Wholesaling Homes.

Wholesaling is simply the process of “getting in the middle”. You put a property under contract and quickly “flip” the property to another buyer.

It’s arbitrage at it’s finest.

Definition of ‘Arbitrage’ – The simultaneous purchase and sale of an asset in order to profit from a difference in the price. There is an art to negotiating a good deal. A deal that’s good enough and deep enough so that you can make money and also allow your buyer to realize their own profits.

As a wholesaler, you are compensated for that “art”.  You act as a buyer of the property, negotiate your best deal, and once the property is under contract, you then offer the property to other investor buyers in the market.  Why would they buy from you? Simple. You’ve done all the hard work in their eyes. You found the deal, spent the time and money in doing so, put the property under contract, and now all they have to do is step in and take over your position.

These buyers can easily acquire your interest in the existing contract through an “Assignment” (unless your original purchase agreement states otherwise ie: Bank REOs).  You can also conduct what is called a simultaneous closing, back-to-back closing, double-closing, or double-escrow. These are all the same thing.

It simply means that on the same day that you close on your original purchase, you turn around and close on the sale – back-to-back.

Would the Federal Reserve Raise Rate?

In accordance to Jesse Solomon at CNN, "In minutes released from its June meeting, the central bank said that if the economy improves as it expects, its massive bond buying program will fully wind down following its meeting in October.  The Fed's intention to pull back, or "taper," its stimulus is a sign that it believes the economy is on the right track. That's the good news.

The bond purchases are only one measure helping to boost the economy, but the curtailment is being watched closely as a sign of when the Fed could raise interest rates. The Fed intends to be very clear and give plenty of signals about rate hikes, according to the minutes.  The Fed is currently buying $25 billion in monthly bonds, down from $85 billion last year.  The minutes indicate some of the top economists in America believe that activity will pick up in the second half of the year. The Fed did revise its GDP forecast for 2014 down from 2.3% to 2.1%, but many economists have pinned the decline on unusually severe winter weather.

The main question among Fed watchers is when the committee will raise its key federal funds rate, which currently stands between 0% and 0.25%. The minutes didn't give any solid dates, although the Fed tried to reassure the world that it will give a lot of signals well in advance of any rate hike.  "The June unemployment numbers were strong, but not strong enough to abandon course," says Ernest Cecilia, chief investment officer of Bryn Mawr Trust. "Janet Yellen wants to stay on message and be really clear. Any flip flopping will lead to a perception that the Fed doesn't have its act together."

Existing Home Sales Went Up 4.9%

According to Doug Carroll, USA Today Existing home sales rose for the second-straight month in May — climbing to their strongest pace since fall — as more homes on the market helped draw buyers.

Sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million, up 4.9% from April's revised 4.66 million rate, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

The monthly percentage gain was the highest since August 2011. Last month's sales rate also beat economists' median forecast of 4.73 million in Action Economics' survey.

"The long-awaited spring bounce in home sales looks to have finally appeared," said RBS Markets chief U.S. economist Michelle Girard in a research note.

Both sale prices and inventory improved last month, which is a good sign, said Stephanie Karol, of IHS Global Insight.

"As long as sellers feel assured of making a profit, they will feel emboldened to list their homes; and as buyers feel they have a good selection of well-located properties to choose from, they will continue to look and bid," she said in a research note.

Despite sales' improving trend the past two months, they are still weaker than last year. In May 2013, the annualized sales rate was 5.15 million.Through May, sales are down 8.2% from the first five months of last year.

The market also continues to be difficult for buyers with modest financial resources, such as first-time buyers. Their share of sales declined to 27% in May, down 2 percentage points from April and from April 2013.

Although single-family home sales rose 5.7% from April, they're also down 5.7% from a year ago.

Compared with last year, the lower-priced end of the market looks weakest. Sales of homes under $100,000 and from $100,000 to $250,000 fell in every region of the country last month compared with May 2013. But sales of homes priced at $1 million and above rose everywhere but the Midwest.

The median existing home price was $213,400 in May, up 5.1% from a year earlier.

Still, more homes on the market, prices that are rising more slowly than in 2013 and recent declines in mortgage rates should create better conditions for more buyers, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors.

Freddie Mac reported last week that the U.S. average for a 30-year mortgage was 4.17%. That compares with an average 4.48% last December and 3.93% a year ago.

This year's declines in interest rates are likely to be temporary. Rates are expected to tick up as the Federal Reserve pares the monthly bond purchases it launched in 2012 to hold down long-term interest rates.

The Realtors group said total housing inventory at the end of May rose 2.2% to 2.28 million existing homes available for sale. That's 6% higher than a year ago.

At May's sales rate, there's a 5.6-month supply of homes for sale, which is still below the 6-month inventory that's considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

More data on the housing market is due Tuesday when Standard & Poor's releases the Case-Shiller Index of home prices for April, and the government reports on new home sales for May.

Home buyers want an easier commute according to National Association of Realtors.

Seventy-three percent of recent home buyers said that commuting costs were an important factor, according to the National Association of Realtors. Home values are once again rising steadily, and with that comes more buyers. Aside from room for their family, what do these buyers want in a tighter market? An easy commute, mainly.

According to CoreLogic, a global real estate industry analyst, U.S. home prices rose 11.3% in the fourth quarter of last year compared with a year earlier.

"Limited construction of new homes and low inventories of existing homes for sale contributed to the jump," says David Stiff, principal economist for CoreLogic Case-Shiller, which co-produces a quarterly reading of the nation's housing market. "Developers remain cautious about building too many new houses until they see stronger demand in their markets."

Is there value in buying and fixing up an older home?

Buying and owning a house can be fun, but not all homes are created equal. There are many differences between new construction and old homes.  If new construction is not in your agenda,, chances are that you’ll be buying and sometimes ‘fixing’ an older home. Older homes that are in need of Tender Loving Care are referred to as ‘fixer-uppers.’

Sometimes it is more valuable to buy those homes in need of tender loving care because when there are cosmetic repairs or functional updates needed that the previous owner cannot or will not take care of, that’s often when you can get the best price on a home that need fixing.

Buying a home ‘as is’ can be challenging, it’s not fundamentally foolish, because if you’re willing to put in the work yourself, you have a chance to score big and build your dream house within your budget. True futurists are not discouraged by a fixer-upper because they can see the potential of striking gold under all that rug.

Would there be a housing market comeback?

The weakness that we see in housing market seem to stem from harsh weather condition this past winter. Consumer confidence is at five year high and household income is rising. Interest rate is near all time low and home buyers are able to afford homes.  We know there will be pullback but it's all good.  whatever the short-term problem, housing remains the key indicator of our future economic growth.  housing sector is getting better. Right now housing is looking better, what we just have to worry about here on is higher mortgage rate

Construction Costs and Commodities Price Trends

Construction Costs and Commodities Price Trends