10 Facts on Real Estate Finance for a Research Project

10 Facts on Real Estate Finance for a Research Project Like with most industries were business operations are carried out solely for the reason of making a profit, the real estate industry relies heavily on finance to keep its wheels spinning. Therefore, it should come as no surprise if one is asked to conduct research projects consisting of financing in real estate. Finance in real estate affects both sides of the demand-supply chain as real estate owners require funding to build accommodating structures, while home owners or rent seekers require funds to buy or rent the homes they plan to reside in. Therefore, to simplify the task of understanding real estate and the role finance plays in it, this article will be providing some important facts covering today’s subject matter which will aid anyone looking for statistics to back up his or her research project. This article will be the first in a three-part series providing materials on creating a research report  and the follow-up articles will consist of topics which you can choose from as well as a sample essay on how to write extensively on real estate finance. So in that vein, here are the 10 facts promised at the beginning of the series: In the United States, the market crash which occurred in the 1980’s led to the consolidation of lending institutions and this weeded out unstable financial institutions. By 2009, the number of savings and loan banks in the US was reduced from 4,022 by 1990 to 1,158 in 2009 while commercial banks reduced from 15,000 to 6,379 in the same time period. A large number of these financial institutions were put under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank. Although savings and loan banks as well as commercial banks form the larger part of financial institutions that back the real estate sector, credit unions have also played a part in financing residential project in the real estate sector. Statistics show that the 7,244 credit unions in the US currently control $285billion as well as $121billion in loans to its members and the chunk of these loans goes into the real estate sector. The lucrative nature of the real estate sector has also attracted interest from other financing verticals such as the Life and Health Insurance niche. Statistics provided by The Insurance Information Institute show that companies in the life and health insurance niche invest approximately 9.85% to 10.87% of their total asset in residential loans. As of 2008, the amount put to this percentage was $327.4billion in real estate loans and this number spans across both residential and commercial properties in the US. In 2006, substantial losses in the loan and savings industry led to the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act which ensured that all financial institutions- loans, savings, and commercial banks- operated through a mutual Deposit Insurance Fund in other to sanitise the loan and insurance industry. This in turn led to the restructuring of the residential loan market for both mortgage lenders and borrowers. The Safe Mortgaging Licensing Act was created in 2008 to provide regulations for mortgage lending originators (MLO) before a company can function as a mortgage provider for families, households and individuals. To ensure that MLOs function between legal frameworks, they are required to register with the Department of Real Estate (DRE) before going into operation. A maximum penalty of $10,000 can be levied on MLOs that refuse filing with the DRE as required by the act. The real estate market is affected by fluctuations in the economy and appreciations and deflations occur when a boom or recession happens. Statistics show that commercial properties in the United States fell between 40 to 50% between 2006 and 2010 due to the recession that occurred between these periods. While for residential properties, their market value depreciated between 20 to 50% in the same timeframe. The real estate market experienced its largest peak period in the 90’s due to a strong economy and the availability of mortgage and loan rates/plans that were favourable to potential buyers. Statistics showed that the real estate industry experienced a 30-40% growth between the year1990 and 1998. This was due to 100% financing plans and the hunger to make quick profits by flipping real estate ownership. The 2007 economic recession led to the largest real estate meltdown recorded in US history. This led to the largest number of foreclosures in the United States within a one-year period. Statistics showed that in 2009, the situation had deteriorated to a level where there were more foreclosures than marriages recorded for the first time in the US history. The fall of the real estate sector was attributed to poor financial planning from the 90’s boom as well as the economic recession experienced in that timeframe. Statistics from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) showed the aftermath of the economic recession on loans and financial institutions in a public report at the end of 2010. The bleak numbers were that the number of non-performing commercial loans continued to increase for the next 16 consecutive quarters. Also, 775 banks which made up 10% of the total number of banks in the US were listed as problematic depository institutions due to loan defaults primarily from the commercial and residential real estate industry. The state of Utah records the lowest number of homeless people due to the policies set in place by its government. The policy includes affordable housing loans as well as the giving out of free homes to homeless residents since 2005. Statistics in 2014, show that Utah had reduced its homeless population by approximately 74% when compared to its 2005 numbers. Here, we come to the end of the 10 important facts on real estate and finance which you should consider as important facts and statistics which to use in buttressing the arguments or questions raised in your project. This is intended to simplify your research project and the preceding articles in the series will provide more information on how to go about writing a research project guaranteed to get you the top marks you deserve. So we endeavor you stay tuned to our next pieces 20 topics and 1 sample essay on real estate finance as well as the research project guide on the subject. References: Department of Real Estate (2013). Real Estate Finance. dre.ca.gov/files/pdf/refbook/ref12.pdf Babalola, O. (2002). An appraisal of the Impact of Primary Mortgage Institutions in Housing Procurement in Nigeria. Journal of the Nigeria Institution of Quantity Surveyors vol, 13-16. Federal Mortgage. (2003). Mortgage News: A Quarterly in-house Journal of the Federal Mortgage Finance Ltd; vol 1 no. 4. William, B. (2013). Real Estate Finance and Investments, Thirteenth Edition. gbv.de/dms/zbw/516413465.pdf Steve, B. (2008). The Complete Guide to Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties. http://cdn2.media.zp-cdn.com/21275/Steve_Berges_-_Complete_Guide_to_Real_Estate_Finance_for_Investment_Properties-52a7ef.pdf The EPA Journal. (2005). The Anatomy of a Real Estate Development. https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/refinancebasics_050906/prez/FinanceBasics050106bw.pdf Retipster.com. (2011). 35 Real Estate Facts. http://retipster.com/35-real-estate-facts/

The Myth of the Bra Burning Feminists of the Sixties

The Myth of the Bra Burning Feminists of the Sixties Who was it who said, â€Å"History is but a fable agreed upon?† Voltaire? Napoleon? It doesn’t really matter (history, in this case, fails us) because at least the sentiment is solid. Telling stories is what we humans do, and in some cases, veracity be damned if the truth isn’t as colorful as what we can make up. Then theres what psychologists call the Rashomon Effect, in which different people experience the same event in contradictory ways. And sometimes, major players conspire to advance one version of an event over the other. Burn, Baby, Burn Take the long-held assumption, found even in some of the most respected history books, that 1960s feminists demonstrated against the patriarchy by burning their bras. Of all the myths surrounding women’s history, bra burning has been one of the most tenacious. Some grew up believing it, never mind that as far as any serious scholar has been able to determine, no early feminist demonstration included a trash can full of flaming lingerie. The Birth of a Rumor The infamous demonstration that gave birth to this rumor was the  1968 protest of the Miss America contest. Bras, girdles, nylons, and other articles of constricting clothing were tossed in a trash can. Maybe the act became conflated with other images of protest that did include lighting things on fire, namely public displays of draft-card burning. But the lead organizer of the protest, Robin Morgan, asserted in a New York Times article the next day that no bras were burned. â€Å"That’s a media myth,† she said, going on to say that any bra-burning was just symbolic. Media Misrepresentation But that didn’t stop one paper, the Atlantic City Press, from crafting the headline â€Å"Bra-burners Blitz Boardwalk,† for one of two articles it published on the protest. That article explicitly stated: â€Å"As the bras, girdles, falsies, curlers, and copies of popular women’s magazines burned in the ‘Freedom Trash Can, the demonstration reached the pinnacle of ridicule when the participants paraded a small lamb wearing a gold banner worded ‘Miss America.† The second story’s writer, Jon Katz,  remembered years later that there was a brief fire in the trash can- but apparently, no one else remembers that fire. And other reporters did not report a fire. Another example of conflating memories? In any case, this certainly was not the wild flames described later by media personalities like Art Buchwald, who wasnt even near Atlantic City at the time of the protest. Whatever the reason, many media commentators, the same ones who renamed the  womens liberation movement  with the condescending term Womens Lib, took up the term and promoted it. Perhaps there were some bra-burnings in imitation of the supposed leading-edge demonstrations that didnt really happen, though so far theres been no documentation of those, either. A Symbolic Act The symbolic act of tossing those clothes into the trash can was meant as a serious critique of the modern beauty culture, of valuing women for their looks instead of their whole self. Going braless felt like a revolutionary act- being comfortable above meeting social expectations. Trivialized in the End Bra-burning quickly became trivialized as silly rather than empowering.  One Illinois legislator was quoted in the 1970s, responding to an  Equal Rights Amendment  lobbyist, calling feminists braless, brainless broads. Perhaps it caught on so quickly as a myth because it made the womens movement look ridiculous and obsessed with trivialities. Focusing on bra burners distracted from the larger issues at hand, like equal pay, child care, and reproductive rights. Finally, since most magazine and newspaper editors and writers were men, it was highly unlikely they would give credence to the issues bra burning represented: unrealistic expectations of female beauty and body image.