Saturday, February 28, 2015

The Real Estate Sector


Boom & Bust of Indian Real Estate Sector


Engulfing the period of stagnation, the evolution of Indian real estate sector has been phenomenal, impelled by, growing economy, conducive demographics and liberalized foreign direct investment regime. However, now this unceasing phenomenon of real estate sector has started to exhibit the signs of contraction.


What can be the reasons of such a trend in this sector and what future course it will take? This article tries to find answers to these questions…


Overview of Indian real estate sector


Since 2004-05 Indian reality sector has tremendous growth. Registering a growth rate of, 35 per cent the realty sector is estimated to be worth US$ 15 billion and anticipated to grow at the rate of 30 per cent annually over the next decade, attracting foreign investments worth US$ 30 billion, with a number of IT parks and residential townships being constructed across-India.


The term real estate covers residential housing, commercial offices and trading spaces such as theaters, hotels and restaurants, retail outlets, industrial buildings such as factories and government buildings. Real estate involves purchase sale and development of land, residential and non-residential buildings. The activities of real estate sector embrace the hosing and construction sector also.


The sector accounts for major source of employment generation in the country, being the second largest employer, next to agriculture. The sector has backward and forward linkages with about 250 ancilary industries such as cement, brick,steel, building material etc.


Therefore a unit increase in expenditure of this sector have multiplier effect and capacity to generate income as high as five times.


All-round emergence


In real estate sector major component comprises of housing which accounts for 80% and is growing at the rate of 35%. Remainder consist of commercial segments office, shopping malls, hotels and hospitals.


o Housing units: With the Indian economy surging at the rate of 9 % accompanied by rising incomes levels of middle class, growing nuclear families, low interest rates, modern approach towards homeownership and change in the attitude of young working class in terms of from save and buy to buy and repay having contributed towards soaring housing demand.


Earlier cost of houses used to be in multiple of nearly 20 times the annual income of the buyers, whereas today multiple is less than 4.5 times.


According to 11th five year plan, the housing shortage on 2007 was 24.71 million and total requirement of housing during (2007-2012) will be 26.53 million. The total fund requirement in the urban housing sector for 11th five year plan is estimated to be Rs 361318 crores.

The summary of investment requirements for XI plan is indicated in following table


SCENARIO Investment requirement

Housing shortage at the beginning of the XI plan period 147195.0

New additions to the housing stock during the XI plan period including the additional housing shortage during the plan period 214123.1

Total housing requirement for the plan period 361318.1


o Office premises: rapid growth of Indian economy, simultaneously also have deluging effect on the demand of commercial property to help to meet the needs of business. Growth in commercial office space requirement is led by the burgeoning outsourcing and information technology (IT) industry and organised retail. For example, IT and ITES alone is estimated to require 150 million sqft across urban India by 2010. Similarly, the organised retail industry is likely to require an additional 220 million sqft by 2010.


o Shopping malls: over the past ten years urbanization has upsurge at the CAGR of 2%. With the growth of service sector which has not only pushed up the disposable incomes of urban population but has also become more brand conscious. If we go by numbers Indian retail industry is estimated to be about US $ 350 bn and forecast to be double by 2015.


Thus rosining income levels and changing perception towards branded goods will lead to higher demand for shopping mall space, encompassing strong growth prospects in mall development activities.


o Multiplexes: another growth driver for real-estate sector is growing demand for multiplexes. The higher growth can be witnessed due to following factors:


1. Multiplexes comprises of 250-400 seats per screen as against 800-1000 seats in a single screen theater, which give multiplex owners additional advantage, enabling them to optimize capacity utilization.


2. Apart from these non-ticket revenues like food and beverages and the leasing of excess space to retailer provides excess revenues to theatre developers.


o Hotels/Resorts: as already mentioned above that rising major boom in real estate sector is due to rising incomes of middle class. Therefore with increase in income propensity to spend part of their income on tours and travels is also going up, which in turn leads to higher demand for hotels and resorts across the country. Apart from this India is also emerging as major destination for global tourism in India which is pushing up the demand hotels/resorts.

Path set by the government


The sector gained momentum after going through a decade of stagnation due to initiatives taken by Indian government. The government has introduced many progressive reform measures to unveil the potential of the sector and also to meet increasing demand levels.


o 100% FDI permitted in all reality projects through automatic route.

o In case of integrated townships, the minimum area to be developed has been brought down to 25 acres from 100 acres.

o Urban land ceiling and regulation act has been abolished by large number of states.

o Legislation of special economic zones act.

o Full repatriation of original investment after 3 years.

o 51% FDI allowed in single brand retail outlets and 100 % in cash and carry through the automatic route.


There fore all the above factors can be attributed towards such a phenomenal growth of this sector. With significant growing and investment opportunities emerging in this industry, Indian reality sector turned out to be a potential goldmine for many international investors. Currently, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the sector are estimated to be between US$ 5 billion and US$ 5.50 billion.


Top most real estate investors in the foray


Investors profile


The two most active segments are high networth individuals and financial institutions. Both these segments are particularly active in commercial real estate. While financial institutions like HDFC and ICICI show high preference for commercial investment,the high net worth individuals show interest in investing in residential as well as commercial properties.


Apart from these, the third most important category is NRI ( non-resident Indians). They mostly invest in residential properties than commercial properties. Emotional attachment to native land could be reasons for their investment. And moreover the necessary documentation and formalities for purchasing immovable properties except agricultural and plantation properties are quite simple. Therefore NRI’s are showing greater interest for investing in Indian reality sector.


MAJOR INVESTORS


o Emmar properties, of Dubai one of the largest listed real estate developer in the world has tied up with Delhi based MGF developments to for largest FDI investment in Indian reality sector for mall and other facilities in Gurgaon.


o Dlf India’s leading real estate developer and UK ‘s famous Laing O Rourke (LOR) has joined hands for participation in airport modernization and infrastructure projects.


o A huge investment was made by Vancouver based Royal Indian raj international cooperation in a single real estate project named royal garden city in Bangalore over period of 10 years. The retail value of project was estimated to be around $ 8.9 billion.


o Indiabulls real estate development has entered into agreement with dev property development, a company incorporated in Isle of Man, whereby dev got subscription to new shares and also minority shareholding the company. But in recent developments indiabulls have acquired entire stake in dev property development in a 138 million-pound sterling (10.9 billion ruppees) share-swap deal.


o Apart from this real estate developments opens up opportunity for associated fields like home loans and insurance. A number of global have shown interest in this sector. This include companies like Cesma International from Singapore, American International Group Inc (AIG), High Point Rendel of the UK, Colony Capital and Brack Capital of the US, and Lee Kim Tah Holdings to name a few.

Following are names of some of the companies who have invested in India


International developer Country Investment

(US $ million)

Emmar properties Dubai 500

Ascendas Singapore 350

Salem & ciputra group Indonesia 350

GE commercial finance U.S 63

Tishman Speyer Properties U.S 300


Simultaneously many Indian retailers are entering into international markets through significant investments in foreign markets.


o Embassy group has signed a deal with Serbian government to construct US $ 600 million IT park in Serbia.

o Parsvanath developers is doing a project in Al – Hasan group in Oman

o Puravankara developers are associated with project in Srilanka- a high end residential complex, comprising 100 villas.

o Ansals API tied up with Malaysia’s UEM group to form a joint venture company, Ansal-API UEM contracts pvt ltd, which plans to bid for government contracts in Malaysia.

o Kolkata’s south city project is working on two projects in Dubai.

On the eve of liberalization as India opens up market to foreign players there is tend to be competitive edge to give quality based performance for costumer satisfaction which will consequently bring in quality technology and transparency in the sector and ultimate winners are buyers of this situation.


However this never ending growth phase of reality sector has been hard hit by the global scenario from the beginning of 2008. Analyst say situation will prevail in near future, and latest buzz for the sector comes as a “slowdown”.


Sliding phase of the reality sector


In this present scenario of global slowdown, where stock markets are plunging, interest rates and prices are mounting, the aftermath of this can now also be felt on Indian real estate sector. Overall slowdown in demand can be witnessed all across India which is causing trouble for the major industry players. Correcting property prices and rentals are eroding away the market capitalization of many listed companies like dlf and unitech.


Fundaments behind slowdown…


Propetry prices move because of the basic principle of demand and supply

o when demand is high and supply low prices will go up

o When demand is low and supply high prices will go down.


For example let’s assume that somebody has bought a property for Rs X and he is trying to sell the property (say after a year), there can be three options, assumption being that the owner is in need of money and cannot wait for more than 3 months to sell the property.


1. When the property prices are gliding everywhere : now owner will try to add as much premium to the property as possible, in order to book profits, therefore he will wait for 3 months and sell off in last month at the highest bid. Where he ill get total of Rs X + Rs Y.

2. When property prices have stabilized: here owner will not be able to sell at premium and book profits due to market stabilization & since he don’t want to sell at a loss, he will try to get same amount he brought the property for. Where he’ll get total of Rs X = Rs Y

3. when property prices are going down : owner will try to sell the property at least profit or least cost. Therefore he ill get Rs X-RsY.


Reality deals in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad have shown enormous downfall from October 2007 – March 2008. The downfall had been cushioned by fall in stock markets as it put a stop for wealth creation, which leads to shortage of capital among investors to invest in real estate activities. Apart from this in order to offset their share losses many investors have no choice, but sell their real estate properties.


Other factors which have contributed to this slowdown are raising interest rates leading to higher costs. Due to this almost all the developers are facing serious liquidity crunch and facing difficulties in completing their ongoing projects. Situation seems to be so disastrous that most of the companies have reported 50-70% cash shortfall. The grade A developers which are facing cash crunch include DLF,MGF, Emmar, Shobha developers, Unitech, Omaxe, Parsvnath Developers, Hiranandani Group, Ansal API, BPTP Developers and TDI Group. As a outcome of this liquidity crunch many developers have started slowing down or even stopped construction of projects which are either in their initial stages of development or which would not effect their bottom line in near future.


Also with increasing input costs of steel iron and building material it has become it has become inviable for builders to construct properties at agreed prices. As a result there may be delays in completion of the project leading finical constraints.


At the same time IT industry which accounts for 70% of the total commercial is facing a slowdown. Many residential buyers are waiting for price correction before buying any property, which can effect development plans of the builder.


Aftermath of reality shock to other sectors


Cement industry hit by reality slowdown


The turbulence in the real estate sectors is passing on pains in cement industry also. It is being projected that growth rate of cement industry will drop down to 10% in current fiscal. The reasons behind such a contingency are higher input costs, low market valuations and scaled up capacity which are in turn leading to reduced demand in the industry. High inflation and mounting home loan rates have slowed down the growth flight of real estate sector which accounts for 60% of the total cement demand. The major expansion plans announced by major industries will further add to their misery as low market demand will significantly reduced their capacity utilization.

Setting up new facilities will impart additional capacities of 34 million tone and 45 million tone respectively in 2008-09 & 2009-10. This is likely to bring down capacity utilization in the industry down from current 101% to 82%. Even as it loses power to dictate prices, increased cost of power, fuel and freight will add pressure on input costs.


Ambuja Cements too is trading at a higher discount than previous down cycle, suggesting bottom valuations. However, replacement valuations for Madras Cements and India Cements indicate scope for further downslide when compared to their previous down cycle valuations.

All this has added to stagnation of the cement industry.


Dying reality advertising


The heat of reality ebb is also being felt by the advertising industry. It is being estimated that all major developers such as DLF, omaxe, ansals & parsvnath have decided to cut down on their advertising budget by around 5%. The advertising industry in India is estimated to be around 10,000 crore. This trend can be witnessed due to weakening spirits of potential buyers and real estate companies call it a reality check on their advertising budgets. A report from Adex India, a division of TAM Media Research, shows that the share of real estate advertisements in print media saw a drop of 2 percent during 2007 compared to 2006. According to Adex, the share of real estate advertisement in overall print and TV advertising last year was 4 percent and 1 percent, respectively. It’s a known fact that infrastructure and real estate companies are responsible for advertising industry maintaing double didgit growth rate. Therefore its understood that a recent slowdown in iindian reality sector has made things worse for advertising industry. The Adex report indicates that the top 10 advertisers shared an aggregate of 16 percent of overall ad volumes of real estate advertising in print during 2007. The list include names such as DLF Group, Parsvnath, Sahara, HDIL and Omaxe group. However, the real estate had maximum share in South India publications followed by North and West publications with 32% and 26% share, respectively, during 2007.


According to many advertising agencies consultants, this phenomenon is taking a toll as all real estate companies want a national foot print and also these companies are turning into professionals. Therefore they are setting standards when it comes to advertising to sales ratio.


Falling stock markets knock down reality stocks


Reality stocks have been hard hit by uncertainties prevailing in the stock market. The BSE reality index is the worst performer having shed 51% of its 52-week peak reached in reality. The BSE benchmark index has shed 24% since January. The country’s largest real estate firm DLF scrip lost 54% while unitech lost 64% from its peak. The scrips of Delhi bases parsvnath and omaxe have lost 68% each since January.


The sector is facing a major downfall in sales volume in most markets of the country. The speculators have exit the market and Mumbai and NCR, the biggest real estate markets in markets are cladding subdued sales. In Gurgaon and Noida, which had seen prices almost treble in four years, sales are down 70%, leading to a price correction of 10-20%.

Lets us have a look how major cities are affected by reality downfall.


Top 4 metros taking the lead – in slowdown


Delhi &NCR


While bears are ruling the stock market, the real estate sector in Delhi & NCR region has started facing departure of speculative investors from the market. According to these developers based in region the selling of flats has become very complicated at the launch stage due to lack of interest from the speculators. Developers attribute this to stability in prices against the past where prices were up surging on monthly basis. The scenario has changed so much in the present year that developers are now facing difficulty in booking flats which may delay their projects and reduce their pricing power for instance a year ago, if 100 flats were being sold in month at launch stage now it has come down 30-40 per month. Till mid 2007 speculators made quick money by booking multiple flats at launch of the project and exiting within few weeks or months. But now due to the stabilization of the property prices little scope is left for speculators to make money in short term. Therefore outcome is their retreat from the sector.


Mumbai


Mumbai real estate market, which witnessed huge increase in prices in recent years, which made the city to enter in the league of world’s most expensive cities, is now feeling the heat of slowdown. Property sales that have been growing at a clank of around 20% every year have been plumped by 17% in 2007-08.


Though slowdown news of property market in country’s financial capital has been much talked about, but it was first time that figures proved the extent of slowdown. Information about residential and commercial property sales from the stamp duty registration office show almost 12,000 fewer transactions during the last financial year compared to the year before. From April 2007 to March 2008, 62,595 flats were purchased in Mumbai as against 74,555 in 2006-07.

According to reality analyst sales volume can die out further in south as developers persist on holding to their steep prices and buyers anticipate a further fall with current rates beyond reach. They further add that market is on a corrective mode and downward trend is anticipated for another 12 months.


Between 1992-96, the market ran up the same way it did during 2003-07. Post-’96, the volumes dropped by 50%. This time again it is expected to drop substantially though not so steeply. The demand is now extremely sluggish and customers do not want to stick out their necks and transact at prevailing rates.Chennai in past few years we witnessed reality index gaining huge heights on BSE and it also impact could be felt allover India. Amongst them Chennai was no exception. With IT boom in past few years and pumping of money by NRI’s have led to prices touching skies. Chennai also witnessed a huge boom property prices over the last few years. However in past few months it has been facing slowdown in growth rate.


Following factors can be attributed to this:

o This is one of the common factor prevailing all over India- rise in home loan interest rates, which has made it extremely difficult for a normal salaried person to be able to afford a house.

o Depreciation of US dollar, which means NRI’s who were earlier pumping money into the real estate are now able to get less number of rupees per dollar they earn in US. Therefore many of them have altered their plans for buying house in India.

o The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has imposed stricter norms for apartment construction and penalties for violations are more severe than before.

o Failure of the legal system of chennai to prevent intrusion, forged documents and illegal construction has added to the problem as many NRI’S are hesitating to buy plots in chennai.

o Apart from this tsunami of 2004 has shaken the confidence of many investors to invest in real estate.


However many analyst are quite bullish about this region. Especially in areas like old mahabalipuram, south Chennai etc because of numerous IT/ITES/ electronics/automobile companies are expected to set up their centers in these areas. Once these projects are complete and companies begin operations their, many people would like to live near to such areas and outcome will be boom in residential sector.


Bangalore


As discussed for above cities Bangalore is also dwindling between the similar scenarios. Bangalore seems to be in midst of low demand and supply. This trend is due to myopic developers, due to sudden growth in Bangalore in last few years, lot of builders have caught the opportunity of building residential houses thinking their will be lot of employment, increase in salaries and hence demand for housing. Past few years have been jovial for Bangalore as IT industry was doing well and banking and retail sectors were expanding.


However with this sudden economic slowdown, due to which Indian stocks markets are trembling, interest rates are high, jobs and recruitment put on freeze have led to cessation of investment in local property markets.


According to the developers real-estate industry of Bangalore has experienced a drop of about 15- 20% in transaction volumes. Adding to it grade A developers have faced a dropdown of 50% on monthly levels of booking compared to what they enjoyed in December 2007.


Future outlook


The real estate explosion in Indian real estate is due to by the burgeoning IT and BPO industries. The underlying reason for all these moves is that the Indian real estate is tremendously attractive, because of basic demographics and a supply shortage. Truly Indian real estate is having a dream run for last five years.


However in the current scenario Indian real estate market is going through a phase of correction in prices and there are exaggerated possibilities that these increased prices are likely to come down.

In this scenario hat will be the future course of this sector?


Many analyst are of view that tightening of India’s monetary policy, falling demand and growing liquidity concerns could have negative impact on profiles of real estate companies. Slowing down would also aid in the process of exit of some of the weaker entities from the market and increasing the strength of some of the established developers. A prolonged slowdown could also reduce the appetite of private equity.


Its also been projected that large development plans and aggressive land purchases have led to a considerable increase in the financial leverage (debt/EBITDA) of most developers, with the smaller players now being exposed to liquidity pressures for project execution as well as a general slowdown in property sales. Property developers hit by falling sales and liquidity issues would need to reduce list prices to enhance demand, but many still seem to be holding on to the asking price – which, would delay the process of recovering demand and increase the risk of liquidity pressures.

It was being witnessed that before the slowdown phase the projects were being sold without any hook at an extravagant rate. But at present negative impact is highly visible as lot of high end projects are still lying unsold. In such a scenario, there may be blessing in disguise as high profile speculators will be out making way for the actual users.


But here also sector faces trouble as correction in prices has been accompanied by increase in home loan rates by the banks which have led to erosion of purchasing power of middle and upper middle class majority of whom are covered in the category of end users or actual users.

Therefore for future of real estate sector analyst call for a wait and watch method to grab the best opportunity with the hope of reduction in loan rates.




The Real Estate Sector

Engelhard Gold Bars


Charles Engelhard was a successful businessman who decided in 1902 to start buying small companies, among which Baker & Co which was focused on smelting and refining platinum. He kept developing his business in this domain of industry becoming soon the owner of the largest precious metals operating company in the world.


Both investors and collectors learned the name Engelhard, because this company offered them gold, silver and platinum bars as well as liquid gold for decorative purposes. Especially since the beginning of the contemporary recession people have started thinking more about savings, and about gathering assets like precious stones, coins or other objects of this kind.


The gold bars made by Engelhard can have various sizes and shapes. They start with the 1g ones, then the 5g, the 1 ounce, the 2 ounce an end with the one kilo bar. In between these bars there are ingots of intermediary weights. The thing that makes bars worth investing in is that they are made of the purest gold possible. Each of these pieces has their purity marked on it as 999.9.


As the design of these items has become rather beautiful they qualify as collectibles for those who are interested in buying gold. They are easy to be recognized, because of the name Engelhard stamped on them and because other distinctive symbols. The earth bearing a large E on it is one of them. It appears on every product issued from this refinery as it is the very logo of the company. While most of the bars have Australia engraved on them, or a picture of the continent, the one kilo bars are issued with the name Engelhard London on them and with a tiny logo.


Collectors find the 1 oz gold bar very interesting because of its square shape. Other bars reveal great minuteness in their design. For these reasons gold bars have become very appropriate as items in personal collections. The purity of gold and the beautiful aspect makes bars a good investment.





Source by Jack Wogan

Engelhard Gold Bars

Foreclosures Affecting Metro Denver Real Estate Market Conditions


Colorado’s foreclosure rate, as with the national foreclosure rate, has continued to climb throughout 2007. Colorado’s foreclosure rates have risen approximately 38% in 2007. In fact the metropolitan Denver, Colorado region has had approximately 23,850 foreclosures from January 1, 2007 through July 1, 2007. The foreclosure rates are bad news for those those homeowners that have had their homes foreclosed but great news for buyers and investors who are now enjoying the best deals on their new homes.


What are the causes of all these foreclosures?


o Liberal lending practices by many mortgage companies.


o Inadequate or no disclosures by lenders of what an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) is and how it works.


o Buyers did not understand the potential impact of these ARM’s because they were not properly educated and did not take the time to get educated.

In regards to home loan types, ignorance is not bliss, and it often has financial consequences.


Lending practices are being tightened, underwriting is now being scrutinized, and most lenders are no longer loaning money on just stated income, or offering 100% loans. This is long overdue in this author’s opinion. According to most reports the downhill trend and buyer’s market will most likely carry well into 2008, possibly even into 2009. Now and in the next couple of years buyer’s are going to have to be credit worthy and have a down payment (history repeats itself).


Buyers who purchased a home from builders have had a real disadvantage, Builder’s often use their own mortgage companies, many of which did not take the time to educated the borrower/buyer and consequently the buyers had little or no idea what an adjustable rate mortgage really entailed or the amount of the adjustment that could result. Many new home buyers house payments went up hundreds of dollars a month which was not expected by the buyer and many of those homeowners were foreclosed on as well.


Always take a Realtor with you when contemplating purchasing a new home. Realtors acting as buyer’s agents have a fiduciary duty to look out for the buyer’s highest and best good.


Buyer’s should shop for the best loans available. It’s much more than interest rates that affect a loan. There are often what Realtors call “Junk Fees” that can cost a buyer hundreds, even thousands of dollars that they don’t have to spend. You might consider asking your Realtor for advise on how to shop for the right loan.




Foreclosures Affecting Metro Denver Real Estate Market Conditions

Precious Metal Clay Techniques


Precious metal clay (also known as PMC) is simple to use and opens up endless possibilities in arts, crafts and jewellery making. One of the most versatile and malleable forms available for producing detailed and intricate jewellery, sculptures or other creative pieces, PMC is a much quicker solution than traditional metalsmithing processes. PMC, sometimes also referred to as silver clay, works on the same principle as many art clay substances. However, following drying metal clay is fired, burning off the binding agent and leaving the precious metal behind. The popularity of this adaptable material continues to grow due to the ease of use, flexibility and variety it provides artists and jewellery makers alike.


Precious metal clay is a soft-like substance that has the same moulding properties as art clay. Ideal for creating any size, shape and form, clay can be used for elaborate pieces with unique detail. The pliable and moist texture allows the clay to be moulded into shapes with various designs and details.


These qualities mean that there are various techniques in working with precious metal clay, making it an exciting and flexible medium to work with. There is plenty of scope to create interesting and intricate designs and textures using methods such as rubber stamps, etching, adding stones and other design techniques. There are various forms of metal clay as well as diversity in the amount of metal mixed in the solution and the time needed to burn away the organic binder during the firing period of the process to create silver, gold, bronze, copper or steel pieces.


Setting techniques

Once you have your basic form, you can create unique and interesting jewellery pieces by setting different kinds of gemstones, beads or glass into the finished metal piece. These will have to be set into the metal once the firing process is complete to avoid any damage. There are many different ways stones can be set into the metal clay depending on what materials are being used.


Stones can be set directly into wet art clay, with the widest part of the stone being embedded, when fired the clay shrinks and locks the stone into place. Alternatively set stones once the clay is dry and sanded down by using a small drill to create the hole where the stone will sit. A touch of glue can also be used to help hold the stone in place.


Texturing techniques

There are many ways in which to add texture to your PMC creations, from using standard etching and carving techniques to the more creative methods of metal clay shavings, frosting, clay appliqus and syringing.


To achieve a unique and interesting texture, shave or grate dried metal clay and paste the shavings to an existing piece. For a frosted look, apply a thick layer of paste clay and use a spatula or frosting knife to create a rough affect. Another popular texturing technique is to create shapes from precious metal clay and attach with water to the existing design. The options for creating interest and variety in metal clay are endless.





Source by A Hunter

Precious Metal Clay Techniques

History of the Recent Real Estate Bust and the Current US Economic Condition


Here we are, in an economic situation that far overshadows the savings and loan (S&L) crisis of the 1980s, which warranted a bailout to the tune of $150 billion. After a real estate boom between 1997 and 2006 that increased home values faster and far beyond many people’s dreams, a bust ensued that is turning out to be more devastating than the commercial real estate fallout, which was a big contributor to the 1980s S&L crisis.


So, how did we get here? How did we arrive at such scary circumstances? What was it that caused the recent real estate bust and our current economic condition?


On the heels of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA) came the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA). Basically, the intent of the CRA was to require banks to make lots of loans to those who lived in the immediate areas of their facilities, and to do so in a fair and unbiased manner.


Although the first three acts were similar in their goals to address discrimination in the areas of credit letting and fair housing, the CRA took it a step further and outlawed redlining. Initially, redlining meant refusing credit for those living in specific geographic areas, typically African-American or low-income neighborhoods. Later, the term was also used relative to discrimination against a people group of a certain race or gender, regardless of where they lived.


Community activist groups advanced the use of the CRA to ensure home loans for low- to moderate-income families. Based on the newly enacted CRA law, these groups began to pressure banks into lowering their standards in making home loans to disadvantaged individuals.


In response, banks buckled under the pressure and lowered their lending qualification standards. The result was the birth of the sub-prime real estate loan market. According to many critics, the CRA has led to the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.


That was not the end, however, of the fair lending measures pushed by community activists. In the late 1980s, they took it a step further pressuring banks to make even more loans. Although the banks were willing, they responded that they could not comply, because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would not buy them.


Lobbyists for community organizations then began pressuring Fannie and Freddie to lower their lending standards … and they complied. Of course, following those changes, sub-prime lending became even more rampant.


Fast forward to the end of the Clinton Administration. In 2000, nearly half of every major mortgage company’s portfolio was made up of risky, sub-prime loans issued to low- to moderate-income borrowers.


Industry professionals began cashing in on this new prospect presented by the sub-prime market. Predatory lending, liar loans and other opportunities for, and manifestations of, fraud arrived on the scene, many of which are just now being discovered due to foreclosures.


Home values continued to increase dramatically during 1997 to 2006, some into the 124 percent range. Interest rates declined and borrowers were not only buying, but homeowners were refinancing, many included the equity in their homes to pay for home improvements, vacations or college for their kids.


Some borrowers were being approved for home loans that they could not afford. Others were buying homes for inflated values that would later nosedive due to the housing bust. At the same time, prominent employers were conducting major layoffs with increasing measure.


Sometime during the end of 2006, beginning of 2007, foreclosure signs began popping up in neighborhoods and home values started to decline. We were seeing the first signs of fallout of the sub-prime market; although, we had no idea at the time how deep its roots would run.


The stock market was booming, however, still boosted by securities that included sub-prime loan packages. Speculators were reflecting a perception of future value to real estate securities. The rise in stock values overall continued until they peaked out at all-time highs somewhere until September of 2008 when the bottom fell out. Stock prices plunged, some dropping several dollars in a day.


In mid-2008, the sub-prime market died a painful and dreadful death. By third quarter 2008, banks were failing globally. Domestic banks were scrambling in order to avoid bankruptcy, and a U.S. bank bailout ensued. Surprisingly, a large percentage of that bailout has already been paid back by many banks. Around $70 billion of the $200 billion bailout has been reimbursed to the U.S. Government.


If all that was not enough, in December of 2008, former Chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange Bernie Madoff was arrested and charged with fraud. He was later sentenced to serve 150 years in prison. He bilked billions out of unsuspecting investors through his hedge fund, operating what is thought to be the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.


So, bottom line, what is the cause of the recent real estate bust and the current state of the economy?


Although, the initiators of the CRA had good intentions, once it was enacted, it opened up a whole new world of risk and issues for the lending industry in the form of sub-prime loans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jumped on the band wagon in lowering lending standards, succumbing to pressure by community activists.


Securities that included sub-prime loan packages boosted the stock market. Home values became overinflated. Thrown into the mix, speculators and fraudsters added a perception of value to securities that included sub-prime loan packages.


Real estate values hit the ceiling hard and started to decline. Unemployment numbers were rising significantly. Foreclosure signs began popping up in neighborhoods. The stock market hit bottom. Banks had to be bailed out. Sub-prime lending died.


No, it was not just one thing that brought us to where we are in our economic history, but several factors, many that worked as a domino effect in causing other entities to fall.




History of the Recent Real Estate Bust and the Current US Economic Condition

Jewelry Metal Comparison


Gold


Gold is the most popular jewelry metal for men’s and women’s wedding and engagement rings, and is also customarily used in the crafting of earrings, pendants, brooches, necklaces and bracelets. Gold is a highly valuable metal, and is one of the most coveted metals in all of history. Gold symbolizes riches, wealth, and good standing, and in its purest form, is impossible to tarnish. Gold jewelry is sophisticated and refined, and is a divine and precious metal that is perfect for all occasions.


Pure (24-karat) gold can sometimes be too soft and malleable for everyday wear. Therefore, gold jewelry is usually complemented by a mixture of other alloyed metals (such as silver, copper, nickel and zinc) to help it retain more resistance and strength. While purer gold’s are rarer and more exotic, they are oftentimes prone to being bent or twisted. Since other alloying metals are employed to build gold jewelry’s resistance, gold then becomes more likely to stain or to tarnish. Pure gold can never tarnish, but in gold pieces that are mixed with components of nickel, slight discoloration may occur over time, and it is possible for the gold compound to leave a dark residue on the skin. When purchasing gold jewelry, it is best to stick to the higher karat gold. If the gold jewelry is to be worn everyday, make sure it is between 14-18 karat gold. (The karat measurement denotes what percentage of the gold jewelry is made of pure gold. For example, 18k gold is 18/24 real gold, or 75% pure gold.)


Silver


Silver is perhaps one of the most popular jewelry metals because it is much more abundant in nature and therefore more affordable than its competitor metals. Sterling silver, which is 92.5% pure silver, is the best quality of silver metal for setting precious stones and adorning fancy jewelry.


Silver can tarnish rather easily and is less durable than other jewelry metals such as gold and platinum. Silver in its purest form is even softer than pure gold, so finer quality silvers are not always appropriate for everyday wear. Silver can also be prone to oxidation, sometimes causing slight discoloration and blackening of the metal. Luckily, it is easy to make silver jewelry look brand new again by simply purchasing a silver jewelry cleaning solution at little cost (which can be found in most department stores).


White Gold


White Gold a greater percentage of nickel in a gold metal alloy mixture gives white gold its color, while a higher percentage of copper will turn gold a more reddish hue, resulting in ‘rose gold.’ White gold is simply gold that has been chemically treated and then coated with another white medal called Rhodium. Rhodium metal has similar properties to platinum and gives white gold its pristine color and shine.


While white gold is a very hard metal thanks in part to its Rhodium coating, it does wear eventually. To keep a white gold ring from fading and losing its luster, you should get your white gold jewelry re-Rhodium-plated approximately once a year or at least every 18 months. Most local jewelers can re-coat white gold jewelry at a cost effective price.


Platinum


Platinum is a clean, sharp- looking jewelry metal, and is second to none in terms of durability. Platinum is so strong that it is impossible to tarnish and it has the highest melting point of the popular jewelry metals. Platinum jewelry is generally composed of 90% platinum and 10% iridium. The innate strength of this metal makes platinum the ideal choice for setting precious stones.


While platinum is the best in terms of toughness and can outlive its rival jewelry metals in terms of appearance and strength, it is important to consider its price. Platinum is rarer, more durable, and therefore, more expensive, than gold. With all other things being equal, a platinum ring will cost approximately twice the price of a white gold ring of 18 karats. It is, however, a prime material for the careful crafting of wedding rings.


Palladium


Palladium is harder, lighter, and less expensive than platinum. It is a close substitute in look and feel, and palladium jewelry can endure the perils of everyday wear and tear and come out spotless.


While Palladium aims to imitate platinum, it cannot truly fool anyone. Palladium metal lacks the prestigious ‘platinum’ insignia; marked on the inside rim of every platinum jewelry piece will be a small stamped engraving bearing the word: ‘plat.’ So if you are looking to trick someone into thinking you have purchased ‘the real thing’, it might be more difficult to do so than you had previously imagined.


Titanium


Titanium is the hardest naturally-occurring metal in the world. This makes titanium the perfect metal for fine jewelry, especially rings. Titanium is three times as strong as steel, yet maintains a light and comfortable weight. Titanium jewelry will not bend, scratch or dent. Most importantly, pure titanium jewelry is 100% hypoallergenic, meaning that it will not cause allergic reactions and is safe for anyone to wear.


The one and only foreseeable downside to purchasing titanium jewelry is that it cannot be soldered, rendering it impossible to re-size a ring made of the substance.





Source by Natalie Inger

Jewelry Metal Comparison

Foreclosure Good News - Bad News


The good news is, and there is going to be, a target rich environment for foreclosure investments. The result of this target rich environment is seen in the growth of rental properties. All these people losing their homes are going to need a place to live. They couldn’t afford to pay a mortgage but will need to pay rent somewhere. Also, Lenders are losing money or I should say this is a quasi taxpayer loss which is dragging the value of foreclosures down making them affordable as rental property, via foreclosure investors. Does that make sense?


The bad news, is if you are one of those being foreclosed on. If you obtained a mortgage you knew you would have trouble paying when the arm retracted and your interest rate shot up, I don’t feel too upset about that. It was your choice. These teaser rates are just that and fee hungry mortgage brokers who did not do the math to show you exactly what your payments would be later should be “tazed bro!”.


If you were an investor using cheap and easy money to buy low and sell high, but got caught on the high, I can’t feel for you there either. A friend of mine asked me at the Tom Thumb gas pump the other day if I was partly responsible for this mess from the investor side. I quickly said “hell no”. I burnt up my own cash for that. And, I was in and out of the foreclosure market before these “financial instruments of mass destruction” hit the market in a big way.


The good news is there are more and more efforts to help those being foreclosed upon and lenders or mortgage holders are being pressured into working with mortgagees more than they used to.


The bad news is, as the volume of foreclosures grew the value of housing market dropped almost everywhere as we all know. We still don’t know where the bottom is yet so you are still at risk as an investor (of course we are always at risk). Today we have a buyers market. The The big homes still take a while to sell which is why I would advise any investor to stay in the middle income market. In this market, you have far fewer FHAs and more conventional financing. The vast majority of this market are professionals and are much easier to get financed. And there are a lot more of them. Stay in the biggest market. You may have to do a few more deals to make the same money you could on a million dollar hay maker but you can unload them quicker.


Having said that, keep in mind the middle market in your area may be the same price point as the lower or higher end of the scale in another part of the country. It all depends upon your local market.




Foreclosure Good News - Bad News

Gold and Silver Investing Vs Mutual Funds


Gold Stocks and Silver Stocks often present a far more profitable option than the traditional Mutual Fund. Here are some of the main reasons for this…


First of all, Mutual Funds often charge some form of M.E.R. – a.k.a. Management Expense Ratio. This is an amount that is charged to you whether your Mutual Fund makes money or not. If you win on the market, your Mutual Fund and it’s salespeople do too. If you lose in the market, guess what – your Mutual Fund and it’s representative still get paid! Obviously losing money to this M.E.R. impacts your profits significantly.


Secondly Mutual Funds are designed to be a “zero-sum” game. The goal is that the losses in some holdings are neutralized by the success of others. If that is the result, then aren’t you just back at zero?


Thirdly, Gold Stocks and Silver Stocks trade in a commodity that is rooted in what is known as “intrinsic value”. This means that there is value built-in to Gold and Silver Stocks. For example, there is a real need and demand for Silver – for mobile phones, medical applications, and jewelery – whether it is expensive or not. Just like housing and real estate in general: whether it is expensive or affordable, people need it to continue their day-to-day lives. This means that the stock of companies that work in the exploration, refining, and mining of Gold and Silver will have this kind of built-in demand.


Fourthly, there are also some very speculative gold and silver stocks that are both high risk and high reward. This volatility isn’t welcome by some investors. When I think of the stock market crashes of 2000 and 2008, I am reminded that no stock or mutual fund is totally protected from market swings. That the same due diligence is required either way.


Warren Buffett, the world-renowned billionaire genius investor, has often said that Wall Street is the only place in the world where people arrive in a Rolls Royce to take advice from people who arrive on the subway. I believe that looking at the source of the advice is critical. Are you taking advice about the stock market from someone who has arrived to work in a Rolls Royce, or on the Subway? Do they “have” what you want to achieve, or are they simply a salesperson that has a special title to make you think they are qualified to give you advice?


Mutual Funds were designed for people that don’t want to do too much thinking about their investments. If you want what the majority has, they do what the majority has done. To get above-average results it is usually required to do some extra work and research. Carefully consider what you’re looking to achieve and choose your advice accordingly.





Source by Graham Goodkey

Gold and Silver Investing Vs Mutual Funds

Real Estate - Find Out If it is the Investment


Despite the last few years of turmoil the real estate market has suffered, along with the rest of the economy, people are still looking to buy. In fact, it could be one of the best times to purchase property because it is quite inexpensive, and will still likely be a good investment for the future. Consider if property is something you want to invest in after learning more about the market.


One of the best aspects of real estate is that it does not experience the same daily ups and downs that other investments typically do. In general, you do not lose or gain thousands of dollars each day on a single piece of property. This is often good news, especially for many current homeowners who are able to hold onto their investment until the market improves. In fact, you do not typically lose money on your property until you sell it for much less than what you paid, and unless you have a variable interest rate or subprime loan, this issue can be avoided. This means that in most cases, you have some control over your investment.


Most liquid assets can be quite profitable, but they are also very risky. Clearly, it is a gamble whether you will make or lose money with such investments. For this reason, many people think it is fortunate that real estate is one of the least liquid assets possible, as it often takes months or even years to sell a house. Before you decide if this is the type of investment you want, consider how soon you want to see any profit. Clearly, if you want constant and immediate access to your money, this might not be the route for you.


In general, this is a long-term asset that will likely not make you any money for quite some time. However, the advantage of real estate is that it typically appreciates. It might not be immediate, and there is always a chance that a property will never rise in value, but that is rare.


Just like all kind of investments, there is some risk involved. However, many people like dealing with real estate because they do not have to do much if they just own one or two properties. Merely living in your home and paying every month on time can result in a profit after several years. However, if you plan to flip several properties, you will need to put some extra research into the subject to get to know it in-depth.




Real Estate - Find Out If it is the Investment

Fire Assay


Fire assaying is the oldest and is considered to be the most reliable method of determining the content of gold and silver in rock or concentrate samples. This method is still the industry standard. The reason why it is called ”fire” assay is simply because it involves smelting the sample which has been mixed with lead oxide.


There are six basic steps in the fire assay procedure: splitting – weighing – mixing firing – cupelling – parting.


First, the crushed and ground sample of ore or concentrate is carefully split down to smaller samples only around 30 grams. These samples are weighed out and added to a crucible. A mixture of lead oxide, a reducing agent and fluxes is then added. The fluxes usually consist of silica sand, borax and sometimes additional additives like fluorite. The fluxes, reductant, lead oxide and sample are then mixed and fired in a muffle furnace.


In the furnace the complete contents of the crucible are melted. In the presence of the reducing agent, typically carbon in any form, e.g. flour, the lead oxide is smelted to lead metal which “collects” any silver and gold that may have been in the sample. The molten mass is taken from the furnace and mixed before being poured into a cone-shaped mold and allowed to cool. The molten lead sinks to the bottom of the mold, carrying any gold and silver with it, while the rest of the components of the ore along with the flux turn into a glassy slag that floats on top.


After cooling, the metallic lead at the bottom of the mold is separated from the glassy slag which is discarded. The lead is called a “button.”


This metallic lead button is then placed into a cupel, a small dish made from bone ash, and placed into a cupelling furnace. In the “cupelling” process, lead metal turns back into oxide which separates away from the precious metals and soaks into the bone ash cupel, leaving the minute amount of precious metals as a metallic speck called a “bead.”


The next step in the process is called parting where the bead is weighed on a microbalance to determine the amount of gold and silver that was extractable from the original ore sample. The bead is then heated in hot nitric acid which dissolves away the silver, leaving any gold that may have been present.


The parted bead is then carefully weighed and this amount of gold is related back to the weight of ore or concentrate sample in the first crucible that was fired.


In more modern laboratories, the bead of precious metals that is recovered in the cupel after the lead has been removed is dissolved in aqua regia. The resulting solution is then analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry, allowing the grade of gold and silver in the original sample to be back calculated.


Fire assaying is a science, and also to some extent is still an art. Certain types of ore contain elements that may interfere with the result. A good fire assayer knows how to modify the composition of the flux to avoid these problems. The fire assayer knows how to determine the gold and silver content of the assay ton of sample that has been presented.





Source by Robert Allan Young

Fire Assay

Future Of Edmonton Real Estate Market - Is It Good Time To Buy Now?


Edmonton Real Estate – What is it worth? Is there a future upside potential? When is good time to buy? These are some of the question we maybe asking ourselves.


Most of the first home buyers ask if they should buy now and if their home will increase in value in a future. To answer this difficult and profound question we should before ask couple important and relevant to the subject questions: Do you mean immediate future and how immediate? What is better renting or owing a home? In order to understand the first question, we should look at the historical data and try to derive to an intelligent conclusion based on the historical facts. As to renting, I don’t think there is a need to discuss this subject any further.


In August of 2010, the cost of an average residential property in Edmonton and area was $325,588. Those who watch the news have heard about current high housing inventory and low number of sales. By comparison, same time last year it would cost you $318,321 to buy real estate in Edmonton. It is still more expensive this year than in 2009. Looking back to 2006, we all have seen a huge jump in prices where Edmonton real estate went up from $199,148 at the beginning of the year to an awesome $303,820 in January of 2007, 52 percent increase just in one year. If you bought a home prior to that date, you have done well for yourselves and your family. On that note, some of the more expensive homes that have been recently sold, are purchased by second home owners due to the equity which they gained from buying a home before 2006 and selling in the last couple of years.


The Edmonton real estate market was at its highest point in July of 2007 during which time residential properties have sold on average for $354,718. It has been down since by 8.9 percent.


Ten year age, in September of 2000, the cost of an average Edmonton residential property was $122,397. What about 20 years back, 30 or even 40? Well, at the beginning of 1990 it would cost you $94,566 to buy real estate in Edmonton and same time in 1980, $78,914. Looking back even further, in January of 1970 the average price of a residence in Edmonton was $21,806. Whoa, just in those ten years the gain alone would be a whooping 362 percent. In fact, just in the past ten years alone, Edmonton real estate was up 257 percent, in 20 years 317 percent and 30 years 382 percent. Since 1962 till now when comparing January numbers, out of 48 years in total only 10 years have seen a decline in price, thus 38 years have seen an increase in an average residential price. So what gives, why do real estate prices increase in along run? We all know our little economic friend constantly at work called inflation.


Conclusion: To all the sceptics out there and “penny pinchers”waiting endlessly for another 2006 to come, It pays off to buy and own a home, not just because we all have to live somewhere but it makes sense from a financial point of view. When should you buy? Does it matter when, today, three, six or twelve months from now. I would say no, it does not. No one has a crystal ball and nobody knows when the next hike or fall down will occur. Instead, we should look at a larger picture when purchasing real estate in Edmonton or anywhere else. Time is a true measure of greatness!


All data provided by The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton




Future Of Edmonton Real Estate Market - Is It Good Time To Buy Now?

Gold Coins - The Smart Way to Invest in Gold


Historically, precious metals were important as currency, but are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial commodities. The best-known precious metals in financial market is the attractive gold, even in this era of inflation where financial markets are dwindling everyday gold purchasing is one of the most favorable and proven ways of protecting your assets. Among the experienced investors of gold ingots, Mexican coins are among the top favorites. A recent trend analysis puts the gold market as one of the most flourishing areas of investment, offering the maximum returns. Throughout the world, purchasing gold is one of the best ways to protect your assets.


American gold coins are the most stable, recognized and pure gold coins in the world. One of the most popular of these is the American eagle. American Eagle coins are made out of gold mined in United States. These bullion coins were first released from the US fortune in 1986 and are of assured 22 karats or 91.67% gold (22 karat), 3% silver, and 5.33% copper. The face values given to this coin are $5 for 3.11g, $10 for 7.78g, $25 for 15.6g, $50 for 31.10g. There are two arrays of American Eagle gold coins – the bullion and the proof.


The gold coin includes the finest raw gold and is highly appropriate for solid investment; they are recognized, appreciated and sold all over the world. These coins are easily available and are a worthy and safe investment. A great many of coin buyers today consider bullion coins as the best option for a long-term investment.


The American Eagle gold proof coins are in fact bullion coins that have been purposely made for collectors and to emphasize on special occasions. Proof coins are not only designed for general public circulations but also for the hunt of coin collectors for these types of gold coins. These gold coins are very remarkable, gorgeous, and lustrous and worth the amount that is spent. Different manufacturing methods are used to make these American Eagle proof coins, which gives them an impressive appearance and attractiveness.


Another type in the American gold coin series is the Double Eagle. The term “double eagle” was specifically used in the legislation passed from Congress on March 3, 1849. $10 face value coins were already being produced and were referred to as “gold eagles”, thus the new coin with twice the value and gold content was referred to as the “double eagle”. There were two regular series of Double Eagles produced. They were the Liberty Head series and Saint Gaudens series.


Collecting gold coins can be considered as fun and as well as rewarding because of the everyday escalation of gold value, collecting gold coins can be considered same as collecting stamps in that you derive pleasure from collecting a unique genre of items with collectible value e.g. Spur Royal is a rare English coin minted during the reign of King James I. When it was originally issued it had a value of fifteen shillings.





Source by Adam Brenner

Gold Coins - The Smart Way to Invest in Gold

How to Effectively Convert Real Estate Leads Using Call Capture


There’s an old adage in marketing: every call is an opportunity. That’s especially true with real estate call capture systems, as every call is from a potential home buyer.


Call capture has the potential to generate a lot of sales leads, but more importantly, they create an opportunity to convert those leads into real sales. This is as important, if not more important, than maintaining a constant flow of leads. After all, in order to stay afloat a real estate agent needs to know how to get sellers and buyers on board. Call capture systems can make that a lot easier by providing key information about leads before contact is made.


The idea of a real estate call capture system is simple. A toll free number is placed on real estate sign riders, online advertising, ads or postcards – any advertising the real estate agent is doing to generate leads. When the number is called, the caller hits an extension to hear a brief audio tour of the house or a free report and using Automatic Number Identification and Reverse Look Up technology the system gathers vital information about the caller including name, address, and phone number. Follow up calls can be tailored to each lead generated by the system.


For instance, agents can use the customers’ address to find out about their current housing situation and suggest improvements based on that information. A potential home buyer who’s living in a heavily congested area may be more likely to appreciate low traffic flow neighborhoods. Home buyers in high-rent areas could likely afford a higher price range of homes. Agents can avoid showing a house that won’t fit in with what a client is looking for, based on the extension that was originally dialed. The extension can inform agents about the types of houses that clients may be interested in.


Of course, phone numbers gathered by real estate call capture systems can be used for follow-up.  Once the lead is contacted the agent can ask if they would like to receive more information about the property or real estate market information for their area.  The lead can then be put on a follow up program that may include open house announcements, a drip email campaign, a newsletter or follow up call schedule.  Further, since the caller’s name and other pertinent pieces of information are instantly available, calls feel more personable and less invasive.


Agents can also use call capture systems to filter serious inquiries directly to a cell phone. Real estate agents can encourage callers to connect directly to them after hearing the recording. Compelling phrases include, “To learn more about the most impressive feature of this house, press 7″ or “since the market changes so often, we’d have to re-record this information constantly to keep it up to date, but press 7 to speak to me now for pricing.” By piquing a caller’s interest and setting out a course of action, an agent will get a constant stream of serious leads that are already on the line, and these leads can be quickly converted to sales.


The advantages of a call capture system aren’t limited to buyer leads, either. Sellers will be more likely to use an agent that has advanced tools to help them sell their homes at the highest price possible. Real estate is one business where “old fashioned” seems equivalent to “out of touch,” so including information about how a real estate call capture system works, how it improves the chances of a sale, and how it improves sale price will help get more listings for an agent. Demonstrating the power of the system and how it’s actively used in sales shows that an agent is dedicated, organized, and can tailor the call capture to each house, regardless of price range, neighborhood, or additional external and environmental factors.


The call-to-client conversion possibilities of a real estate call capture system are only limited by the ingenuity, drive, and creativity of the agent using it. Follow up with individual clients is still important, but it’s made much easier with a non-invasive way to get a bit of information about them before the fact. Call capture is a powerful tool with near endless applications on both the buyer and seller side. Perhaps most importantly, it’s a strong way to set an agent apart in the somewhat saturated and challenging modern real estate market.




How to Effectively Convert Real Estate Leads Using Call Capture

Gold Investing is the Best Thing For 2010!


Diversifying your investment portfolio should be the single most important thing for you. Always remember the saying; “Never put your all eggs in one basket.” In other words, use different baskets to put your eggs. The same principle applies in the world of investing.


Diversification ensures that all your eggs don’t go down together. When you diversify your assets into different assets like stocks, currencies, precious metals like gold, silver and platinum, you are trying to protect your investment portfolio from going down at the same time. All these assets are not correlated and move independently so with diversification, the chances of their going down together reduce.


Now, investing in precious metals like gold and silver can hedge your investment portfolio from inflation. In the last two years, FED has printed a lot of greenbacks. This increase in the money supply in the economy was needed at that time to ward off the recession and stop it from developing into a depression like what happened in 1930s. But as the economy recovers and it has started to come out of recession, this increased money supply is going to cause inflation in the economy. Now, this is not only the case with US but government is Europe and other parts of the world have also printed a lot of money to ward off the global recession that was threatening their economies. With recession now ending, most of these countries are going to suffer from inflation in this decade.


So, this decade that has just started a few days back is going to cause inflation to rise and make it an inflationary decade. When inflation rises, money loses its value. You need more to buy the same quantity of goods. Gold and silver are considered to be the best investments in times of inflation. During high inflation gold is the ultimate store of wealth.


Adding gold to your investment portfolio will hedge it against inflation to some extent. Gold and silver make excellent long term inflation hedges. By investing in gold now, you will be preserving your wealth in the coming decade. In addition to that you will also make sizable capital gain as gold prices are in an uptrend for the last many years. Right now, gold prices are at their historical peak.


Gold and silver are rather very versatile investments. When you invest in stocks, you are only investing in a stock. But when you invest in precious metals like gold and silver, you can physical own them in the shape of coins and jewelry. You can also have paper ownership in the form of gold and silver futures or in the form gold ETF or you can even invest in the stocks of a gold mining company.


In the end, it all depends on what you want to do with your money. Your investment portfolio, money, precious metals and all other things that are there in the financial world are just for your convenience. All these things are tools for living. So, in the world of investing, trading and speculating, precious metals are a means to an end. You need to know what you want to do!





Source by Ahmad A Hassam

Gold Investing is the Best Thing For 2010!

Manhattan Beach Real Estate


Manhattan Beach real estate can easily be described as a neighborhood of homes made for paradise and prestige. The general scenery of the Manhattan Beach area is very much like the scenery in the hit television show “The O.C.” which coincidentally was filmed there.


Manhattan is one of the most expensive coastal towns in America. To live there is almost twice as costly as living in areas such as Bel-Air. The cost of the average Manhattan Beach real estate falls in between $900,000 and $6,000,000. To rent a property is even more costly at $3,000 to $10,000 a month. The area is definitely an upper class expensive area with the average household grossing about $100,750 per year.


The population of Manhattan is roughly 37,745 and consists of 92% white Americans. The other eight percent of the population is divided between African Americans and Asian Americans. The male to female ratio is just about even and the median age of residents is 37.7 years old.


Manhattan is divided into several different sections as per the assignment of the long-term residents.


The area known as “The Strand” consists of a long stretch of land along a bike patch that has multi-million dollar ocean front homes lines up along it.


The “Tree Section” is a quiet family oriented section with lots of space in between the homes and room for children to play. The Tree Section was named the tree section because of the names of the streets in the area. Most streets in this section of Manhattan Beach are named after trees such as Elm, Oak, Pine, Palm, and Poinsettia streets. The tree section also has many trees throughout the lands but ironically this was not the reason why it was named the tree section.


The area west of the tree section is known as “The Sand Section” and is basically where all the sand is. Manhattan Beach real estate in this area are adjacent to the ocean. The Sand Section got its name from the sands of the oceans.


The Hill Section was very appropriately named as it consists of a group of higher priced homes which are situated on steep hills overlooking the ocean.


There are many more sections within Manhattan Beach real estate, but those are the four most prominent. No matter what section is chosen to live in, residents are sure to feel like celebrities on a fantasy vacation.




Manhattan Beach Real Estate

How to Choose the Best Silver Coin Affiliate Program


There are a number of factors that play a part in determining the best silver coin affiliate program, however for most marketers profitability is arguably the key determining factor.


Given that profit margins on the sale of silver and gold coins are relatively slim, another determining factor lies in the extent to which a silver coin affiliate program can sustain a viable and attractive affiliate model, by augmenting slim profit margins with incentives and/or bonuses such as recurring cash flow, free coins, marketing tools, and other promotional creatives and support.


Credibility and stability of the precious metals dealer behind the silver coin affiliate program is also a key factor that warrants consideration when determining the best silver coin affiliate program, as the precious metals industry like many others has its share of con artists and scammers. So, there are effectively three key factors to consider when trying to determine the answer to the question what is the best silver coin affiliate program on the Internet, and those factors are…


1. Profitability

2. Sustainability

3. Credibility and stability of the sponsoring silver dealer


With these things in mind, it becomes relatively easy to survey the field and determine, albeit a subjective determination, what the best silver coin affiliate program truly is.


Now, for those that may not be aware of how the affiliate marketing business model works, there are

two primary players


A Business Owner with Goods and Services to sell


and


A Marketer who advertises and promotes the Business Owner’s Goods and Services


With regard to the precious metals market, the Business Owners with goods and services to sell would be the precious metals dealer who establishes an affiliate program as a way to promote their coins, bars, rounds, numismatics, and other products. On the other side of the coin, no pun intended, are affiliates who are in effect those who choose to market and promote the dealer’s product line in exchange for being paid when a sale occurs.


So, as an affiliate for a silver coin affiliate program, and you would market and promote a precious metal dealer’s product line. When a sale occurs as the result of your promotional efforts, the precious metals dealer would pay you, a commission on the sale resulting from your promotional efforts. In addition, if you employ an affiliate marketing system to automate your promotions, there is a chance that you may also earn a commission as a user of the system that facilitated the sale.


So, as you begin your journey into the precious metals market as an affiliate, and you’re faced with choosing what the best silver coin affiliate program is, I would strongly encourage you to carefully consider the factors discussed in this article.


By doing so, you can enter the precious metals market with the knowledge that you’re strategically well-positioned to reap the financial rewards that the precious metals market has to offer.





Source by Wayne Brooks

How to Choose the Best Silver Coin Affiliate Program

92 Ways A Small Time Real Estate Investor Can Beat Homevestors


When it comes to the Home Buying Business, the small “work out of your house” guy can easily dominate the corporate giants through simple creativity. Sure, Homevestors can afford to advertise on every billboard in town, and have several television commercials running at the same time but if you follow my strategy, you won’t have to. The amount of overhead that they spend EACH MONTH on Branding makes it somewhat cost prohibitive for the newbie. If you want to beat the corporate giants, you need to think Guerilla Marketing tactics. Besides, a limited budget can actually be a benefit to the true entrepreneur. It will force you to look closely at profits and how much you buy houses for. You’ll be driven by the numbers and saving money rather than Throwing Cash At Your Problems! Eventually, that cash is used up, and your problems will still remain. It’s amazing how a lack of cash will create incredible focus.


If you have a ton of cash…I want you to put it away….FAR AWAY…Pretend that it doesn’t exist!


The key to wholesaling Real Estate is pulling in leads of motivated sellers AS WELL AS finding tons of individuals that want to buy these wholesale priced houses in order to put the deal together.


How do we do this “On The Cheap”?


Well, I sat back the other day and wrote down every technique that I personally use to find motivated sellers and buyers for my deals and figured that I’d share them with my readers. Now, I must warn you that these techniques work best when used in conjunction with each other. You don’t have to use all one hundred techniques at the time, but I DO try to use a mix of at least 8 or 9 for any given campaign. Different strategies will work better for different people, and once you find what works for you keep shaking it up a bit and TEST TEST TEST…


Please Comment and let me know if you have any other interesting low cost strategies to grabbing tons of leads….In the mean time here are 92 lead generation strategies to help you grow your home buying business in no particular order…


1. Sales Letters to targeted neighborhoods


2. Classified advertisements in “Freebie Papers”


3. Craigslist


4. Create a Simple “Magazine” with information that would be of interest to individuals trying to save their home / divorce / etc. and place them in neighborhood convenience stores. (Can be simple black and white 2 or 3 pager). You can get it printed CHEAP online (Google it)!


4. Flyers on cars- Pay neighborhood kids to go to every mall & Walmart in your area armed with “We Buy Houses” flyers.


5. Leaflet dispensers at targeted locations


6. Special reports


7. Online “We Buy Houses” page – InvestorPro.com is a great prefab one, or you could make one yourself.


8. Telemarketing – look through your local property appraisor’s website and grab the info on properties in a particular area that meet your buying criteria. Go to – whitepages.com and input the address to grab a phone number. Give them a call and see if they’re interested in selling or know of someone that is.


9. E-Newsletters


10. Traditional newsletters


11. Viral marketing


12. Ebooks – Write a Book about how to sell your house Easily Without a Realtor and place links to your website.


13. Magazine and paper inserts


14. Bird Dogs – Have a bunch of Worker Bees out looking for properties for you. Pay them $1,500 for every deal that you make a profit on—They only get paid when you get paid so get as many out there as you can find!!


15. Introducers


16. Bandit Signs – Some people are totally against them. I put these bad boys all over town…:)


17. Family and friends


18. Joint ventures – There are tons of other investors that want to partner up their deals in exchange for your labor.


19. Radio ads


20. PR – Cheaper than TV ads and more effective. Call your local news and get a story that ties into “Local Real Estate”. Example: How To Keep From Losing Your House To The Bank In Such A Horrible Real Estate Market And Recession. – You will find tons of investors looking for partners or to purchase wholesale properties from you. Visit my website for a list.


30. Take other investors that have been doing this for years out to lunch Do The Same For local small bank presidents, Probate-Divorce Attorneys, Top Realtors…you get the idea.


31. Attend industry seminars


32. Gather and use testimonials – I usually bring a video camera to the closing to get a video testimonial for my website.


33. Offer a free consultation to discuss saving the individuals home from foreclosure. Of course, if you can help the person by moving some paper around or getting a forebearance agreement, you should do it. Believe me, it’s worth it because you’ll be known as the expert and will begin receiving referrals to deals that pay off far greater sums.


34. Offer to pay the individual for their time just to get your foot in the door. Yes it sounds bold…but it works!


35. Organize a seminar or a Free How-To clinic.


36. Promote an industry event – Have a booth and COLLECT AS MANY NAMES AS POSSIBLE!


37. Give endorsements to prominent people


38. Set up a Squidoo lens


39. Write articles online – EzineArticles.Com is great for that. You can put a link to your homebuying site and get ranked high on Google.


40. Form alliances with other investors


41. Create a give away e.g. calendars, mugs, posters…


42. Write for the local newspaper


43. Syndicate a column


44. Create a Flier and pay the newspaper delivery guy to deliver them when he delivers the morning paper.


45. Conduct Local Real Estate Research and present it to your local media. You’ll get credit for the information in a story again making you an industry expert.


46. Send articles to those in foreclosure that you might think would be helpful.


47. Advertise on buses, cabs


48. Speak at the local college


49. Panel at professional seminars


50. Write a how-to pamphlet


51. Make up cards that Offer a finder’s fee


52. Do pro bono work for charity with Real Estate links – Example: Habitat for Humanity


53. Put Signs on your car


54. Make up Polo Shirts Or T-shirts and give them out (I prefer the polo collared ones


55. Pull a publicity stunt – Careful my friend…:)


56. Cross-promote with other investors – Chip in for an 800 number and advertising. Split the leads up evenly or partner the deals.


57. Enter a contest


58. Create a contest


59. Direct mail to owners that have just filed divorce


60. Post card promotions


61. Business cards


62. Networking offline


63. Networking online


64. Go To House Expos


65. Referrals


66. Speeches


67. Door Knocking – Grab a list of houses that are in foreclosure and start knocking on some doors. 68. Social networking sites -ActiveRain, StumbleUpon – DIGG – MySpace – Facebook There’s Tons…


69. Christmas cards


70. Birthday cards


71. Thank you cards


72. Add value notes / paper cuttings


73. Promotional give aways..


74. Article writing


75. Online forums – Think local


76. Bill boards


77. Freebie pens / t-shirts / mugs


78. Loss leaders when selling property


79. Free teleclassses


80. YouTube


81. eBay


82. Mini-courses – Send a ton of free content to individuals that give their contact info on your website. Investorpro automates this process.


83. Two-step paper ad


84. Rotary Club


85. Church


86. Schools – Advertise in the PTA Flier or sponsor a school function.


87. Chinese Food & Pizza Parlors – Pay them to send your flier out with every delivery that they send out.


88. Drive through older neighborhoods and locate the owners of homes that look in need of great repair, boarded up, high grass, vacant.


89. Code enforcement dept.


90. Find Owners that have Tax Leins against property.


91. Locate recent probate’s — Check Obituaries


92. Let Realtors know that you buy houses quickly for cash, and to let you know if they have any pocket listings.




92 Ways A Small Time Real Estate Investor Can Beat Homevestors

Park City Real Estate - A Great Place to Find Ski in Ski out Condos & Homes


The ski town of Park City Utah started out originally as a mining community so much of the mountains surrounding Park City were once owned by some of the original mine companies. Over the years, Park City has evolved into a world class ski town. The 2002 Winter Olympics helped put it on the map. Since much of the land was privately held by the mining industry it was possible to develop on the mountain as the mining companies started to sell off parcels. The majority of other ski towns have their ski resorts sitting on government held land so they aren’t able to develop homes and condos on the mountain. They are limited to areas at the base of the ski hill.


Ski in ski out property is a premium which can be compared to beach front property.


Park City offers an incredible selection of ski in ski out property to choose from compared to other ski towns. It is generally more affordable than other ski towns due to the better supply. It’s still a premium but a better value when compared to other ski towns which have a very limited amount. In Park City the price per square foot for ski in ski out condos and homes range from about $600 to $1500 per square foot compared to other communities running closer to $1000 to $2000 a square foot.


There is also a better selection of new construction ski in ski out condos and homes in the Park City area. Many other ski towns have already built in their prime locations many years ago. In Park City they are currently building new homes and condos in some of the most prime locations for ski in ski out property. Many of the projects are pre-construction and so buyers generally need to only put 10-20% down prior to completion for many of these newer projects.


You can find a great selection of new projects at the Deer Valley Resort and the Canyons Resort. Park City Mountain Resort has a limited amount of new construction projects but does offer some. The famous St.Regis is also building a luxury Resort & Residences with full ownership opportunities at the Deer Valley Resort.




Park City Real Estate - A Great Place to Find Ski in Ski out Condos & Homes

Investing In Silver For the Long Term


Many people are aware that silver is one of the most in demand precious metals in the world. Silver is a very common precious metal that is used to make jewelry, utensils, computers, vehicles, industrial metals and so on. It is one of the commonly traded precious metals in the commodity market, like gold. It has given many of the enthusiastic investors good returns for their investment in the commodity market. Silver is a very safe precious metal to trade with unlike foreign exchange or other areas in trading.


Lower Risk Factor


Silver has lower risk factors when compared to many other commodities as well as stocks, and shares. The risk in trading sliver is very low when compared to bonds or ETFs. If you are looking to invest in the market for long term, then there is no better commodity that you can think of than silver. It is not similar to any stock trading business but, is more or less similar to gold, which always has a value in it.


Accumulating Silver


One of the best ways to gain good profits out of silver trading is to consider it as a long term investment option. Silver is highly volatile like gold and if you are knowledgeable about making the right moves in silver trading at the apt times, you will end up pocketing good amounts of profit. You should always invest in silver with a long term bullish attitude. Accumulating silver at regular intervals will help in increasing your wealth insurance as well as can be a good trading instrument.


Invest In Physical Silver


One of the best ways of making better investments is to buy silver in its physical form. It not only adds on to your wealth over the years, but you will also be experiencing a steady increase in the price of the silver. There is no dearth for availability of physical silver as you can get it in the form of mint coins that are minted by mining companies, or even can get it in the form of fine bullion that is produced by the national governments.


Silver Bullion


One of the best ways and the traditional way of investing in silver to enjoy long term benefits, is to go for silver bullion. You can opt to buy silver bars which are rectangular metal pieces that come in different sizes ranging from 1 troy ounce bars to 1000 troy ounce bars. You can store these silver bars in your home or even better, in your bank lockers. You can sell all of it or trade in limited quantities whenever you feel that the price of silver is at its peak. Silver is easier to buy than the gold bars, and is also a much cheap investment option with huge returns, very similar gold.


Small Investments


One of the main advantages that you will get by investing in silver is that it just attracts small funds. This small investment can lead to huge profits after many years. With just about $10,000 you can buy huge quantities of silver. You will be able to increase your assets and wealth by investing in physical silver. It is a good buffer that you can always rely on whenever there is an economic crisis, you may need greater financial support in times of financial disasters.


Keep Tab Of Gold Rates


Silver and gold always go hand in hand and hence you need to keep a tab on the rates of gold every time when you have invested in silver. They both normally trade in harmony and whenever gold prices sky rocket or is increase, the prices of the silver will also be seeing an upward trend, and vice versa. But, the fact is that silver is available in more quantities than gold. There is almost 16 times more silver than gold in the world, and this is the reason why demand for gold is in excess of its supply.


Invest During Inflation


One of the top most methods that you can think of to invest in silver is when there is inflation. If there is a few issues related to the stability of the financial market, then gold and silver would more often than not be the main hedge against inflation. Many people will try to look at various other options when the gold prices are soaring, and the next best option of investment is surely silver. This precious metal is chosen by many because of its huge affordability. These type of chances do not come often and when you encounter such a chance, it is important for you take advantage of this and enjoy a good return on investment. This is the reason why you need to think of buying silver as a long term goal.


Advantages Of Investing In Silver


The following are the advantages that you can enjoy when you are investing in silver.


The demand for silver is always there until silver is used for industrial purposes. The demand for silver does not depend upon the economic condition that much. As there is constant demand for silver, its prices will keep on increasing and hence is a very good source of investment option if you are looking for long term returns.

Silver is known as ‘poor man’s gold’. It is highly affordability when compared to gold or other precious metals and it also offers better returns.

As silver is traded in different forms all over the world, it has high liquidity. Silver, in fact, was used as a currency in many parts of the world earlier.

You can also invest in silver in various forms like: silver bars, bullion coins, jewelry, junk silver, scrap silver, collector’s coins as well as silver rounds.


Conclusion


If you are still pondering as to whether silver is a good investment or not, then the answer is that it is a really safe and lucrative investment option. It is a really safe investment that will offer you a hedge over inflation as well as adverse economic conditions. The value of silver does not fall with respect to time.





Source by Matthew I Arthur

Investing In Silver For the Long Term

Philippines Real Estate


The real estate business in the Philippines has recently been gaining popularity with several real estate companies developing their own sites in several parts of the country, including the non-metropolitan areas. Prices of real estate properties are relatively low when compared to those located in the United States. This makes investments in the Philippines attractive because their values are expected to appreciate in years to come.


People who want to make an investment in the country or make profits by selling a real estate property can manually contact real estate brokers for the packages they offer. However, the easiest and most practical way to locate brokers or agents is by searching for them in the Internet. There are already several online real estate marketers available in the Philippines.


Online real estate Philippine marketers promote their sites that include real estate listings and brokerages to international search engines. This makes their coverage wider and as such, heightens the possibility of getting closed deals quickly.


If a person plans to sell real estate property located in the Philippines, online real estate marketers can act as their brokers. They will be the ones to look for potential buyers and explain to them the initial policies and terms of the offer. The investor can also use their site to promote additional real estate items they want to sell.


For people who want to buy real estate property in the Philippines, online marketers also provide real estate listings that come from brokers in several parts of the country. Because it may be very difficulty to scan through the available properties for sale, some marketers have developed a system to filter out the choices. A leading marketer has set up a buyer’s wizard that helps buyers narrow down the choices by their budget, preferred location and size. Once a selection has been made, the buyers submit the online form. The broker of the selected property will be contacted by the online marketer for a detailed discussion of the real estate package.


With the online marketing trend in place, real estate in the Philippines can be expected to register more profits in the coming years.




Philippines Real Estate