Nasdaq: AVTR, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ)
Real Estate Safety Net
The Great Recession has taught some very hard Lessons! However, history has taught a more important one, that smart real estate investment can provide a safety net for personal wealth.

Although a little different for each individual investor, two common themes throughout the real estate mania of the last decade were timing and leverage. Loans were available for the asking: Low Down, No Down, 103% Loans, No Doc, Interest Only, Option Arms - all tailored to over encumber the investor, and in so doing, force payment of as many fees as possible to the loan originators. Higher loan amounts meant greater origination fees; more loans created increased document preparation and underwriting fees.

The loans were never meant to generate income in-house over the life of the loan; rather the loans were engineered to be sold in the secondary market, with only the servicing of the loan retained for a small monthly income. The profit was made at the closing of the loan, and the risk of default was shifted from the loan originator to nameless securitized pools of money anxious to invest in the secure AAA rated market of US Housing.

The signposts along the way flashed warning as early as 2005. Investors were replaced by speculators who bought high and sold higher. "The Greater Fool Theory" played true, with the first fool selling to a greater fool. Concepts such as return on investment were abandoned when returns evaporated and investments required monthly support. The investor fed the investment instead of vice versa. How many "investments" can a person make that require maintenance of $5,000 to $10,000 a month before the "investor" and the investment goes broke? Everyone wanted to get rich quickly, while risk and leverage were ignored.

Builders Build, Developers Develop & Speculators Speculate

The timing of such actions over the past three years has been the worst in three decades. Projects take time to create, design, fund, and build. Yet the market kept moving, and those who started late finished too late. The crescendo crashed, destroying well laid but badly timed plans. The signposts were ignored... the maniacal cycle had a short lifespan, and good builders, developers, and investors did nothing wrong other than start too late. That simple fact doomed them. The one simple adage used for centuries held true: Timing Is Everything!

The returns had evaporated and value was non-existent. The projects, investments and developments should have stopped, but money was available and builders build, developers develop and speculators speculate. The rest is history, and the clean up is still underway, but at corrective pricing. A new cycle has started and the timing is exquisite.

Although prices have risen in most markets, housing can still be purchased at prices greatly discounted from their highs and near replacement costs. Rents have declined to decade lows, but multi-family construction has virtually ceased for lack of financing resulting in the beginning of the absorption of existing supply. New home construction is well below projected demand of the one million new homes needed to keep pace with US population growth. Long-term mortgage rates are at historical lows, resulting in affordability indexes at historical highs.

The worlds' governments have added enormous liquidity to their financial systems, and although there is excess capacity around the world, global population will continue to grow from over 6 billion to exceeding 7 billion in the next 10 years. The newly empowered markets of the world will all demand cars, computers, cell phones, meat, bread, and a place to live for their citizens. The excess capacity of the last couple of years can quickly vanish, and demand for goods and services could drive prices higher everywhere! The result is the potential for inflation; not necessarily hyperinflation, but mild to more than mild inflation should grind away at purchasing power, especially as one ages. Timing is everything! It is time to build a real estate safety net!

Real Estate investments are by nature long-term, developing and maturing over years. The signposts point toward higher trending home prices. Rising population pressures development needs for higher and higher housing density, resulting in more condos and townhouses and fewer single-family homes. An unattached home with a backyard will command more of a premium in the future, as household creators will not buy their first home, but rather their first condo because of affordability.

"The goal is to create free and clear properties as quickly as possible."

I believe single-family homes should also be accumulated. Long-term mortgages with rates in the 5% range should be used to finance purchases, with leverage contained to no more than 80% loan-to-value (less is better). Rents should begin to trend higher, perhaps significantly higher. Cash flow should be used to reduce debt as quickly as possible. If rents increase 3-5% per year for 5-10 years, the resultant cash flow used to reduce the principal can reduce the debt levels so significantly that loan payoff can be shortened from 30 years to 10-15 years. The goal is to create free and clear properties as quickly as possible.

Housing rents and values will track the cost of living and provide dependable current income in any economy. Wealth and purchasing power would thus be maintained and grown. Many strategies exist to achieve a portfolio of free and clear properties to secure an individual's future. Remember, it was not the Real Estate that destroyed investors; it was the DEBT.

"... housing is having an enormous clearance sale."

Many economists believe a new cycle has started, and fewer jobs are being lost. Currently high productivity should lead to new job creation in 2010. Higher unemployment will be with us for a couple more years, and as business cycles repeat, risks are never absent. However, most shoppers will agree it is better to buy when things are on sale, and now housing is having an enormous Clearance Sale. So I suggest you check with your financial advisor, and start building your free and clear real estate safety net.


Editor's Note: Article should interest investors in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Toronto Dominion (NYSE: TD), UltraShort Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: SRS), Ultra Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: URE), ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (NYSE: IGR), Xinyuan Real Estate Co. (NYSE: XIN), Rydex Real Estate Fund H (Nasdaq: RYHRX), T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund (Nasdaq: TRREX), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH), Lennar (NYSE: LEN), K.B. Homes (NYSE: KBH), Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR), Gafisa SA (NYSE: GFA), MDC Holdings (NYSE: MDC), Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL), Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), Brookfield Homes (NYSE: BHS), Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF), M/I Homes (NYSE: MHO), Orleans Homebuilders (AMEX: OHB), Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSE: VNQ) and Avatar Holdings (Nasdaq: AVTR).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Short Sale Lemonade

A housing short-sale provides a win-win opportunity for both lender and borrower, and offers the parties involved in distressed property dealings to make real estate lemons into lemonade.

Visit the front page of Wall Street Greek to see our current coverage of the real estate market, Wall Street, economic reports, global financial markets and foreign affairs.

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Short Sale Real Estate

The reality of the Real Estate Bubble of 2005 through 2007 places most homeowners who purchased in that unfortunate time frame "underwater," or owing the lender more than the property is worth. Market forces have whipsawed the values of home prices. At the peak, appreciation soared as high as 50% or more, though more recent plummeting has led to the shedding of as much as 60% or more value, driving American ingenuity to employ the real estate short sale.

Some areas never participated or participated to a milder degree, and are now nearer to recovery, though still a long way from recovered. The committed parties: homeowner, lender, and lender's investor are all involved in a bad way. It's an unfortunate situation, where the only choices are choices that will result in loss. The situation requires that ideas of fairness and recrimination be removed from the issue, letting only economics weigh decision-making. There is a loss to be taken; the loss can be limited, the damage realized, and the process of re-building started. Life and investing is a process, not a destination. We need to move on.

The news media and our own local industry gossip groups are full of stories of cheaters and morally bankrupt property owners defrauding lenders with misstated income to acquire "liar loans"; and Investors who were "non-owner occupants" posing as homeowners to qualify for easier loans, with the intention of leasing the home as an investment or "flipping" the property shortly after closing. Most will agree there is very little room for compassion or understanding when these borrowers find themselves in trouble and ask for help.

However, there is an enormous population of upright citizens that need to sell their residences for a variety of legitimate reasons. They need to move on with their lives, but their lives have stalled due to declining home prices. It is easy to forget that the use of leverage is a two-sided sword until market forces move against an encumbered property. The result has typically been a costly and devastating foreclosure. As a result, the use of a "Short Sale," a relatively new method to liquidate properties, is on the rise.

Many residential borrowers have found themselves in the kind of financial trouble that in the past would have only been remedied by the foreclosure of the lender. The process itself is extremely lengthy and expensive. Not only does the income stream from the mortgage stop, but huge legal expenses start. The borrowers view the lender as an antagonist and villain, sweeping away their property and jeopardizing their future. The borrower attempts every legal obstacle in their effort to remain in the home, but in the inevitable conclusion of a foreclosure, they are forced out.

Often an angry and despondent occupant expresses their frustration and anger by physically damaging the property. The lender not only incurs huge legal fees, but it is not uncommon for repair bills to run up to $30,000 to $40,000 or more. The properties are often stripped of appliances, copper wire, air conditioning units, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, and lighting fixtures. The property can become an unsightly blight to the neighborhood, with unkempt lawns and ruined landscaping. The entire area is affected, and property values are further impacted, exacerbating the situation.

"A foreclosure makes a bad situation worse; in attempting to protect the asset, it loses even more value, causing greater losses."

A foreclosure makes a bad situation worse; in attempting to protect the asset, it loses even more value, causing greater losses. The lender, often an entity that has never had any face-to-face contact with the borrower, as its sole role was lending the funds in the secondary financing markets, takes enormous losses.

The borrower is also of course extremely damaged by a foreclosure as well. The repercussions of foreclosure extend beyond the obvious loss of the home. Any down payment, often a precious commodity, particularly among first-time buyers who may have tapped family credit lines, is irrevocably lost. There is also the inevitable stress and embarrassment of the process, causing family and personal pressures.

As an American matures, credit scores become very important, affecting not only the ability to borrow money, but to borrow at what rate. Insurance rates for autos, rentals, and homes can be levied based on credit scores. The ability to lease a home is decided in large part by the prospective tenant's credit score, and the higher the risk to a Landlord, the more the rent and the greater the security deposit required within the legal limits of the law. Further, the ability to rent a car while traveling is impacted by your capability to produce a credit card. Credit scores often affect employment applications, security clearance, and job promotions with a present employer.

Many economists agree the new business cycle has started, and within 12-18 months the economy will be much, much better. Troubled borrowers will have a chance to heal their finances, and will once again desire to have a home of their own. A homeowner who has lost a property through foreclosure is barred from a Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) loan for a period of 5 years though, and an investor is barred for 7 years. These former homeowners represent future home sales, and are essential to the recovery.

Both the lenders and the borrowers are severely impacted by the foreclosure process. Once the realization hits that a borrower is going to default on a home loan, it is in the interest of both parties to sell the property as quickly as possible. The use of the "Short Sale," whereby the lender accepts a payoff for less than the full amount of the loan, is gaining more and more acceptance. Although the lender still registers a loss, the loss is far less than the alternative method of foreclosure. The legal and title fees are greatly reduced; utilities normally remain in the borrowers name; upkeep responsibilities remain with the homeowner; the property stays occupied; and the loss from vandalism and theft is mitigated. The sales process is quicker, and the savings are significant to the lender. The owner remains in the property limiting the disruption, and the property never receives the stigma associated with a foreclosure. The stress is greatly reduced and the surrounding neighborhood benefits from a normal sale with a slight twist. The lender still takes a loss, but significantly less of a loss. In many cases, the lender can reduce the loss by 20-30%, a very substantial figure.

The borrower also benefits: The credit score of the borrower is still affected adversely in a "Short Sale," but a typical foreclosure can easily lower a credit score 250-350 points. However, typically in a "Short Sale," only the late payments on the mortgage will show on the credit report; and it will be reported as paid or negotiated when the home is sold. Further, typically a "Short Sale" is not reported on a credit report, and should have no impact on employment should an employer use credit scores as a hiring or promoting criteria. Also, the waiting time to become eligible for a new Fannie Mae loan is greatly reduced to possibly 24 months, providing a huge benefit to both the homeowner and the general economy. Investors also become eligible for a Fannie Mae backed loan sooner than with a foreclosure.

Although the process for a "Short Sale" needs to be streamlined and standardized, the transactions are becoming more and more prevalent. A home being sold as a "Short Sale" does not blight the neighborhood, seems to be sold closer to market value, and is as close to a win-win situation as possible under the present circumstances.

This process will further speed the return to market normalcy. It will unfreeze thousands of homes that need to be sold due to a variety of circumstances. It will permit more and more transactions, eventually allowing economic forces to heal and recuperate the Housing Market. The affected borrowers represented a large part of the buying pool, and represent a significant segment of the population. The sooner the problems are recognized and dealt with, the sooner this segment can again take its place in homeownership, benefiting more Americans and the economy in general. This segment of the market could begin to impact housing demand as soon as 2011. Thus, I believe the realities of today and American ingenuity have taken lemons and made them into lemonade.

Editor's Note: Article should interest investors in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Toronto Dominion (NYSE: TD), UltraShort Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: SRS), Ultra Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: URE), ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (NYSE: IGR), Xinyuan Real Estate Co. (NYSE: XIN), Rydex Real Estate Fund H (Nasdaq: RYHRX), T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund (Nasdaq: TRREX), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH), Lennar (NYSE: LEN), K.B. Homes (NYSE: KBH), Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR), Gafisa SA (NYSE: GFA), MDC Holdings (NYSE: MDC), Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL), Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), Brookfield Homes (NYSE: BHS), Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF), M/I Homes (NYSE: MHO), Orleans Homebuilders (AMEX: OHB), Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSE: VNQ) and Avatar Holdings (Nasdaq: AVTR).



 
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