On the Scene: Investments & Real Estate

  • gnatalu

    The Drought and Clay Soil

    I received an email from one of my tenants last week about cracks developing in their yard, due to the drought. I’m used to seeing some small cracks in yards in Austin, TX, especially this summer. For any of you non-locals, we have been having record heat, 80+ days of triple digit heat, and ab

  • kevinkentt

    Guess Who Owns All the Houses?

    By Michael Lombardi, MBA So which bank owns the majority of those 800,000 homes repossessed during the credit crisis bust? Well, it’s not a bank. It’s the U.S. taxpayer. About a third of the country’s repossessed homes, 248,000 of them, are owned by the U.S. government (Source: Bloomberg Business We

  • kevinkentt

    Big Banks-Why They Can’t Get a Break

    By Michael Lombardi, MBA The simple question: why haven’t jobs been created in the U.S. despite the trillions of dollars the government has thrown at the economy? There are several answers to this question. There is also a new theory I have been working on, as to why jobs in this country have not be

  • kevinkentt

    Low Consumer Confidence and the Spending Cycle

    By George Leong, B.Comm. We all know that consumer spending accounts for about 70% of the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in this country. And when confidence is low, you also know consumers may be more hesitant to spend, holding back on any major purchases, such as homes, vehicles, furniture, a

  • kevinkentt

    Cracks in the U.S. Economy Slowly Starting to Show

    By Michael Lombardi, MBA Surprise, surprise, surprise… The Commerce Department reported yesterday that the U.S. economy grew (i.e. GDP) at only 1.8% in the first quarter of 2011—below analyst expectations. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said that it expects GDP to be 3.1% this year. Separately, t

  • kevinkentt

    First Stocks, Then Real Estate-What’s the Winner Going to Be This Decade?

    I think it’s probable that the stock market will continue to convulse for the rest of the third quarter and into the fourth. The trend in economic news is down and so is investor sentiment. We still have a lot of problems with sovereign debt issues in Europe and this is an investment risk that [...]

  • kevinkentt

    Free 100% Real Estate Investment Market Commentary and Forecasts Newsletter

    Real Estate Investment The unprecedented collapse of the U.S. housing market since 2005–is it opportunity or does more risk lie ahead? In our daily Profit Confidential e-letter, we regularly comment on the U.S. housing market, offering our real estate investment analysis. Is it time to buy real esta

  • kevinkentt

    What a Mistake with this Next Housing Bailout

    The statistics are startling: According to Moody’s, 15.0 million American homeowners owe more money on their mortgages than their homes are worth. There are 3.6 million homes for sale in the U.S. — an 8.6-month supply, according to the National Realtors Association. The Senate Banking Committee says

  • kevinkentt

    The Housing Market Woes: How Are They Stalling the Recovery?

    The housing market does not exist in a vacuum. It has always been connected — albeit not too strongly — to certain long-term macroeconomic trends, such as employment, for example. Nevertheless, the relationship has always been positively correlated. When more people have jobs, home prices tend to in

  • kevinkentt

    Why the Bottom Is in for U.S. Real Estate Prices

    There is no doubt in my mind that the real estate market has bottomed out. I’m in Miami this week trying to pick up some “deals” in this recession-hit-hard town and I’m starting to see some changes in the marketplace for real estate. I want my dear readers to be aware of two important changes [...]

  • kevinkentt

    Opportunity Presenting Itself as Fear Grips the Market Again

    There is a bubble forming in today’s economy and I believe that bubble is in U.S. Treasuries. Yesterday, the yield on 10-year Treasuries fell to 2.5% for the first time since 2009. Why the big rush to U.S. T-bills? A one-word answer explains the situation: fear. The fear is that the anemic U.S. hous

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