Philadelphia Metro area property owners, whether they are single homeowners or large institutions holding multiple rental properties, are members of the same club—at least by one definition. They are all real estate investors, even though not all of them are the kind of property owners who keep an eagle eye trained on the value of their real estate investment portfolio (most of us think of it more as just “home”). Unless they plan to sell sometime soon, today’s asset value, book value, or whatever financial term you are looking at, is pretty much an abstract notion. It only becomes significant in the real world if you set your sights on selling.
Even so, Philadelphia Metro area property owners may be interested to learn that the past few years’ steady rise in property values nationwide has created the kind of investment opportunity that even Wall Street hasn’t been able to ignore.
Recently there was a conference in ritzy Scottsdale, Arizona, that illustrated the point. It was called the 2013 REO-to-Rental Forum. In their final MarketPulse newsletter of the year, trend-watcher Corelogic observed, “The fact that there are now conferences for single-family residential institutional investors speaks volumes about the increasing maturity of this new investment asset class.”
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If you are a property holder, that’s welcome news. It indicates a number of positive things about the current state of the overall market, and the value of your own property. As CoreLogic points out, although investing in residential real estate is nothing new, what is new is the aggregation of large portfolios of properties under professional management —as well as “the availability of institutional investor capital to fund their acquisition.”
English translation: the smart money thinks single-family residences are a good investment.
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Toward the end of the CoreLogic report was the latest year-over-year comparison: 12 ½% growth in home prices— even including distressed sales. It doesn’t take a Wall St. wizard to appreciate that kind of growth!
John Badalamenti is an Associate Broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS® in Blue Bell, PA – serving the Philadelphia Main Line and Surrounding Suburban Philadelphia area. John can be reached via email @ john.badalamenti@foxroach.com or visit his website: http://www.MainLineHomeZone.com
