Real Estate Info

Posts Tagged ‘investing’

Newspapers thrive catchy headlines that can sum up the drama of the day. But it’s important to read with a critical eye, especially when you see a blanket statement at the top of the page like “National Home Sales Plummet.” The headline looks good, and it’s likely to turn heads, but how true is it? It may be true on average in recent years that fewer homes are being sold across the United States, and at lower prices. But many la Read the rest of this entry »

The top real estate news from India for this week are:

.Five lakh low-cost houses to come up in Mumbai

The city is all set to witness the mushrooming of affordable housing with five lakh units of middle and lower income housing expected to come up in the next five years. Announcing this, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad said this move is expected t Read the rest of this entry »

Buying a vocational property (also known as Second Home) can be a handy investment, for it can serve two purposes. First, it saves you plenty of expenditures when you are visiting that place in holidays, second you can rent it out to visitors on temporary basis and enjoy good monthly income when you are not using it. What’s more? You can turn it (or some part of it) into a restaurant or a shop if it is located at a place that gets plenty of visitors, during the course of a year. In short, owing or investing in a vocational property can be advantageous in many ways, but only if you choose the right location and pay attention to details. 

First, you need to make your mind on what will be the primary purpose of this property? Would you be using this place a lot, as a vocation spot? Will it serve mainly as a place away from home and the normal hectic life? Or, the sole purpose of this purchase is getting income? Ideally, if you are going to buy a vocation property, it should be intended (and able) to serve both purposes, so that you’ll be able to derive some value from this investment, in any case.

Location:

Whatever your intended future usage of vacation property is, the location is going to play an important role. Being a vocation property, it is supposed to be at a less crowded area, away from the normal hustle and bustle of urban cities. It can be a small hill station (especially if you are looking for a vocation property in South Asian countries like India & Pakistan), a cottage at some beach or a farmhouse in some peaceful vicinity. You should make a choice after considering both, your inclination and the investment viewpoint. Also, keep in mind the travel factor.

Price:

Prices depend mostly on the popularity of area and the number of visitors it get. The availability of the basic necessities like electricity, gas, clean drinking water or the facilities like internet access and security, also matter. If you can foresee some place getting more tourists in the future (for example a new road is under construction, which will make it more convenient to reach there), you can expect significant hikes in near future. Generally, the closer some vacation spot is to a big city, the higher its land and properties will be priced.

Types of Vacation Property ownerships:

You can own a vocation property in more than one ways, in accordance with your budget and usage. For example “timeshare”, where more than one party use the property for a prearranged, fixed period. You can use it personally or rent it out for the time period allotted to you. You can also go for fractional ownership, where you actually own a fraction of property (in contrast with timeshare, where you are entitled to “use” the property for only 1 – 2 weeks in a year).

You must have heard about those real estate investors, who purchased some property at extremely low prices, in a relatively lackluster real estate market. Then for some reasons the property prices soared and the property owners earned huge profits in no time. They are some lucky guys? Aren’t they? But before you start envying them for being the fortune’s favorite, let’s get your facts straight. The fact of the matter is that it is the market analysis and foreseeing capability that makes the difference, more than luck or fortune. Real estate market plays an important role in the process of property valuation, even more than the property itself. Therefore, next time when you are about to invest in some residential or commercial property, spending some time in evaluating the market can make huge difference.

An overview of the market and economy:

Have a close look at the ongoing situation of real estate market; do you see a bullish or bearish trend? Do you think this trend is going to continue in coming days or there are some signs of change? The overall economy has a direct effect on real estate as well, if there is economic growth in some regions, real estate prices are supposed to grow as more and more people and businesses will step in to take advantage of the growing economy. If you can retain a residential or commercial property or even some vacant land in this region, it can bring huge yields. Projecting a bullish or bearish trend is not an easy task unless you have got the drift of economic ups and down. However, you can take help from some experts (though, they might get it wrong as well).

Vacancy rate, Rentals, Prices:

If you are looking for short term investment, where you wouldn’t have to wait for longer period before you start earning, then look for these indicators. Vacancy rate of a real estate market is obtained by dividing the unoccupied units to the total units available in the market. You can have an idea of the existing property prices and the possibility of rise or decline in rentals or property prices, in near future. A significant change in mortgage rate can also boost or reduce sales.  

You should also check for the infrastructure and development work going on in the real estate market and adjoining areas, in particular if some big companies have recently entered or left the market.

Did you know that women who live alone are more likely to own their homes than single men? It’s true, statistics show that women are the second largest home-buying force next to couples, and the percentage of female homeowners is growing. So how are women buyer’s needs different, and what special challenges might home ownership present to them?

Women buy homes for all the same reasons anyone does: for stability and as Read the rest of this entry »