Guidant Financial Group Blog

Although many people are optimistic about the property market in 2012, some economists say that the road to recovery may still be a few years away.

In an article from PropertyWire, Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries reports that "Overall, we are seeing encouraging signs in housing data such as sequential months of slowing depreciation rates, stabilizing markets and organic improvement in value trends, largely in the absence of government policy intervention."

Humphries continues, "However, we're not out of the woods yet. Supply and demand are still not in balance in many markets and we do expect higher foreclosure liquidation rates near term, which will put additional downward pressure on home values."

"Even with the anticipated increase in foreclosures, look for 2012 to be a transitional year in which home values fall modestly followed by a prolonged period of flat home values. We're still three to five years away from normal housing market conditions."

Read the full article here.

Check out the profile of Guidant Financial on the inc500 list.

Operation Twist, announced by the Fed Wednesday, is a plan to increase borrowing and loans through long-term interest rate incentives.

CNN Money reports that the ". . . Federal Reserve wants consumers to apply for more mortgages and businesses to take out more loans, in order to boost the sluggish U.S. economy."

Although, some people have expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of Operation Twist.

CNN Money defines the plan as "only available to homeowners with pristine credit ratings and steady income, leaving out the roughly 22% of homeowners who are currently underwater in their mortgages, not to mention those struggling with unemployment."

"Mortgage rates are already at record lows. While that helps some homeowners refinance their existing mortgages, it has done little to boost new home sales so far. That's because credit standards are still tight."

Read the full article here.

For many prospective homeowners, the uncertainty about the future of the real estate market seems foreboding.

Christopher Thornberg, quoted in a Nuwire article, suggests to these prospective homeowners that this is not necessarily a bad thing.

"We have this weird dichotomist view of housing. If you think about oil prices: if they go up, that's bad. You think about clothing prices: if they go up, that's bad. Energy prices: if they go up, that's bad. But somehow if the cost of housing goes up, that's good? It doesn't make any sense," he says.

Read the full article here.

The Street reported today that the current real estate market could provide an opportune time to buy. In the article, Matt Brownell states that "historically low mortgage rates, an oversaturated housing market and a struggling economy are making it better to buy a home than rent in 74% of the country’s largest cities."

Read the full article here.

The data was collected by Trulia.com in its Summer 2011 Rent vs. Buy Index Report. Ken Shuman, Head of Communications at Trulia, was quoted in the report saying "while recent stock market volatility on top of the slow economic recovery makes homebuyers nervous, it has not destroyed the American dream of homeownership."

Read the full report here.

It is possible to put up to $10,000 (or $12,000 if you’re over 50) by making a double contribution – but you have to move fast. April 15th is only two weeks away!

Even though 2008 is long gone, you can still make your 2008 IRA contribution until April 15, 2009. Your 2009 contribution can be made any time between January 2, 2009 and April 15, 2010.* The maximum contribution you can make to Traditional or Roth IRAs (this goes for both 2008 and 2009) is $5,000 combined. If you are over the age of 50, you can contribute up to $6,000 in 2009.**

Why is this something to consider? You can never over prepare for retirement. Although there is no guarantee, contributing the maximum amount allowable is the first of many steps to ensure you have a comfortable retirement.

Can you answer yes to any of the following statements?

• I believe the stock market will rise over the next 12 months.
• I think the real estate market will rebound and I want to contribute to a real estate IRA to take advantage of today’s depressed prices.
• I can afford to make maximum contributions to my IRA.

If you can answer to any or all of these, you might want to consider making a double contribution.

* If you make a contribution between January and April you may need to specify which year you are intending to make the contribution.

** Please be aware that when you make IRA contributions between January 2 and April 15th, you may have to note which tax year you are contributing to.

We found an article on The Motley Fool today about how to not be an idiot with your IRA. How could that not catch your eye on Google News? No one wants to be an idiot.

Since the deadline for 2008 IRA contributions is coming quickly many people should be thinking about a last minute cash injection! We thought it was worth sharing some other ways to grow your IRA accounts. Here are a few of the Fool’s tips:

1. Don't overpay. Watch those management fees - especially in mutual funds. They can add up and over time cost you a small fortune.

2. Avoid overdosing on accounts. Pay attention to where your IRA money is and try to minimize the number of accounts that sit out there collecting fees.

3. Keep your hand out of the cookie jar. Avoid accessing your retirement funds early and getting hammered with early distribution penalties.

4. Don't “dis” dividends. Invest in companies that pay dividends. If you can live without them, reinvest the dividend money back into your account and watch your shares grow, over time of course.

I think a better choice for #5 might have been, “A fool’s advice could pay dividends”. I suppose they have only used the fool cliché only a few hundred times before.

What did they miss? How about DIVERSIFICATION! Guidant Financial Group provides and individual a chance to buy all sorts of investments inside their IRA. In addition to stocks, bonds and mutual funds, our clients can buy real estate, tax liens, private stock and mortgages and even small business. The opportunity is near limitless!

If you are not satisfied with how your retirement plan has performed – call us. Let us help you discover a new world of opportunity.

As is the case with most investments these days, Gold is feeling the pressure. Generally considered a solid investment, especially in turbulent times, Gold has experienced some ups, and downs, and ups again recently….phew!

In an article from March 10, Bloomberg cites deflationary pressures as the reason for a two day drop in prices to $912.97 an ounce, or a 2.9% drop during the period. This was immediately following a 3.6% increase just a few days prior. Amidst fluctuation, gold has risen 25% in the last 4 months.

What a difference a few days makes!
In an article from today's Bloomberg, gold has rebounded and experts say "BUY"! Another expert calls gold "As good as it gets". Gold is up to $952 per ounce today. From the Bloomberg article, Peter McGuire, managing director at Commodity Warrants Australia Ltd. says, “[Gold has] got the potential to test $980, $990 this week,” and that “The major driver is where the U.S. dollar trades this week and we see further downside on that one.” Read the entire article HERE.

How other metals are trading:
Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver added 0.5 percent to $13.82 an ounce, platinum lost 1.1 percent to $1,102.50 an ounce, and palladium slid 0.4 percent to $206.25 an ounce as of 1:27 p.m. in Singapore.

What does this have to do with Guidant?
The primary investments our clients make are in real estate, tax liens, franchises, small businesses and private loans. Recently we have seen a spike in the interest being shown in precious metals – namely Gold and Silver. These and other precious metals headline the limitless other alternative investments that our clients use because they are an interesting investment in any market. With the Guidant self-directed IRA, you are able to purchase Gold and other precious metals with your retirement funds as a long-term investment without paying taxes or penalties. To learn more about a Gold IRA or to find out if you can invest in something non-traditional which you do not see mentioned on our site, contact a Guidant today!

Nuwire Investor published a "how to" article by Bryan Davis call, How To Buy Real Estate at Foreclosure Auctions. Given the rise in foreclosures, we thought we'd point it out as a potential area of opportunity.

The Seattle Times reported yesterday that President Obama thinks now may be a good time to buy stocks. He urged the nation to try to ignore the "day-to-day-gyrations" of the market and consider buying stocks.

With the Washington Mutual Tower begging for renters and local giants Microsoft and Starbuck’s announcing significant lay-offs and cut-backs, there’s not much hope for a quick economic recovery in Seattle. However, a glimmer of hope sparkles for the Emerald City economy as Ken Griffey Jr. signed yesterday with the Seattle Mariners for 2009 season. Having Griffey back is going to create an economic bump in the SoDo area of Seattle where the Mariner’s Safeco field was nicknamed “The House that Griffey Built.”

Griffey committed to come back to the Mariners where he created his hall-of-fame career. This last minute decision shocked jock-pundits across the US. Griffey made a verbal commitment to play for the Atlanta braves just days earlier. The Braves would have been a lot closer to his family in Florida, and would have put him on a team that has a much better shot at a pennant run than the scurvy ridden Mariners. But fortunately for Seattleites the idea of “Legacy” trumped all.

It’s rumored that close friend of Griffey, golden-glover Harold Reynolds lobbied hard to get Griffey to finish his career in the city that he started in. Allegedly what pushed Griffey over the edge in returning to Seattle was a phone call from Griffey’s hero (and the reason he originally dawned number 24) Willie Mays. Apparently Reynolds talked to Mays and Mays put in a call. Although the details of the conversation haven’t been disclosed, the theme was: Legacy.

Forbes magazine recently published its top 10 Real Estate Markets. Investors may want to take notice of some of these markets—near or far—as many of them provide opportunities for substantial returns. The top 10 are:

1. Washington D.C.
2. London
3. New York City
4. Tokyo
5. Shanghai
6. San Francisco
7. Los Angeles
8. Paris
9. Houston
10. Singapore

Washington D.C. ranks number one because burgeoning government programs are expected to draw large numbers of workers to the city and surrounding areas, creating higher demand for all types of residential real estate and a boom in service industries.

New York's density was widely believed to guard the metropolis from major downturns in residential property sales, but some neighborhoods have seen a three-quarter drop in sales activity, according to the article. This drop could bring bargains in the near future as the local market recovers from the financial crisis that has stricken Wall Street.

Like most California cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles have seen significant drops in housing prices. The former is also on the verge of a major commercial property glut, which could present bargains for long-term investors, while L.A. is seeing more sales activity in recent months, hinting that the market may be at least nearing its bottom.

Lastly among American cities, Houston is one of only a handful that saw prices rise overall from 2006 to 2009, and this growth is expected to continue because of the city's low business costs, which could attract corporate relocations and thus new residents.

As fears continue to rise concerning the fate of the stock market, more and more IRA holders are considering self-directed IRAs over traditional investments. These real estate markets may provide the right opportunities for investors to weather recent downturns and see returns much larger than they might have expected even in the boom years.

Read the article, which focuses on the D.C. property market, on the Forbes website here.