Home Equity Apply Now

Home Equity Loans and Home Improvement Loans tag, as close to the beginning of it as possible-- Purchase Refinance Home Equity Apply Now Online Application Status Check Out Today's Rates Search Need Help? Home HOME EQUITY LOANS - or - With Home Equity financing from GMAC Mortgage, your home can become a powerful financial tool. However you decide to use your equity—for a more comfortable retirement, to pay for college, to buy that vacation getaway you always wanted—we can help you access it. Start Your Online Application Find a Local Expert Home Equity Loans A home equity loan gives you the cash you need as a single up-front payment, which you can repay at a fixed rate. If you know exactly how much you need to borrow, a home equity loan may be the best option. Apply Now Home Equity Credit Lines A home equity credit line gives you a revolving source of cash that you can draw from as you need to, up to a maximum amount. The line carries a variable rate with an interest-only option, and you pay interest only on the money you actually use — not the total amount of the credit line. Apply Now Use your equity to buy a home Finance a renovation project SHORTCUTS Home Equity Resources Today's Rates Local Branch Calculators Privacy & Security THE LEARNING CENTER The Right Loan Program First-Time Buyer Guide Buying a Home Loan Programs Simplified Flexible Options for New Home Construction Privacy | Legal Information | Auto Insurance | GMAC HomeSolutions | Contact Us | About Us | Careers | Site Map 2005 GMAC Mortgage Corporation. All Rights Reserved. GMAC is a registered service mark of the General Motors Acceptance Corporation Real Estate and moving services offered by GMAC Home Services, Inc. and GMAC Global Relocation Services, Inc. GMAC Residential Holding Corporation is the parent of GMAC Mortgage Corporation, GMAC Home Services, Inc., Ditech Escrow Services, Inc., GMAC Bank and GMAC HomeSolutions. Because of these relationships, any of these referrals may provide GMAC Residential Holding Corporation with a financial or other benefit. Close This link will take you to another site that is not affiliated with gmacmortgage.com. Therefore, GMAC Mortgage's privacy policy will not apply. For your safety, please check with the sites privacy policy before entering your information. Thank you. Close

Investment Property

Investment Property Databank IPD Home About IPD Portfolio Analysis Services Events Indices and Market Information Indices for Derivatives Online Services -- Download Index Download 2004 full series (pdf) IPD South Africa Information Valuation Guide 2004 Publication Samples Multi Country Index Spreadsheet IPD South Africa Index IPD is now in its tenth year of reporting on the South African market. The project was co-ordinated by SAPIX (The South African Property Information Exchange), which was created in 1997 to develop with IPD an authoritative databank on property investment performance in South Africa. IPD South Africa, a wholly independent subsidiary of IPD, was established at the beginning of 2003 to provide property data to the local market. Total returns - % per year All Property Retail Office Industrial 2000 11.1 10.3 12.7 7.0 2001 10.5 13.2 7.8 7.5 2002 9.6 11.0 5.0 8.8 2003 15.3 17.3 8.9 17.7 2004 23.4 26.1 16.7 24.4 annualised over: 3 yrs 15.9 18.0 10.1 16.8 5 yrs 13.8 15.4 10.1 12.9 10 yrs 13.4 16.0 9.9 12.2 South African commercial property delivered the highest return seen in the last ten years. Total returns for South African commercial property accelerated to 23.4% in 2004, up from 15.3% in 2003, breaking the previous record of 17.4% set in 1997. In the process property as an asset class outperformed most others with the exception of equities, which did slightly better, year on year. The return on bonds came a distant third at 14.1% in 2004, compared to property’s 23.4% and 25% for equities. Commenting on the results, Simon Fairchild, IPD UK Director, says that this was another fantastic year for commercial property in South Africa and on a risk adjusted basis direct property is certainly holding its own against the other asset classes. Fairchild further believes that the continued upswing in the South African economy is also being felt in the property sector, which is now starting to deliver results. Over the ten year period property performance has ranked between that of bonds and equities, although the position of these asset classes has been reversed. Bond returns annualised at 18.3% per year, are comfortably ahead of those on property and equities, at 13.4% and 10.6% per year respectively. This performance hierarchy has also been maintained over five years, although property and bonds are tied for first over the three year period ending 2004. Putting it into context, the South African results are the seventh set of results of sixteen to be published by IPD in 2005. Comparatively the South African results are extremely positive both in nominal and real terms. The UK achieved a total return of 18.3% and Canada a total return of 12.9%. At the other end of the scale, Finland achieved a total return of 5.6%. Similarly, in 2003, South African direct commercial property outperformed all other countries measured by IPD. For more information please contact: IPD: Richard Wetherell - tel +44 (0)20 7643 9266 IPD South Africa: Stan Garrun - tel +27 (0)11 883 4977 Total return 2004 - % End 2004 net income yield - % 1 St. John's Lane London EC1M 4BL Tel: +44 (0)20 7336 9200 Fax: +44 (0)20 7336 9399 Privacy Policy | © 2005 IPD Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Home | About IPD | Portfolio Analysis Service | Events | Indices and Market Information | Indices for Derivatives | OPD Designed by Webrepro

NEW HOMES BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT

News Room : ENERGY STAR What is ENERGY STAR? | Newsroom Search History Partners News Archive Awards Media Resources PRODUCTS HOME IMPROVEMENT NEW HOMES BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT PARTNER RESOURCES -- Home > News Room -- -- News Room ENERGY STAR in the News What's New: Program Highlights Half of the States Join ENERGY STAR Challenge (December 2005) Half of the states across the nation are joining with the EPA to address critical energy issues in our communities in conjunction with EPA's ENERGY STAR Challenge. Through the ENERGY STAR Challenge, state governments will offer a variety of programs to help building owners assess how much energy their buildings use now, establish efficiency improvement goals of 10 percent or greater portfolio-wide, and make efficiency improvements wherever cost effective. EPA Press Release List of Participating States (87KB) More Information Businesses: Save on Energy Bills this Winter (November 2005) American businesses are experiencing higher than ever energy prices, which are expected to continue this winter. EPA has advice almost any business can take to save 10% or more on their energy bills this winter. The advice shares lessons learned from EPA's ENERGY STAR partners who have saved through simple steps and adopted longer term energy management strategies with even greater savings. If every business in the US saved 10% on their energy bills, Americans would save about $10 billion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 15 million vehicles. EPA Press Release Advice for Saving Energy EPA Recognizes 18 Leading Organizations for Efforts to Cut Energy Bills (October 2005) On October 26, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson recognized 18 organizations as ENERGY STAR Leaders for achieving significant energy savings and leading their industries in responding to EPA's ENERGY STAR Building Challenge. The ENERGY STAR Commercial Building Challenge, launched in Spring 2005, encourages building owners and managers to make their buildings at least 10% more efficient. EPA Press Release Fact Sheet (66KB) Leader Profiles (36KB) More Information on the ENERGY STAR Challenge Save Energy this Winter with help from ENERGY STAR (October 2005) In the face of higher energy bills this winter, the EPA encourages everyone to take action in their home to be more energy efficient. The average American household spends $1,500 annually on energy bills — a number that may go up as much as 50 percent this year. EPA offers five places to look and practical advice for home energy savings. EPA Press Release Home Energy Quiz (240KB) More Information K-12 Schools take the ENERGY STAR Challenge (October 2005) Ten leading associations representing state school boards, superintendents, principals, facility planners, parents, and teachers are joining with the EPA to address critical energy issues in our nation's K-12 schools. Currently, the nation's more than 17,000 K-12 schools spend $5 billion on energy bills each year. However, school districts can save up to 30 percent on their energy bills through cost-effective energy efficiency improvements. Through the ENERGY STAR Challenge, school decision-makers assess how much energy school districts use now, establish efficiency improvement goals of 10 percent or greater district-wide, and make efficiency improvements wherever cost effective. EPA Press Release Fact Sheet (82KB) Participants List (62KB) More Information EPA and DOE Announce ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day (October 2005) EPA and DOE, together with more than half of US Governors, declared October 5th ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day, and encouraged every American to change a light in their home to one that is more energy efficient. Lighting accounts for 20 percent of a home's electricity costs. ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs reduce household energy bills because they use one-third the energy of traditional lighting and last up to 10 times longer. This small step can make a big difference for our nation's energy resources and environment. EPA Press Release Campaign Fast Facts (98KB) Governors Declaring ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day (307KB) 250+ Participating Organizations (628KB) Take the Pledge EPA Raises the Bar for New Homes to Earn ENERGY STAR Label (September 2005) Builders of new homes in the United States will have to significantly increase the energy efficiency of their homes to meet the new ENERGY STAR requirements which take effect July 1, 2006. To qualify under the revised ENERGY STAR specifications, new homes must have higher levels of insulation inspected for proper installation; complete framing and air barrier assemblies that enable insulation to perform at its full rated value; windows that meet or exceed ENERGY STAR requirements; high-efficiency and properly sized heating and cooling equipment appropriate to the climate; and more energy-efficient water heating, lighting and appliances. EPA Press Release More information ENERGY STAR Annual Report Released (September 2005) EPA recently released its annual report summarizing the success of ENERGY STAR and other voluntary climate protection programs. The report summarizes the accomplishments of these programs for 2004. For example, Americans, with the help of the ENERGY STAR, avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 20 million automobiles – up from 18 million in 2003 – while saving $10 billion on their energy bills. EPA Press Release 2004 Annual Report (1.27MB) New Partnerships for Home Energy Efficiency Announced (July 2005) On July 11 the EPA, DOE and HUD announced a new multi-agency effort, the Partnerships for Home Energy Efficiency, to bring greater energy efficiency to the U.S. housing market to save 10 percent or more on home energy bills over the next decade. A 10 percent savings would total almost $20 billion a year, help increase the affordability and comfort of homes, reduce demand for natural gas by more than 1 quad, avoid the need for 40 power plants and avoid the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from more than 25 million vehicles. Home Performance with ENERGY STAR plays a large role in delivering these savings to consumers. EPA/HUD/DOE Press Release Report: Partnerships for Home Energy Efficiency (3.00MB) Overview Fact Sheet: Partnerships for Home Energy Efficiency (247KB) Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (141KB) ENERGY STAR Products for American Homes (186KB) Quality Installation for Air Conditioning Equipment (109KB) Case Studies: Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Aurora, CO (137KB) Austin, TX (131KB) Fresno, CA (214KB) Ithaca, NY (216KB) Manlius, NY (88KB) St. Louis, MO (146KB) Suwanee, GA (108KB) EPA Announces Energy Performance Indicator for Auto Assembly Plants (June 2005) The energy efficiency of automobile assembly plants can now be rated on a national basis. EPA has recently made available a tool to help the automobile industry evaluate the energy performance of its assembly plants. This tool, the first of its kind for a manufacturing facility, compares the energy efficiency of any assembly plant producing passenger cars, light duty trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans in the U.S. to that of the entire industry. EPA Press Release Auto Assembly Plant Energy Performance Indicator EPA Offers Smart Ways to Stay Cool this Summer (June 2005) Energy use escalates when hot summer days set in across the nation. EPA's ENERGY STAR program is offering advice this summer on how to save money, remain cool and comfortable and help reduce the risks of global warming – all at the same time. Advice includes keeping your air conditioner maintained, using a programmable thermostat, sealing up gaps and cracks in the home envelope, and replacing old equipment with products that have earned the government's ENERGY STAR for energy efficiency. EPA Press Release EPA's Guide to Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling (663KB) Cool Your World Fast Facts (English) (150KB) Cool Your World Simple Steps (English) (44KB) Cool Your World Fast Facts (Spanish) (68KB) Cool Your World Simple Steps (Spanish) (49KB) New Water and Wastewater Industry Focus Announced (May 2005) EPA is launching a new initiative to increase the energy efficiency of U.S. drinking water and wastewater systems, with participation from more than 20 leading organizations. The new ENERGY STAR Water and Wastewater Industry Focus will work over the next year to develop an energy performance rating system, a guide to assessing energy efficiency opportunities, strategies for superior energy management, and innovative approaches to financing energy efficiency projects for each of the two industries. This new ENERGY STAR focus is part of a series of efforts to improve the energy efficiency of selected industries. EPA Press Release Fact Sheet (55KB) EPA announces ENERGY STAR Building Challenge (March 2005) EPA joined with more than 20 leading associations, States, and businesses to announce a national challenge for the owners of commercial and institutional buildings across the country. The ENERGY STAR Challenge encourages building owners to improve the efficiency of their buildings by 10 percent or more and to capitalize on the environmental benefits and cost savings that will result. EPA Press Release List of organizations partnering with EPA More information 2005 ENERGY STAR Awards (March 2005) EPA and DOE are recognizing 50 organizations as winners of the 2005 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Awards. These organizations have made outstanding contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. EPA and DOE sponsor these awards annually to recognize energy efficiency investments made by ENERGY STAR partners that saved consumers money while helping the environment. The Partners of the Year are selected from the over 7,000 ENERGY STAR partners based on their efforts to utilize energy-efficient technologies, communicate the benefits of energy savings to consumers and businesses, and encourage others to partner with ENERGY STAR. This year's award winners include Lowes Companies Inc., Food Lion, Pardee Homes, USAA Real Estate and 3M. EPA Press Release List of 50 award winners (15KB) More on Awards EPA's Public Service Announcement (PSA): 2005 ENERGY STAR Awards (2.84MB) International Power Supply Design Competition Winners Announced at Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), Austin, TX, March 6-10, 2005 (March 2005) On March 7, 2005 at APEC's plenary session, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Energy Commission announced the winners of Efficiency Challenge 2004, an international design competition for power supply efficiency. Twelve winners were selected, including two Grand Champions: Power Integrations in the Market Ready Category and Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the Open Category. All the winning entries are more energy efficient, and in many cases radically smaller than typical power supplies on the market today, demonstrating what is possible in future consumer electronics products. Efficiency Challenge APEC Presentation (62KB) Andrew Fanara, EPA, Andy Williams, ON Semiconductor, and Peter Schwartz, representing the California Energy Commission Andrew Fanara, EPA, Balu Balakrishnan, Power Integrations, and Peter Schwartz, representing the California Energy Commission Andrew Fanara, EPA, Speaking at APEC 2005 Product Picture, Power Integrations, Winner of Best in Class A1, Market Ready Grand Champion EPA Efficiency Challenge Press Release (62KB) Judging Criteria Fact Sheet (55KB) Efficiency Challenge 2004 Judge Bios (33KB) Efficiency Challenge Winner Fact Sheets (162KB) ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes Near 10 Percent of Housing Starts Nationwide (March 2005) Nearly 10 percent of all homes built in 2004 earned the ENERGY STAR label. According to a recently released report, A Decade of Change in Home Building with ENERGY STAR (2.36MB), since 1995 over 360,000 of the Nation's new homes have earned the ENERGY STAR, saving homeowners an estimated $200 million and eliminating approximately 4 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. EPA Press Advisory Report: A Decade of Change in Home Building with ENERGY STAR (2.36MB) More information on ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes Almost 2,000 Buildings Have Earned EPA's ENERGY STAR (January 2005) As of January 1, 2005, almost 2,000 of the nation's most energy efficient buildings, representing almost 400 million square feet, have earned EPA's ENERGY STAR designation for superior energy performance. The buildings qualifying as ENERGY STAR use about 40 percent less energy than average buildings without compromising comfort or services. Press Release List of buildings (2.14MB) More information ENERGY STAR Awareness Climbs to Over 60 Percent (February 2005) Public awareness of ENERGY STAR has jumped to 64 percent of U.S. households, according to a recent nationwide survey. In many major markets where local utilities and other organizations use ENERGY STAR to promote energy efficiency to their customers, public awareness of ENERGY STAR is even higher, averaging 74 percent. EPA Press Advisory (14KB) Survey Report (1.58MB) Energy-Efficient External Power Adapters Can Now Earn the ENERGY STAR (January 2005) On January 6, 2005 EPA announced that the ENERGY STAR is now available for qualifying external power adapters. Power adapters, also known as external power supplies, are used to power many electronic products such as cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras, camcorders, MP3 players, routers and other electronics and appliances. As many as 1.5 billion power adapters are in use in the U.S. – which is about five for every person. The new guidelines for power adapters will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions; in the U.S., more efficient adapters have the potential to save over 5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy and prevent the release of more than 4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions the equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road. Press Release More on Power Adapters Photos: CES Show , EPS Booth New ENERGY STAR Monitor Specification (January 2005) Beginning January 2005, computer monitors must meet more energy-efficient requirements to qualify for the ENERGY STAR label. For the first time, the specification addresses energy consumption while monitors are in use, as well as while they are idle. Many models on the market already meet EPA's new specifications. By 2010, EPA estimates that the new requirements will result in carbon emission savings of almost 5 million metric tonnes (carbon equivalent), or the equivalent of taking more than 3 million cars off the road. The previous computer monitor requirements called for only a "sleep mode" energy-saving function. Press Release More Information News Archives Press Contact: Maria T. Vargas, (202) 343-9451 Consumer Contact Information: energystar@optimuscorp.com 1-888-STAR-YES Products | Home Improvement | New Homes | Business Improvement | Partner Resources Newsroom | Privacy | Contact Us | Site Index EPA Home EPA Search DOE Home DOE Search

Buy Home

Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten. animal adoption Adopt a puppy dog form the animal adoption shelter. Setting aside all of the arguments for buying a puppy from a breeder , Sternberg emphatically pronounces that you should adopt a dog from a shelter because, as she says, its the right thing to do."Go ahead. Buy that puppy in the window. Yes, that beautiful, adorably winsome creature whose huge, soulful eyes cry, "Please, take me home. Our animal adoption services put great pets in loving homes. I'm full of love and affection and I know you are too." The only thing you should know before you make this purchase is that in doing so you will he contributing to the livelihood of an inhumane puppy mill breeder. You will actively be condoning the wretched existence of thousands of breeding stock dogs who lead lives of misery and desperation. Do you really want to a high price for your pet? Can you live with the fact that half million puppies die annual they even make it to a pet store? And are you ready to deal possibility that your new pet will soon manifest one or more of illnesses, viruses, congenital defects or temperament problems so rampant in puppy mill dogs? If you wish to adopt a dog , please visit our website to obtain more information on it.Petfinder's Post-a-pet is full of great pets that, for some reason, can't stay in their current homes. People also list pets here that they find as strays as an alternative to taking them to the shelter. These pets are usually currently living with a foster family or their original family. Purina signed on as the Web site's premier sponsor. Purina provides nutrition and pet care information for Petfinder.com's online libraries and a breed selector to help visitors decide what breeds are best for their family. Purina will also be assisting in marketing efforts, helping to spread the word about the thousands of pets that need a new home. Adopt a pet dog or cat from animal welfare organizations across the country. Buy different cat breeds that are for sale. If you have questions or would like to know how to buy a puppy , please visit our website. We love to hear your Petfinder happy endings! In fact, we all stay glued to our computers just waiting for them to arrive every day! Each month we will choose one lucky new Petfinder family to receive a free one-year subscription to The ASPCA's Animal Watch magazine.* Simply tell your pet's story as she/he went from homelessness to happiness click the submit button below. We would like to have your permission to share your story in our press releases so that more and more people will see that homeless pets deserve a second shot at being part of a family. If you agree to let us share your story, please include your name and phone number so that we can contact you. Thanks! You can find out more about our cat adoption program by visiting our website. We're waiting to hear from you! Petfinder is an on-line, searchable database of animals that need homes. It is also a directory of over 7,000 animal shelters and adoption organizations across the USA, Canada and Mexico. Organizations maintain their own home pages and available pet database. Our mission: to use Internet technology and the resources it can generate to 1) increase public awareness of the availability of high-quality adoptable pets and to 2) increase the overall effectiveness of pet adoption programs across North America to the extent that the euthanasia of adoptable pets is eliminated. Visit our site if you are interested to buy a dog .Petfinder.com is free to use. Animal shelters and rescue groups can register to join Petfinder.com online and can start entering pets the same day. "The site is a virtual shelter," says Jared Saul. "It is being able to sit down with your family and visit hundreds of shelters, get to know the pets, and not have to drive all around to do it. When someone finally does go to meet a pet because of Petfinder.com, they are more likely to be well suited for each other. What better use of the Web?" Rescue a free kitten for a pet. Please visit our site to find our about our kitten adoption services. From the comfort of their personal computers, pet lovers can search for a pet that best matches their needs. They can then reference a shelter's Web page and discover what services it offer. Petfinder also includes classified ads, discussion forums and a library of animal welfare articles. Petfinder is updated DAILY. Organizations wishing to participate should register. A contact person should be responsible for direct communications with Petfinder. Only nonprofit organizations will be included. We have a dog rescue program that you can find more information about it right from our website.Petfinder is made up of animal-care professionals and regular people volunteering for their local animal welfare organizations all working together to maintain active and accurate homeless pet lists. Most animal welfare volunteers have "real jobs" by day. The success and the magnitude of this project is largely due to their tireless efforts to make a difference. f you have a Website and would like to help us promote shelter pets as the #1 choice for a new pet, you may right click on the logos below and save them for use on your home page. You may also want to check out our Featured Pet Module which allows you to show Petfinder pets from your community on your own home page.Find out how to obtain a free puppy by visiting our website. In June of 2000, Petfinder.com was named one of the 300 best websites by Forbes magazine, and in October, Petfinder.com was named one of the top 100 sites by Family PC magazine. The site has also been featured on Oprah, in the Industry Standard, Mademoiselle and is frequently noted in major newspapers such as The New York Times. Adopt a dog or cat from the animal shelter. Stores for pets that are on sale.Can you live with the fact that half million puppies die annual they even make it to a pet store ? Shelters and rescue group members also have their own home pages on the site. Many of them attribute over 50% of their adoptions to Petfinder.com. Some have reported that their euthanasia rate dropped significantly within months of joining Petfinder.com. They also report that Petfinder.com adoptions are more successful, with fewer pets returned. This may be because the adopter's choice is more informed. "Many people find visiting shelters traumatic, especially those who feel guilty when they can't take all the pets home," says Betsy Saul of Tucson, Arizona, who developed the site with her husband, Jared, in 1995 as a New Year's Resolution to help homeless pets. "Petfinder.com allows you to focus your search from home, which makes finding your new best friend much easier." The site went national in August 1998. Petfinder.com, a labor of love for the Sauls, was the first searchable directory for homeless pets. attention is what its sponsors want, attention is what they'll get. Petfinder.com, whose founders are scientists by training, not business people, is among the busiest sites on the Internet. The Sauls attribute their site's success not only to hard work, but also to the press. "We never had to spend a dime on advertising," says Betsy Saul, who admits it was a good thing since, at the time, they didn't have any dimes to spare. "As soon as we launched and the press first got a glimpse of the site, we've been in a race to keep up with ourselves."Visit our website to find our about our puppy adoption services.The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( SPCA ).The SPCA is now actively involved in helping shelters join Petfinder.com, as well as helping educate shelter personnel once they become members. QUICK PET SEARCH ANIMAL Please select BarnYard Bird Cat Dog Horse Pig Rabbit Reptile Small&Furry BREED [click for list] AGE All Baby Young Adult Senior SIZE All Small Medium Large Extra-Large GENDER All Male Female ZIP or CITY, STATE/PROV PIC PREVIEW? SEARCH RANGE Regional Expanded National SEARCH TIPS SITE MAP • PETS -advanced search -breed index • SHELTERS -local shelters -by state / prov • LIBRARY • MESSAGES • CLASSIFIEDS -postapet -pet wanted -lost & found • EVENT CALENDAR • HAPPY "TAILS" -monthly drawing • KIDS HELP INFO PRESS ADVERTISE Hurricane Pets Search reports of found, rescued, and sheltered pets in the Animal Emergency Response Network On Petfinder.com You Can: Search adoptable pets with our advanced search or our Quick Search (left). Locate shelters and rescue groups currently caring for adoptable pets. Browse our resource library and learn more about how to care for your pet. Post classified ads for lost or found pets, pets wanted, and pets needing homes. Sign up to be a volunteer to help your local shelter or rescue group. HURRICANE ALERTS CLICK HERE for the Animal Welfare Disaster and Emergency Response Resource Page >> Animal Hurricane Victims still need your help! Make a tax-deductible donation to the Petfinder.com Foundation Disaster Fund. The Petfinder.com Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN #87-0964641. A Christmas Carol Joanne and Jim Thompson of J and J’s Homeless Pet Rescue in Washington, NC, had just about given up hope of finding a home for Carol Anne, a friendly Labrador retriever they’d had since she was a baby. But glad tidings! On December 26, the one-year-old (now called Savannah) went home with her new family, Debbie and Ralph Whatley of Greenville, NC, who found her on Petfinder.com. For information about dog care, visit the Petfinder.com library . To enter your happy ‘tail’ in our drawing see below. Have a Happy Tail? Send us your Petfinder pet's happy ending story , and you'll be entered to win a six-month supply of FRONTLINE ® Plus or FRONTLINE Top Spot ®! Have a Web Site? Use our Petfinder.com search banner to allow your visitors to search our homeless pets right from your home page. Or feature pets from your local shelter by placing our Featured Pet Module (like the one above) on your own home page! Promote Adoption with Petfinder.com gear! Petfinder.com Best Friends Kids' T-Shirt * $12.95 Outfit your little "best friends" in a comfy tee showing their love for their pets of all types! Lime green or vibrant orange tees read "Petfinder.com" and "Best Friends Forever," so your kids can help spread the word wherever they go. Visit the Petfinder.com shop for caps, t-shirts, and car magnets and more! Happy Holidays! Petfinder.com wishes all of our visitors and their furry (and non-furry!) families a very happy and safe holiday season. FREE Petfinder.com Bumper Sticker! Send a self-addressed mailing LABEL (no envelope) and a $0.37 stamp to: Bumper sticker PO Box 51 Carterville MO 64835 WHILE THEY LAST! Your Ad Here -- © Petfinder, LLC 1999 Artwork © Judie Bomberger 1998 Petfinder's privacy statement

real estate prices in

Pondering Real Estate Pondering Real Estate Adam Hamilton August 23, 2002 2913 Most Americans' largest asset is their home. With chaotic and turbulent economic times upon us, how will residential real estate perform in the coming years. Some thoughts... One of the greatest blessings of writing publicly is the continual stream of feedback I am offered from folks around the world. They let me know when I am wrong, help shape my worldviews and opinions, and offer dazzling new ideas that are often absolutely brilliant. Without everyone who graciously writes in to help deepen my own understanding, my own thought processes would rapidly stagnate. I am always grateful for feedback, positive, neutral, or negative. The people who take the time to write really augment the crucial foundational base off which my thoughts articulated in these essays are formed and polished. One of the most common questions people have, especially those writing from the States, regards real estate. For Americans, real estate, in the form of their primary family home, is often the largest asset they command. The value of real estate, especially the price trend, is very important to countless folks across our great nation. Many Americans I hear from, especially those with a contrarian investor mindset, wonder what will happen to residential real estate prices in the United States. The question is a very complex and difficult one, for a whole myriad of reasons. I have been pondering this matter since the US equity bubbles burst and am finally ready to commit some tentative thoughts to paper on this vexing issue. A massive caveat is in order however. I am approaching this question about real estate price trends from the perspective of a speculator. Not having a background in real estate, these ideas may be completely worthless, so please dont act on anything in this essay without at least first discussing these concepts with a real estate professional you personally trust with decades of experience. I hope this essay will simply spur further thoughts and discussions. The primary issue that I have been wrestling with in my mind regarding residential real estate price trends in the coming years concerns inflation and deflation. Inflation and deflation are simply opposing monetary phenomena, but both seem to be attacking our fragile post-bust economy in the US with great fury from opposite sides. For some background on these two titanic forces, please see my Inflation or Deflation? essay published last December. Inflation is spawned by the hooligans at the Federal Reserve printing too much paper (or electronic) money, which they have been doing in spades in recent years in a vain and fruitless attempt to stop the normal post-bubble bust process from running its full course. In the last 12 months, the various US money supply measures have exploded up with astounding violence. The absolute year-over-year M1 inflation is 5.2%, MZM 12.7%, M2 7.9%, and M3 7.4%. These numbers are downright frightening in light of historical inflationary precedent! In an inflationary environment, relatively more money chases after relatively fewer goods, services, and real estate. If the amount of money in circulation is rising faster than available real estate in the areas in which people want to live, residential real estate prices should rise. Realtors use this inflation idea to convince their customers that land prices should perpetually rise because land is scarce. Unfortunately, thats not the whole story. While real estate professionals constantly bombard us with marketing propaganda claiming that land is scarce and no more is being made, that is a myth. One example why is evident in multi-story buildings. A 10-story structure, for example, has about 10x the usable space as a single story structure, but has the same footprint in raw land terms. Land itself is not scarce, just land in locations where people want to live. For example, the sparsely-populated state of Montana has about 147,000 square miles of area, or roughly 94m acres. Assuming that only 2/3 of Montanas land is useable (the rest might be mountains or lakes, or streets in cities), that leaves 63m acres. If the entire US population is 287m people, they could all move to Montana and each live in modest estates of almost 1/4 acre, or 9,500 square feet. If their houses took up 1/3 of their plots, and each had a basement and two aboveground stories, every American could live in Montana in individual 9,500 square feet mini-mansions! Land is not scarce in general. I have seen land sell in the North Dakota Badlands for $25 per acre. I have heard of deals involving vast tracts of land in northern Australia going for under $1 per acre. Land is relatively scarce in small areas in which lots of people want or need to live however, such as New York Citys Manhattan Island. Monetary inflation should indeed bode well for real estate prices, but where will it strike? If US monetary inflation bids on barren lands in the Western states for example, residential real estate in the big Eastern cities might not benefit. Just because the general economic environment in the US is highly inflationary thanks to the Feds obnoxious and practically criminal monetary growth, that doesnt necessarily mean real estate in a given small corner of the US will do well. And then we must consider deflation! Deflation is caused by relatively less money chasing relatively more goods, services, and real estate. In deflationary environments money supplies shrink and prices drop. As long as the American people allow the private Federal Reserve bank to continue its tyranny of inflationary theft, there will never be less money in the US economy than there is today. But, muddying the waters even further, the historical line between money and credit is now exceedingly blurry. Because Americans love going into debt, they insist on buying their houses on time, with borrowed money at high interest rates, rather than working hard, saving the funds themselves, and paying cash when they can afford to buy a house outright. While deflation in the US money supplies is probably impossible with the Fed around, deflation in debt, or credit, is already happening. With Americans not actually buying houses outright but really in effect borrowing them from banks, any contraction in available debt will leave less credit available to chase houses. With less credit chasing residential real estate, prices will be forced to fall. But, just as with inflation, it is difficult or impossible to predict how the contraction in general credit available to buy houses will affect real estate in any given small area of the United States. Confused yet? Me too. There are both titanic inflationary and monstrous deflationary forces barreling down on the United States. But, residential real estate markets are all local and many will be affected differently. Deflationary forces could win out in New York City for instance, causing home values to plummet while at the same time inflationary forces win out in Wyoming causing house prices to rise. Real estate is all local. In the stock markets, it is meaningless whether you buy a share of a publicly-traded company in New York or California. In real estate where you buy your house is everything! Location, location, location. Since all real estate markets are really local, perhaps there are some warning signs that you can watch for in your little corner of America to warn of impending real estate price drops. While national generalizations about monetary inflation or debt/credit deflation regarding real estate are tough to make, zooming in to the local level for analysis has a much higher probability of success. Stock speculators throughout history have learned to carefully monitor equity markets for danger signs of maturing bubbles. All markets, including real estate, move in great cycles throughout history, marked by rampant euphoria at the tops and popular indifference at the bottoms. Perhaps applying some common bubble warning signs in equity markets to your local real estate market will yield some interesting fruit. Three common warning signs for equity bubbles are parabolic price rises, excessive valuations, and overwhelming euphoria. In real estate, parabolic price rises happen when a local market witnesses prices rocketing up by 15%+ per year, for years in a row. If you go to your local library and look at old newspaper classified ads, or else secure local data from your hometown real estate professional, you can easily graph it in Excel. If prices of comparable homes across time are shooting up on a long-term zeroed-chart like a ballistic missile, like the bubbles in the NASDAQ 2000 and DJIA 1929, you are most likely in the belly of the beast, a local unsustainable real estate bubble. Check out bubble growth graphed, it sticks out like a central banker at a rock concert! This graph shows values indexed to 100, but you can just as easily think of them in terms of dollars, starting out at $100k. Imagine you bought a house 25 years ago for $100k, a lot of money back then. If your house price appreciated by 5% per year compounded annually, it would now be worth $339k, which is totally plausible and makes sense. On the other hand, if your house had appreciated by 15% each year, it would now be worth $3,292k, or $3.3m! This is a massive increase in price, and it ought to throw up big red warning flags all across your cranium. Does it make sense for a $100k house to become a $3.3m house in only 25 years? Absolutely not, that is just silly! As the graph above shows, abnormally high growth rates make for parabolic charts, bubbles that look just like the stock market variety. If your local real estate market is ascending parabolically like the NASDAQ of 1997-2000, you are in a bubble. History unambiguously shows that no financial trend continues in the same direction forever and all bubbles ultimately pop. Unrealistic annual growth rates are a key bubble warning sign. For a deeper discussion of unrealistic growth rates over the long-term, please see my essay The Elusive Long-Term from last August. Another warning sign of equity bubbles is excessive valuations. In the stock markets, valuations are most commonly measured by the formidable yet often scorned price-to-earnings ratio. The historical average P/E ratio for US equity markets is 13.5x earnings. We can also apply this concept to real estate holdings. While most people buy a house simply to live in, it is also possible to buy a house to use as a rental property. In a residential house used as a single-family rental, there is a price, the cash paid for the house, and an earnings stream, the rent the family pays to the owner. With a real estate P and E, we can compute a rough real estate valuation multiple. If a rental property costs $100k to buy, and rents for $1000 per month, or $12k per year, its P/E ratio is 8.3. Even though most families dont own a separate rental property, with a little legwork you can check your local newspapers and calculate some rough P/E proxies for your area. Find houses for sale similar to yours to get price data points. Find houses for rent similar to yours to get earnings data points. Divide the P by the E, and you have a rough valuation estimate. I dont know what a reasonable average long-term residential real-estate P/E is. I suspect it is probably in the 10-20 range though, as that implies a 5% to 10% return on the owners capital, which is in line with historical returns available across a broad market spectrum. If you find that houses in your area are renting for implied P/Es of under 20 or so, that is a good sign that house prices may be fair. Conversely, if you find houses in your area renting for implied P/Es of over 20, valuations are probably too high and you should be wary of a potential real estate bubble. Another common warning sign of equity bubbles is rampant and unbridled widespread euphoria. Remember the NASDAQ in 1999 and early 2000? It was unreal! All anyone ever talked about was the NASDAQ, how boring. As a hard-traveling consulting road warrior at the time, I remember even the shoeshine boys at airports were talking about their tech stock investments as they polished shoes. It was just crazy, just as brilliant historians like Charles Mackay of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds fame (written in 1841) warned us it would be. It is difficult to empirically quantify euphoria, but there is no mistaking it if you keep your ears open and pay attention to what folks are talking about in your social circles. If you find yourself in a local situation where the preferred topic of conversation at every social get-together is always residential real estate and the great wealth to be made in home ownership, chances are euphoria is setting in and you should proceed with great caution. Just as parabolic price rises, excessive valuations, and overwhelming euphoria are danger signs of bubble tops in the stock markets, they are also equally valid danger signs in local real estate markets. It is probably a wise idea to periodically monitor these three fronts. In addition to stock market-like traits, there are also other factors that affect local real estate prices. These include net local migration patterns, income trends, and interest rates. One of the most important local factors in house prices is migration. If you live in or near a community that is growing as more people move in each year, that increases the pool of potential bidders competing for local houses. Prices are far more likely to rise in an environment of net in-migration. On the other hand, if your community is shrinking, both the number of people and amount of capital available to throw at residential real estate dwindles. This is a bad omen for future real estate prices in your area. Typically cities grow and rural areas shrink as people seek the jobs available in cities. This is not always the case though. As the Information Age continues to evolve, a new population of workers is growing, the information worker. Info workers deal purely in information, like a software programmer. It is often not important where they live, as they rely on the Internet to work remotely with their colleagues and clients. Info workers often earn high salaries and have the means to bid up home prices. Zeal LLC , my company, is an example of an Information Age venture. My partners and I can research, consult, trade, and write from anywhere on Earth. It makes absolutely no difference to you whether I penned this essay in Alaska, Australia, Argentina, or the Azores. Info workers, whose ranks will grow dramatically in the coming decade, are very blessed to be able to live and work from anywhere. So, if you live in an area of exceptional natural beauty and very high quality of life, prime rural areas, an influx of urban information refugees from the decaying carcasses of the megalopoli will probably help support real estate prices in your location even through tough economic times. It may make sense to buy real estate in elite communities like the Colorado or California mountain resort towns even if the US economy faces very turbulent times ahead. The Information Age will probably totally alter the dynamics of rural real estate in prized areas. Another factor to consider is income trends in your area. Ultimately, real estate prices in a given location can never increase faster than income over the long-term. Even for the vast majority who choose to go into debt to live in a house, the level of debt service they can afford is totally dependent on their income. If general income trends in your community are rising, that is a great sign and is bullish for real estate prices. On the other hand, if general income is falling, for any reason, that suggests real estate prices will have to correct downward to adjust for the loss of debt-servicing ability necessary for folks to borrow money and buy residential real estate. Interest rate levels are also intimately tied into this whole debt service capability. As all those burdened with a mortgage know, for many years most of the monthly payments are almost totally interest. It takes a long time and a huge amount of money dumped down the mortgage black hole, into bankers pockets, before the amortization starts taking good-sized bites out of principal each month. Amazingly, in the first 2/3 of a typical 30-year mortgages lifespan, the interest portion of each monthly payment exceeds the principal portion. So, if interest rates are heading higher due to Greenspans promiscuous inflation as I have discussed in past essays including Bond Anomalies Abound , it will severely retard debt-financed residential real estate purchases nationwide. Although interest rates havent turned north yet, history suggests they will be forced higher sooner or later as the bubble excesses are painfully squeezed out of the US economy. In summary, attempting to divine real estate price trends is very difficult in a macro sense. There are a great deal of diverse variables that affect real estate prices. In addition, unlike the stock market, there is no national real estate market. All real estate is local, so national trends must be examined for your particular situation in light of the local realities in your community. Nevertheless, if you do your own due diligence and integrate local real estate data you uncover into national post-bubble trends, you should be able to emerge with a fairly good idea of where your local residential real estate prices might be heading. Adam Hamilton, CPA August 23, 2002 Do you enjoy these essays? Please subscribe to our acclaimed private Zeal Intelligence newsletter today to see the good stuff each month, including our specific stock and options trades based on our research! For more information ... Zeal Intelligence For a FREE sample ... FREE Samples! To subscribe ... 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