On behalf of all of us here at Aapex Financial Solutions, We wish you and your families a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

10 Buy-Rated Real Estate Stocks for 2011

The Real Estate Investment Trust sector (REIT) outperformed the S & P 500 in 2010 and is expected to continue on its strong path with total returns of 9 to 11% in 2011. The demand for REITs is high and is steadily increasing due to their equity offering better yields and cash flow than dividend paying stocks. Of the REITs, it is predicted that multifamily and hotel sectors will have the strongest internal growth in 2011. Here is a list of the 10 buy-rated real estate stocks for 2011 according to the analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

 
Alexandria Real Estate Equities
Market cap: $4 billion
Dividend yield: 2.6%
KBW price target: $79

Avalon Communities
Market cap: $9.59 billion
Dividend yield: 3.18%
KBW price target: $138

Forest City Enterprises
Market cap: $2.56 billion
Dividend yield: 0.0%
KBW price target: $19

Glimcker Realty Trust
Market cap: $6.915 million
Dividend yield: 4.9%
KBW price target: $9

Hersha Hospitality Trust
Market cap: $1.12 billion
Dividend yield: 3%
KBW price target: $7
 
Lexington Realty Trust
Market cap: $1.09 billion
Dividend yield: 5.7%
KBW price target: $9.50

Ramco-Gershenson Properties
Market cap: $465.2 million
Dividend yield: 5.3%
KBW price target: $13

Rayonier
Market cap: $4.28 billion
Dividend yield: 4.1%
KBW price target: $57

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide
Market cap: $11.69 billion
Dividend yield: .5%
KBW price target: $62

DCT Industrial Trust
Market cap: $1.14 billion
Dividend yield: 5.3%
KBW price target: $6
 

What Wealthy Home Buyers Want from their Real Estate Agents

An online survey taken from 683 Coldwell Banker International Property Specialists depicts some interesting data regarding what affluent homebuyers want when dealing with a real estate agent.

Here are the well-off buyer’s professions which were the most popular amongst the participants polled.

• Business or corporate executives: 88%
• Physicians: 37%
• Lawyers: 31%
• Financial professionals: 30%
• Entertainers, entertainer executive and professional athletes: 14%

Here are some important skills that these prosperous home buyers wanted to see in their agents:

• 78% of sales associates to wealthy buyers claimed that the number one thing that is important to their clients is privacy and confidentiality
• 70% wanted customized services
• 44% wanted agents to have a good network in the industry including executive assistants, CPAs and attorneys
• 36% wanted agents to know all the inside scoop on the real estate market
• 17% wanted their agents to be able to provide them with emotional support
• 11% wanted to gain a personal rapport with their agent

Top 10 Best and Worst Companies for Customer Service in 2010

MSN’s Money-Zogby International Customer Service Survey was conducted to find the overall best and worst companies in customer service for 2010.

Best 

10. Marriott
9. Nordstrom
8. UPS
7. Southwest Airlines: A pro-active customer relations department and online forums/blogs for customers to engage and share their thoughts have helped this airline become a top choice.
6. Publix Supermarkets
5. FED EX 
4. Apple: Customization and a constant stream of public seminars regarding their products help Steve Jobs and his company rule the technology world
3. Netflix
2. Trader Joes
1. Amazon

Worst

10. HSBC: In 2003, HSBC acquired Household International, the largest subprime mortgage lending company of its day. This acquisition brought upon the beginning of a bad reputation for HSBC and they have since pulled out of subprime lending.
9. Citibank
8. Wells Fargo
7. Time Warner Cable: Time Warner Cable has had complaints regarding their representative not being able to help their customers with their needs. Since these complaints have filtered, Time Warner Cable has set out onto the social media networks, such as Twitter, to give a place for customers to express concerns they typically wouldn’t over the phone.
6. Dish Network
5. Capital One
4. Sprint/Nextel
3. Comcast
2. Bank of America
1. AOL

7 Trends in the Mortgage Market for 2011

Speculations have been made from some knowledgeable mortgage industry professionals regarding the market for 2011. Among these individuals included Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors and Holden Lewis, award winning mortgage reporter for Bankrate.com. The Mortgage Bankers Associations also shared their predictions for the upcoming year in the following list:

1.      Mortgage rates will slowly rise throughout 2011

Even though rates are historically low, they have been slightly increasing and are predicted to hang around the 5 percent area in 2011 and then rise to about 6 percent in 2012.

2.      Overall demand for mortgage loans will decrease

Total originations will decline to less than $1 trillion due to the lack of consumer confidence and slow economic growth.

3.      Refinances will drop

In 2010, 80 percent of all mortgages were refinances. This is expected to drop to 40 percent in 2011 and even further to 26 percent in 2012.

4.      Home purchases will gain market share

Stabilizing prices and modest increases in home sales will help purchases grow in 2011.

5.      Jumbo loans will rise

In 2009 and early 2010, rates for jumbo loans were much higher than conforming. In the last quarter of 2010, the rates for jumbo loans have decreased and are predicted to continue doing so which will allow the higher-end housing market to flourish.

6.      Cash purchases will escalate

A fourth of all purchases in the last quarter of 2010 were from all cash purchases and this is expected to continue into 2011.

7.      The mortgage loan process will continue to be a complex one

The new levels of documentations and verifications that are needed to close a loan have intensified which makes the loan process proceed at a slow rate. The complexity of second mortgages and home equity lines of credit also make it more difficult for lenders to close.

50 Most Powerful People in Real Estate

A List of 50 people was comprised by Bloomberg BusinessWeek to pay homage to 2010’s 50 most influential and powerful people in real estate. The list includes ten different areas that are important in the success and ongoing strength of the US real estate market. The focus of this list is mostly residential but some important commercial players are included. No rank was put on the list and examples from each category can be seen below:

1.      Economists

Doug Duncan

Vice President/Chief Economist, Fannie Mae

Since 2008

2.      Government

Ben Bernanke

Chairman, Federal Reserve

Since 2006

Timothy Geithner

US Treasury Secretary

Since 2009

Barack Obama

President of the United States

Since 2009

3.      Industry Organizations

Vicki Cox Golder

President, National Association of Realtors

Since 2009

Gerald M. Howard

CEO, National Association of Home Builders

Since 2001

4.      Mortgage Lenders

Charles E. Haldeman

CEO, Freddie Mac

Since 2009

Barbara J. Desoer

President, Bank of America Home Loans and Insurance

Since 2008

5.      Insurance

Edward B. Rust Jr.

Chairman/CEO, State Farm Insurance

Since 1985

 David Stevens

Federal Housing Comm. &

Assistant Secretary Housing                                         HUD

                                Since 2009

6.      Residential Brokerages

Dave Liniger

Chairman/Co-founder, Re/Max International

Since 1973

7.      Homebuilders

Jeffery T. Mezger

President/CEO, KB Homes

Since 2006

Robert I. Toll

Chairman/CEO, Toll Brothers

Since 1986

8.      Commercial Property Managers

Brett White

CEO, CB Richard Ellis Group

Since 2005

9.      Investors and Developers

Thomas C. Garbutt

Managing Director, TIAA/CREF

Since 1995

Stephen A. Schwarzman

Co-founder/CEO, Blackstone Group

Since 1985

10.  Property Owners

Ted Turner

Founder/Chairman, Turner Foundation

Since 1990

Mark Tercek

President/CEO

The Nature Conservancy

Since 2008

To see the entire list, visit http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/03/0323_powerful_real_estate_people/1.htm