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North Salem NY Real Estate

Foreclosure Discounts are All Over the Map | North Salem NY Real Estate

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The low prices that make foreclosures attractive to investors also make foreclosures toxic to communities and homeowners. The discount between “normal” priced homes and the prices paid for properties than have been through the foreclosure process can spell the difference between profit and loss to an investor at the same time that they drive real estate values into the ground.

As the Foreclosure Era enters its final years, the differences in foreclosure discounts vary widely across the nation, presenting opportunities to investors and wreaking havoc on homeowners simultaneously. With regional and local conditions playing a greater role than ever in shaping foreclosure supply and demand, the differences between local foreclosure discounts may be increasing to the surprise residents who rely upon reports of “national” average discounts.

FNC, one of the top sources of pricing data used by appraisers, calculated at national average discount of 12.2 percent at the end of 2012 versus 13.4 percent a year earlier. The National Association of Realtors said foreclosures sold for an average discount of 20 percent below market value in January. At the height of the mortgage crisis (2008 and 2009), foreclosed homes were typically sold at 25 percent below their estimated market value, said NAR.

Despite the progress in national average discounts, in a number of markets today foreclosures are worse now than they have ever been. A certain tier of markets, largely in the East and Midwest, are seeing discounts reach levels far below the 12.2 percent cited by FNC or the 20 percent from NAR. In real estate, where there is no national marketplace, the use of national averages sometimes can mask very different local realities.

Several factors, which differ by market, are keeping foreclosure discounts high in some markets. These include large inventories from the continued slow processing of foreclosure due to state laws; higher default and lower rents resulting from unemployment and economic fragility; less than ideal conditions for single family rentals, including low cap rates; overcapacity; and a disproportionate number of unsold damaged foreclosures (See Damaged Foreclosures Beckon Bargain-hunters); and less investor demand compared to the West and Florida, where a culture of small investors has developed and large hedge funds are active.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Singapore to Raise Property Tax Rates for Luxury Homeowners | North Salem Real Estate

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Singapore plans to raise taxes for luxury homeowners and investment properties, widening a four- year campaign to curb speculation after prices in Asia’s second- most expensive housing market rose to a record.

The higher tax will apply to the top 1 percent of homeowners who live in their own residences, or 12,000 properties, Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in his budget speech yesterday, without giving a definition of what constitutes a high-end home. The government will also raise tax rates for vacant investment properties or those that are rented out, he said.

Singapore joins Hong Kong in extending anti-speculation measures as low interest rates and capital inflows drive up demand and make housing unaffordable. Residential prices in Singapore climbed to a record in the fourth quarter as an increase in the number of millionaires drove up demand.

“The graduated property tax on luxury properties may impact investors, particularly corporates and high-net-worth investors,” Petra Blazkova, head of CBRE Research for Singapore and Southeast Asia said in a statement. “It may put pressure on the holding cost of investment properties held by developers and investors.”

The property index tracking 39 developers fell 1.2 percent to a one-month low at the close in Singapore. CapitaLand Ltd. (CAPL), Singapore’s biggest developer by assets, declined 1.5 percent to S$3.86. City Developments Ltd. (CIT), the second largest, slid 1.8 percent to S$11.15.

Hong Kong

Singapore’s latest efforts were announced three days after Hong Kong increased property taxes. The Hong Kong government last week doubled sales taxes on property costing more than HK$2 million ($258,000) and targeted commercial real estate for the first time as bubble risks spread in the world’s most expensive place to buy an apartment.

“The property tax is a wealth tax and is applied irrespective of whether lived in, vacant or rented out,” Shanmugaratnam said. “Those who live in the most expensive homes should pay more property tax than others.”

For a condominium occupied by the owner in Singapore’s central region with an assessed annual rental value of S$70,000 ($56,547), the tax will rise 5 percent to S$2,780, according to the budget statement. If that home is rented out, the tax will climb 21 percent to S$8,500, according to an example highlighted in the statement.

Based on a 3 percent rental yield, that property is worth S$2.3 million. Gains in levies for properties assessed at higher rental values will also increase at a faster pace, it said. For a house with an assessed rental value of S$150,000, worth S$5 million based on the same yield assumption, the tax will rise 60 percent to S$24,000. The revised taxes will take full effect from January 2015, according to the statement.

Singapore is Asia’s most-expensive housing market after Hong Kong, according to a Knight Frank LLP and Citi Private Bank report released last year that compared 63 locations globally.

‘Wealth Tax’

“It is a wealth tax,” Yee Jenn Jong, a non-elected member of parliament from the opposition Workers’ Party, told reporters. “There’s been a lot of people that have made a lot of money through property and the government is using that as a way to get additional revenue to offset certain goodies they’re giving to those in the lower income.”

Singapore has since 2009 imposed measures to cool the property market. The government last month said home buyers have to pay 5 percentage points to 7 percentage points more in stamp duties. It also imposed the added levies for permanent residents when they buy their first home, while Singaporeans will have to pay the tax starting with their second purchase.

Foreign Labor

In the budget, Singapore also tightened curbs on foreign labor for a fourth consecutive year, as the government seeks to reduce companies’ reliance on overseas workers amid a public backlash over the influx.

Increasing wealth in the island-state has contributed to rising property prices. Singapore’s millionaire households rose by 14 percent in 2011, according to a Boston Consulting study. The proportion of millionaire homes in the city of 5.3 million people was 17 percent, the highest in the world, followed by Qatar and Kuwait.

“From a progressive tax view point, it’s to be expected and probably quite fair,” said Tan Su Shan, managing director of wealth management at DBS Group Holdings Ltd., who’s also a nominated member of Parliament. “From a developers’ point of view, it’s yet another pill to swallow.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Pooja Thakur in Singapore at pthakur@bloomberg.net; Sharon Chen in Singapore at schen462@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc at apapuc1@bloomberg.net

via businessweek.com

Housing Uptick To Boost Home Depot’s Q4 Sales | North Salem NY Homes

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Home improvement retailer Home Depot’s (NYSE:HD) performance over 2012 has inspired a lot of confidence in investors. The company’s stock rose by over 40% during the year as the management posted strong and consistent sales growth over the first three quarters. The primary reason behind Home Depot’s meteoric rise has been the recovery of the U.S. housing industry as 2012 finally saw the resurgence of key housing metrics such as record levels of home construction, declining vacancies, lower mortgage default rates and rising home prices.

Home Depot certainly seems to have leveraged the increased demand for homes and home-related products well. Its total sales were up about 3.9% for the first nine months. Meanwhile, the company has also done well to complement top line growth with key cost reduction strategies, boosting the bottom line. The company’s net earnings were up by a healthy 13% over the nine-month period. As the company gears up for the launch of its fourth quarter earnings on February 26, investors certainly have good reasons to look forward to another round of strong results.

Our complete analysis for Home Depot’s stock

Housing Recovery Remains Strong, Hurricane Sandy To Further Boost Sales

The recovery of the housing market continued well into the latter half of 2012. New home sales made their their way up to 367,000 for 2012, the highest since 2009. Meanwhile, construction spending rose 0.9% in 2012 to a $885 billion, the highest levels seen since August 2009. ((“Construction Spending Rises More Than Forecast on U.S. Housing“, Bloomberg, February 2013)) The growth in demand for new housing has been complemented well by lower foreclosure rates. In December 2012, there were around 56,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S., compared to 71,000 in December 2011.  Another key factor that should inspire confidence in investors are the rising prices of basic construction materials such as lumber – a very strong signal of strengthened demand for home improvement products. All of this adds up to strong demand for home improvement projects, and therefore more customers for Home Depot.

Meanwhile, sales related to the household repairs following the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy should also factor in a big way in the final quarter results, further boosting the top line. Although the sales effect of Sandy will most likely be spread throughout the coming quarters in 2013, a majority of the repair work would have commenced towards the end of 2012.

The company’s net sales growth over the first nine months of 2012 stood at 3.9%, with the growth in the third quarter at about 4.6%. The sales performance for the fourth quarter should also be somewhere in the 4-5% range.

Margins To Remain Strong With Cost Reduction Programs Leading The Way

Home Depot’s earnings over the first nine months of 2012 have been given a strong boost by the company’s focus on reducing costs, including efforts to reduce complexity in the supply chain, improve distribution, and localize marketing and merchandising activities. The company’s operating margin for the first nine months of 2012 stood at 10.65%, compared to 9.8% a year ago. This is largely a result of reduced selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A), which fell from 22.3% of total revenues in 2011 to 21.8% of total revenues in 2012.

We have a Trefis price estimate of $59 for Home Depot’s stock, which we will revise once the company’s 2012 full year earnings are out.

Understand How a Company’s Products Impact its Stock Price at Trefis

via trefis.com