Oklahoma City Affordability (Zillow.com data)

http://www.zillow.com/real-estate/OK-Oklahoma-City-affordability

According to Zillow.com, U.S. real estate prices have been declining for about a year and a half. But - get this - Oklahoma City prices have been RISING for the past two years, even through the September-through-January period when the market is supposed to be slow.

There’s money moving into OKC that partly offsets the crisis in the mortgage market.

Yes, it’s slower than it used to be. Invest carefully. But don’t get scared of Oklahoma City real estate just because there’s a national real estate crash going on.

Let’s get on with some house buying!

Everybody’s Down Market is Someone’s Good Market

A great article from Realty Times puts the entire “housing meltdown” and potential coming recession into perspective: bargain prices + low interest rates = good buying opportunities.
http://bronchick.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/everybodys-down-market-is-someones-good-market/

Getting ready to buy rentals?

Wal-Mart Trimming 1,000 Underperforming Magazines

January 24, 2008

Wal-Mart Trimming 1,000 Underperforming Magazines 

Wal-Mart, the nation’s leading retailer, is cutting back on the number of magazines it will sell in its stores by up to 1,000. The NY Post reports that smaller niche titles and also larger titles that aren’t selling well are among the victims.

Some of the magazines getting the boot include Better Homes & Gardens and Ladies Home Journal. Other axed titles include Town & Country, Home and Metropolitan Home (Hachette), Cookie, The New Yorker and W (Conde Nast), the Robb Report (CurtCo Media), The Economist, BusinessWeek (McGraw-Hill), Forbes and Fortune (Time Inc.), as well as a number of niche titles such as Boar Hunter Magazine, Spirituality & Health, Cabin Life and Log Home Living.

Wal-Mart sells almost 20% of all magazines so this would be a big blow to the publishing industry.

New Tax Breaks a Relief to Homeowners

http://www.bankrate.com/cnn/news/real-estate/20080110_mortgage_tax_relief_a1.asp?prodtype=mtg

EXCERPT

3 new tax breaks promise to help homeowners:

1. Homeowners who experience a foreclosure, short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure or loan modification may be able to exclude lender-forgiven mortgage debt from taxable ordinary income.
2. Homeowners may be able to deduct the cost of mortgage insurance.
3. A homeowner whose spouse has died may be allowed up to two years to exclude $500,000 of profit from the sale of a principal residence from capital gains tax.

William Bronchick interviewed on CNBC: “Flipping Properties” in Today’s Market

Market Looks Good for Landlords

Whether they’re waiting out the housing storm, or smack in the middle of it, an increasing number of Americans are choosing to rent, not own. And that’s good news for landlords and investors.
http://realestate.msn.com/rentals/Article_forbes.aspx?cp-documentid=5496937

Soon it will be time to buy rental houses. Get ready.

Hold Up on the Start Up

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001649.cfm

EXCERPT:

The tendency for us in our 20s is to hang on to our grand entrepreneurial aspirations and wait until the perfect moment when our shiny new companies or ministries or organizations are handed to us on a silver platter. And in the “waiting,” we ignore all the places and people we could and should be serving. We long for that great day when we start our new ministry or company in our garage from scratch, that day when all the energy and vision we’ve been storing up will converge and success will be inevitable.

The thing is, it simply does not work that way.

[I]f you want to prepare yourself for the moment of inspiration, forget trying to find a garage; first get a job! Find a company that represents, at least in a general sense, the kind of thing you want to do with your life. Find a way to serve there. Then, when your brilliant innovation strikes, and it’s time to start your organization, you’ll be ready.