Apartment REITs: The Big Bull Market in Housing

By Mazhar Mohammad None of the BRIC nations except Indian markets have managed to get past 2007 highs. So, in a way, we can conclude that the remaining three markets other than India have seen only bear market rallies from 2008 lows. Even Shanghai market, which has become the cynosure of investor community in recent times with its sporadic rise, failed to get past its 2007 highs of 6,127. Recently, many sentiment indicators in Shanghai Composite index were exhibiting classic bubble signs.

Data released on Friday by state regulators showed that China’s non-performing loans rose 141 billion yuan during Q1, marking the sharpest quarterly increase on record and bringing the total to 983 billion. 

MUMBAI: Small is big. Investors and market experts worried over the tepid performance of the Nifty and the Sensex need only to look at the broader market where the picture appears to be considerably brighter. The mid-cap indices on both the BSE and the NSE have been hitting new all-time highs for the past three days while the Nifty smallcap index is at a seven-year high. The BSE small-cap index is still off its all-time high but all the four indices have been rising continuously for the past eight days, gaining 7-13.5%.

Renters might not like it much but a provincially-mandated increase in rent-controlled Ontario is likely to be greeted with open arms by landlords, even though the hike is weak by historical standards. After only allowing an increase of 0.8% in 2014, near an historical low, the Ontario Ministry of Municipal and Housing Affairs will double that to 1.8% in 2015. Despite the increase, Mario Saric, a real estate analyst with Scotiabank, says the announced hike is still well below the five-year and 10-year averages for increases of 1.8% and 1.9% respectively.

Could developers faced with a glut of condominiums turn to apartments? Real estate brokerage Rock Advisors Inc. is predicting that the number of purpose-built apartments will grow in 2014 as developers look elsewhere for income. “Everything that a condominium developer does can be applied to the building of apartments,” says Derek Lobo, chief executive of Rock Advisors, in a release.

By Brett Williams: REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) are a longtime favorite of many stock market investors for their typically high yields, tax-favored status, and the ability for any investor to gain an equity stake in real property. While many REITs got slaughtered during the brutal real estate crash of 2008, and many others went belly up, there have been survivors who have struggled through and may reward investors greatly in a rebounding economy.

By Michael Stubben:The apartment sector has entered the recovery phase of the commercial real estate property cycle. Declining vacancies and rising rents highlight the recovery phase and point to higher total returns for investors. The mid-term prospects for apartments are further strengthened by powerful demographic trends that will fuel demand for apartments creating strong growth in apartment rents and strong returns for investors.

Parsimony Investment Research submits:As the latest Case-Shiller data indicates, home prices in 20 U.S. cities declined to an eight-year low. The housing market continues to be hindered by: