Building Market Intelligence

We have the best housing affordability in at least 38 years, and the worst economy in 51 years. Hmm…. The monthly cost of homeownership has fallen 43% from the peak in this cycle, with more than half of that due …

Our headline is certainly a positive way of saying that we think a 12% unemployment rate (in 2011) is the most likely scenario. What matters to housing is that 88% of people will still be gainfully employed, and will probably …

Since we began tracking the data for the major MSAs in 1981, there has never been a better time to buy a home. The median income household needs only 27% of their income (an all-time low) to qualify for the …

The federal government has essentially adopted three of our four recommendations to “Unlock the Housing Market,” which puts us on track to have the housing market recover by 2011. While two years seems like forever, it will be here before …

Phoenix is the most unique market in the country right now. Any renter with a stable job and the desire to become a homeowner and live in Phoenix for a long time should be buying a home right now because …

The real opportunity to make money over the next few years will be through the FDIC. I see many of the same opportunities developing that I saw when I was a real estate consultant at KPMG from 1989 to 1997. …

The best measure of unemployment is not the one you read in the newspaper. The U-6 unemployment rate, which represents 13.9% of the total adult population who wants to work, also includes part-time employees who would rather work full-time. The …

Rezoning and repositioning your communities can earn you millions. The following is a hypothetical illustration of much of the work we are doing these days. In this example, we offer the builder of a high-density community two alternative scenarios: one …

Unlocking the Housing Market Recovery is our independent report that offers suggestions for housing stabilization. To download the white paper, PowerPoint or a 30-minute webinar, visit: http://www.realestateconsulting.com/video/housingrecovery.aspx The latest national statistics signal that we are headed for a depression. Stabilizing …