articles 1 to 15 of 73
Housing Has Bounced Back, but Capitol Hill Holds the Key to a Sustained Recovery
Housing demand in the U.S. is back, fueled by low interest rates and government subsidies. But a sustained recovery depends on legislative reforms to improve housing supply and encourage builders. Reforms will take time, but meanwhile investors have found new business niches in single-family home rentals and in buying distressed assets worldwide. Eventually, the American dream of home ownership will shore up the industry's fortunes, according to panelists at the Wharton Economic Summit 2013.
From: April 30, 2013
Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff: Pulling Back the Veil on the Housing Market
Online real estate marketplace Zillow has brought to home buying and selling what a previous generation of travel websites provided to shoppers wanting to compare the prices of hotels, rental cars and airline flights -- transparency. But finding data that is reliable across the board can be difficult, according to Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff. And the key is not just simply to offer the information, Rascoff said during a recent conversation with Knowledge@Wharton and Wharton real estate professor Susan Wachter; it's about the level of accuracy gained from the various sub-models the company's software incorporates. (Video with transcript)
From: April 24, 2013
Real Estate with a Cause: Identifying Investments that Serve a Triple Bottom Line
Real estate is already a complex industry, and it grows even more so when the investment is intended to satisfy the triple bottom line of being profitable, hospitable for those who work or live in the structure, and socially responsible. During a discussion at the recent Wharton Social Impact Conference, panelists from the industry discussed the challenges of crafting initiatives that serve all three masters without cutting corners.
From: December 19, 2012
Why the Housing Market Is Poised to Enter a 'Virtuous Cycle'
By the less-demanding standards of the past few years, the latest housing figures, like many from recent months, look pretty good. Is this the start of the long-awaited and elusive housing recovery -- one that would bring a stronger economy overall? Or is the market just taunting us as it bumps along the bottom, perhaps only to plunge again? A new paper co-authored by Wharton real estate professor Susan Wachter suggests that, indeed, things are beginning to look up.
From: September 26, 2012
Phasing Out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Is It Being Done Responsibly?
As the federal government looks to phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Denmark could provide a new model for home financing, argues Wharton emeritus finance professor Jack Guttentag in this op-ed.
From: August 31, 2012
Optimism Is Up, but the U.S. Housing Market Faces a Painful Shift
Spring is typically a peak season for home buying -- a time of year when Americans start thinking about trading up, downsizing or purchasing a vacation home. But four years after the start of the financial crisis, the market is still shaky. Although there have been some signs of life recently, Wharton experts say the crisis changed the game of home-buying for the long term, and possibly forever -- creating significant consequences for the industry and consumers.
From: April 25, 2012
Research Roundup: Homeowner Mobility, Divestitures and the Real Impact of FDI
How has the housing bust and accompanying recession impacted the mobility of homeowners? Are divestitures always a smart move for companies? Can multinationals create a fact-based case for the real economic impact of their investment in different countries? Professors Joseph Gyourko, Emilie Feldman and Ethan Kapstein, respectively, examined these issues -- and what they mean for business and consumers -- in recent research papers.
From: December 07, 2011
Revitalizing the Private Mortgage Market: 'Skin in the Game' and the Consequences for Future Homebuyers
Amid all the uncertainty in the economy, a number of regulators, lawmakers and market experts continue to wonder: What will the mortgage market, so essential to a healthy housing sector, look like in the future? Key to that is a rekindling of the private market for securitizations -- the process of converting mortgages into bonds for sale to investors. Meanwhile, a group of federal agencies recently released a proposed set of requirements likely to toughen standards for both borrowers and lenders. But many experts feel the proposals would not correct the mortgage market's problems.
From: May 11, 2011
What the Demise of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Means for the Future of Homeownership
By most accounts, the federally sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did not cause the housing and mortgage crisis. But they were a big part of the problem, prompting a taxpayer bailout costing more than $130 billion. Now the Obama administration wants to phase out the two firms. How would this affect the availability of mortgages, loan rates and home prices? In the end, would such a dramatic change be good for homeowners or bad?
From: March 16, 2011
Gazit's Chaim Katzman: 'Our Strategy Is Long-term Ownership'
Gazit Globe (usually called Gazit) is among the world's top real estate investment multinationals. Listed on the Tel Aviv stock exchange, the firm operates in some 20 countries and owns or operates 6.3 million square meters of space spread over more than 650 properties. In the U.S., Gazit's investment vehicles include Equity One, a real estate investment trust that focuses on high quality retail properties. Gazit's total asset value exceeds $15 billion. Chaim Katzman, Gazit's chairman and founder, spoke recently with Wharton real estate professor Peter Linneman and Knowledge@Wharton about the company's origins, strategy and his personal management philosophy.
From: January 12, 2011
Falling Prices, Foreclosures and Fear: What's Next for the Housing Market?
The U.S. housing market has been wobbly for several years, but it has shown some signs of perking up in recent months. The latest reports, however, indicate a setback, with median home prices dropping slightly and sales well below the already depressed levels of 2009. Yet a combination of low mortgage rates and apparent home-price bargains should still be drawing some buyers into the market. Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Wharton real estate professor Susan M. Wachter about the housing market's slow recovery, the prospect of another sharp dip in prices, the effect of foreclosures on the economy, and what it will take to get the market back on track.
From: October 27, 2010
The Walls Keep Tumbling Down: Foreclosure Flap and Other Housing Industry Woes
After suspending foreclosures in order to review cases that may be flawed by procedural errors or fraud, major mortgage companies have injected new uncertainty into the already weak housing market. But the foreclosure flap is just the most recent of many setbacks for the troubled industry, even as a new generation of potential buyers is rethinking the traditional dream of homeownership. As one Wharton professor notes: "Buying a home doesn't make sense for a large proportion of the population."
From: October 13, 2010
Home Is Where the Money Is: A New Incentive Program Aims to Slow Rising Mortgage Defaults
As the housing market languishes in the doldrums, an astoundingly high number of homeowners in the U.S. are defaulting on their mortgages. While some simply cannot afford the payments, others own properties that are in "negative equity" -- that is, the value of their homes is less than the amount of the mortgage. As a result, these homeowners have decided to stop paying their mortgages and start fresh. A new incentive program from Wharton finance professor Alex Edmans, however, might give the latter group another choice that could benefit them -- along with lenders and society at large.
From: September 29, 2010
Real Estate's Future: 'It Depends on What Degree of Risk You Are Looking For'
With the financial crisis wiping out trillions of dollars in property values worldwide, the challenges facing the global real estate industry are greater than they have been in decades. Within the turmoil, however, are opportunities for players in both the commercial and residential real estate markets, a point made by members of a panel at the recent Wharton Global Alumni Forum in Madrid called, "Real Estate: Exploring the Road to Recovery."
From: July 14, 2010
Drowning or Hedging? The Risks and Rewards of Owning a Home
Nearly 11 million homeowners -- or about one-fifth of those paying mortgages -- are now considered "underwater" because they owe more on their houses than they are worth. But while sharp declines in prices might be enough to make even the most cavalier consumer think twice before buying a home, new Wharton research suggests that homeownership is less risky than might be expected. Indeed, it can effectively hedge against volatile prices for shelter, including rental rates, if a buyer does not take on excessive debt to make the purchase.
From: March 31, 2010
