The San Francisco Bay Area’s Housing Micro-Climates: A Microcosm of A Two-Speed Recovery

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 28, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The San Francisco Bay Area is known for its micro-climates. {snip} This area also has matching housing micro-climates. The crash and recovery from the housing bubble has exacerbated these micro-climates. In … Read more

Vornado Anticipates A Major Economic Expansion And A Bubble; Fears the Internet

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 14, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) I quickly caught a Bloomberg headline about plans from Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) to sell more than it buys. I went to the VNO 2012 annual report to see for myself … Read more

A Concentrated Way to Play Rapid Price Appreciation In The California Housing Market

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 9, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) TRI Pointe Homes (TPH) is a 4-year old company based in Irvine, California that on January 31, 2013 became the first homebuilder to go IPO since 2004. The Starwood Fund, managed … Read more

More Confirmation of Price and Cost Pressures In Homebuilding

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 17, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The U.S. core Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.1% month-over-month in March as reported inflation continues to be mild. Housing is one industry that is no longer sticking to the script … Read more