The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Business

Discussion

April 12, 2012

Foreclosures to rent are a hot investment

Los Angeles Times (MCT)

LOS ANGELES — A new report predicts the market for foreclosed homes that are turned into rentals will be worth more than $100 billion this year.

Rents are on the rise as home prices fall. That has policymakers promoting the idea that selling foreclosed homes to investors as rentals could be a positive for the housing market — helping take down the inventory of distressed properties and putting a floor on prices.

Last week, the Federal Reserve released guidelines that could encourage the practice of converting lender-owned foreclosed homes into rental properties.

By converting foreclosures to rentals with steady cash flow, banks could reduce the number of their “substandard assets,” a classification used by banking regulators to determine the health of banks.

The central bank also said that lenders could receive Community Reinvestment Act credit for providing housing to low- and moderate-income people by successfully converting foreclosed homes into rentals.

On Tuesday, data tracker CoreLogic said that the market for turning foreclosures into rental homes is increasingly becoming an attractive new investment opportunity. The report said that the market could be worth more than $100 billion in 2012.

The trend of investors snapping up low-priced foreclosures is already playing out throughout Southern California. As longtime Los Angeles real estate agent Leo Nordine recently told the Los Angeles Times, “I’ve never seen it like this before. ... There are so many investors buying right now it’s insane. The top 1 percent is buying up all the real estate.”

 

Text Only
Business
  • Business Stocks head lower, market on track for weekly loss

    The stock market headed slightly lower Friday, keeping on track for its first weekly loss in a month.

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • Summer travel forecast: Better, but no blowout

    This summer, high rollers are flying to lavish hot spots for their vacations. The rest of us are driving to less luxurious places like nearby campgrounds.

    May 24, 2013

  • Schumer urges look at security in Sprint deal

    Sen. Charles Schumer urged regulators to “use extreme caution” when reviewing the proposed acquisition of No. 3 cell carrier Sprint Nextel by Japan’s Softbank, saying the Japanese company’s use of Chinese networking equipment could open up U.S. networks to snooping and hacking.

    May 24, 2013

  • Kid Rock, Rolling Stones on scalping, summer tours

    Kid Rock is a scalper. The 42-year-old Grammy winner, who is launching a summer tour where most tickets are priced at $20, said he’s holding about 1,000 tickets from each show and reselling them on ticketsnow.com — owned by Ticketmaster — to make up for the cheaper regular price he’s offering.

    May 24, 2013

  • US rig count down 7 to 1,762

    Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by seven this week to 1,762.

    May 24, 2013

  • West Virginia joins fight to EPA greenhouse gas rules

    West Virginia’s governor and attorney general are joining two other states that are seeking to challenge federal environmental rules on greenhouse gas emissions.

    May 24, 2013

  • Why worry? Less aid by Fed would point to recovery

    Investors have grown nervous that the Federal Reserve will scale back its efforts to boost the U.S. economy sooner than many expected.

    May 24, 2013

  • Sears reports bigger-than-expected 1Q loss

    Sears Holdings Corp. reported a steeper-than-expected loss for its first quarter with the beleaguered retailer blaming a cooler spring for falling sales.

    May 24, 2013

  • Procter & Gamble brings back A.G. Lafley as CEO

    Procter & Gamble Co. is bringing back its former CEO, as the world’s largest consumer-products maker tries to spur global growth.

    May 24, 2013

  • Business Asia stocks extend losses after big sell-off

    Asian stocks continued to retreat Friday after being routed the day before by unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing and fears the Federal Reserve will start withdrawing its monetary stimulus.

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo