Salient to Investors: Knight Frank said English rural land produced some of the best investment returns in Europe since 2007, appreciating by 51 percent versus a 19 percent rise got millionaires’ mansions in London and a loss for rest of the U.K. housing market. Tim Atkinson at J.H. Walter is not expecting an alteration in the
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Larry Trefz writes: The rally will continue until sentiment turns for the worse, then expect a correction of over 10%. Warren Buffett sees says stocks are good value and cheaper than other forms of investment, while the dumbest investment is long-term government bonds. Stan Druckenmiller sees a
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: US buyout firms are playing an increasingly larger role in the U.K. housing market. US private-equity investors Wilbur Ross and J. Christopher Flowers are lining up to finance British homebuyers as the country’s biggest banks pull back. The Council of Mortgage Lenders says RBS, Lloyds Banking, Barclays, HSBC and Santander U.K.
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Net worth for households and non-profit groups in Q4 2012 increased to the highest level since Q4 2007 on a recovery in home values – $66.1 trillion versus $67.4 trillion in Q3 2007. Paul Edelstein at IHS Global Insight said households have acquired a lot of financial
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The financial foundation of leading-edge boomers is stronger in the aggregate than commonly assumed, and is likely to improve in coming years. A study by Alan Gustman at Dartmouth, Thomas Steinmeier at Texas Tech and Nahid Tabatabai at Dartmouth found that the inflation–adjusted wealth of people aged
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: John Silvia at Wells Fargo Securities said the economy has legs, many people are much more confident, the housing pick up is sustainable. Ken Goldstein at the Conference Board said the underlying economy remains relatively sound but sluggish – the biggest positive factor is housing. The median price of an existing
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Banks that agreed to help troubled borrowers as part of a settlement with regulators over foreclosure misdeeds are spending most of the promised aid on short sales and forgiveness of home-equity loans that allow them to take bad loans off their books. Arthur Wilmarth at George Washington University said banks
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Pew Research Center said: 24.7 million millennial households have reduced the debt they owe on homes, cars and credit cards some 4 times faster than their elders, but college loans are an exception. Student loans more than doubled in the last decade for households led by those under 35
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Freddie Mac said the 30-yr fixed mortgage rate averaged 3.56 percent in the past week, the highest level since August 30, 2012, while the average 15-year rate held at 2.77 percent. Celia Chen at Moody’s Analytics said mortgage rates are still very, very low and will stay low
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The midsize art galleries that helped transform western Chelsea into New York’s major art hub are being squeezed out of the neighborhood by booming real-estate development and rising rents. Stuart Siegel at CBRE said every developer in New York wants to be in West Chelsea, and landlords
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