USA investment properties for an Aussie

[Oscar]

Interesting stuff deltaberry. I lived in China for 4 years and agree the pressure for the RMB to appreciate is enormous. Personally, I find dealing with China to risky for me.

MTR - you can make money in forex but like anything else you gotta do your homework. I've been living in europe for 5 years and watching the AUD/EURO very closely. I just bought 150K worth of ozzie dollar with 100K euros, this was after buying these 100K euros with 125K ozzie dollars back in April. AUD25K clear profit in 3.5 months - not bad for pressing some buttons on my key board for a few minutes...

 

[Deltaberry]

Ohhh I don't know much about Europe to swap it for AUD right now, but I hear places like Spain from friends who visit/invest there are pretty bleak. People are ANGRY on the streets.

I'm holding mostly foreign cash right now (RMB, HKD, USD). Average exit costs of around 1.02-1.03. Missed the peak of around 1.06/1.07. Looking for a time to buy back in to AUD with the HKD and USD. Keeping the RMB for now.

 

[ZOMG]

I used play poker quite a bit and there's a really good thread on the popular 2+2 forum with huge amounts of information from a US real estate investor. As it is a US based forum I'm assuming the posters have a better knowledge of the local market there than most Aussies.

Link is here but warning it's 210 pages and ongoing-

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/3...ing/ask-me-about-real-estate-investing-99351/

 

[karina]

Hi Karina
As you are in Atlanta at the moment can you provide me with an update on how it is on the ground? Do you still see the market rising and are US buyers now jumping in

Cheers. MTR

MTR,

Here is the long overdue market update.

The market has strengthened substantially since 2011. Prices are rising and there are multiple bids on just about every good property. Fortunatly we are still securing some very good homes at great prices due to the relationships we have built over the years.

There are some great opportunities in the market. I am still seeing market imperfections. 2 properties same street. One listed at $120k , 3 bedroom under contract. Another listed at 84k, 5 bedroom! There is no consistency between the banks on pricing. A property in the same street , same house layout can be 30k difference in asking price between banks.

Take this property for example.

Homepath has it listed for $98,600
http://www.homepath.com/listing?listingid=40235472

HUD has virtually the same property listed at $68,000
http://www.trulia.com/property/1052912337-537-Shadow-Valley-Ct-C-Lithonia-GA-30058

I just closed one for a client for $41k, same subdivision, same construction, same number of bedrooms, size etc. (needed a larger rehab) but most need some sort of rehab anyway.

That's what I mean when I talk about market imperfections.

Its amongst these inconsistancies that opportunities are found.

Also in tighly held neighbourhoods where there has not been a property available for sale for 6 months its possible to get an asking price which has not caught up to the market increases of the last few months.

Properties needing more work can be picked up for good prices.

Still a land of opportunity for those looking for treasures. I am still buying at every opportunity where I have funds available and properties are still available at 50% off previous sale prices. I feel we have good growth prospects on well selected properties purchased today. Owner occupants are definitly back in the market.

For those that are not familiar with whats been happening with the hedge funds buying up US residential housing. Here is a great video of the hedge fund story.

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/blac...-distressed-homes-IEPXpneJQUO0lcINXyl5qg.html

 

[MTR]

MTR,


Homepath has it listed for $98,600
http://www.homepath.com/listing?listingid=40235472

HUD has virtually the same property listed at $68,000
http://www.trulia.com/property/1052912337-537-Shadow-Valley-Ct-C-Lithonia-GA-30058

Thanks for the update.

Looking at these links, I think you sourced one of these for about $48,000 about 12-18 months ago, is that right?

 

[karina]

MTR,


Homepath has it listed for $98,600
http://www.homepath.com/listing?listingid=40235472

HUD has virtually the same property listed at $68,000
http://www.trulia.com/property/1052912337-537-Shadow-Valley-Ct-C-Lithonia-GA-30058


Thanks for the update.

Looking at these links, I think you sourced one of these for about $48,000 about 12-18 months ago, is that right?

Yes that's correct MTR, From memory it was 45k. The one listed above for 68k seems to be under contract and was not available for investors to bid on.

Just noticed this one is under contract also. Listed at $79.900
http://www.homepath.com/listing?listingid=38180759

We have purchased 3 properties in this subdivision and the 3 sales are the lowest sale prices ever recorded in the subdivision.

 

[karina]

This one has just gone under contract with a list price of 98,600k
http://www.homepath.com/listing?listingid=40235472

 

[karina]

Here is a great article which explains why Atlanta is one of the most undervalued markets in the US.

A few lines from the article
"As alluded to above, the biggest divide between rents and prices, both over the last year and the last three years, has been in Atlanta. It was a city that experienced far less of a housing bubble during the 2000 to 2005 years, with price increases outstripping rent increases only 22 percent percentage points (recall that in Miami that was 136 percent). But despite having missed the excesses of the boom, the Atlanta metro area housing market still saw a steep price drop during the housing bust, falling 16 percent drop from 2005 to 2009. Prices have continued falling in the last three years, even as equivalent rents in Atlanta have been rising slightly. All that adds up to a market that would seem primed for improvement; at this point, Atlanta would seem to be the most undervalued of the 12 major markets examined here."

Here is the full link to the article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...icago-are-poised-to-drive-a-housing-recovery/

Whats interesting is that the article quotes atlanta prices as having fallen 16% during 2005 - 2009 however the properties I have personally targeted were 50 - 70% discounted from previous sale prices so the discounts in some properties were far greater than the average and in my opinion the best buys.

The article also suggests that Atlanta did not have the price excesses that some of the other markets had leading up the boom. This would suggest that atlanta prices were not considered overly inflated yet still received the discounting brought about by the GFC. An undervalued market playing catch up in my opinion.