Salient to Investors:
A Berkshire Hathaway unit will be the majority owner of a US residential real- estate affiliate network and Berkshire Hathaway Home Services venture with Brookfield Asset Mgmt.
Berkshire has been positioning to benefit from US home market recovery by buying a brickmaker, the loan portfolio of Residential Capital LLC at auction, and acquiring real-estate brokerages in states including Oregon and Connecticut.
Ron Peltier at Home Services said there is a significant inventory shortage across the country and prices have fallen, so with low interest rates, housing will continue to improve.
Housing prices had their biggest gain in August since July 2010, while the number of homes for sale dropped 18 percent last month from a year earlier.
Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-31/berkshire-extends-housing-bet-with-brookfield-venture.html