2:14 PM | Posted by
Cross Border Investment / Hipotecaria CBI |
|
Edit Post
Escrito por EFE
Martes, 18 de Junio de 2013 14:55
El
ritmo de construcción de viviendas en Estados Unidos aumentó un 6.8 %
en mayo y alcanzó una tasa anualizada de 914,000 unidades, según informó
hoy el Departamento de Comercio.
En mayo el comienzo de obras en viviendas unifamiliares subió un 0.3 %
a una tasa anualizada de 599,000 unidades en tanto que el inicio de
trabajos en estructuras con al menos cinco unidades habitacionales subió
un 21.6 % a una tasa anualizada de 315,000 unidades.
La mayoría de los analistas esperaba que, después de un ritmo anual
de aproximadamente 853,000 unidades en abril, se alcanzaría en mayo uno
de 953,000 unidades anuales.
En marzo el ritmo de construcción superó la expectativa de un millón de unidades anuales por primera vez desde junio de 2008.
El informe del Gobierno añadió que los permisos de construcción, que
se toman como un indicio de la actividad futura, disminuyeron en mayo un
3.1 % a una tasa anualizada de 974,000. Los analistas esperaban una
disminución después que hubo un incremento del 12.9 % en el mes
anterior.
En comparación con mayo de 2012 el ritmo de inicio de obras ha subido
un 28.6 %, y los permisos han aumentado un 20.8 %, informó el Gobierno.
9:51 AM | Posted by
Cross Border Investment / Hipotecaria CBI |
|
Edit Post
Top 10 Beaches Around the World
The summer is here and it is time to plan your next vacation! Here are ten best places for the relaxing summer holiday. 10. Navagio Beach, Zakynthos, Greece. The limestone cliffs, surrounding the gorgeous beach, make it an intimate place to relax.
9. Maldives. Hundreds of islands attract vacationers
and scuba divers, as well, who are provided with deep, clear water and
the variety of marine fauna and flora.
8. Seychelles. The turquoise water is warm and not
too deep, because it is protected from the rough ocean by a reef, which
is also interesting to observe for the divers.
7. Bora Bora. The resort is famous not only for its
white sandy beaches, crystal clear water and perfect weather, but also
for the intimate houses, built right into the sea!
6. Hidden Beach, Marieta Islands, Mexico. The beach
is not natural: it was formed years ago, when the government used the
area for a target practice. Today it is one of the most exciting
beaches!
5. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The name of this
location means „point of the white cane palms“. The trees indeed serve
as a pleasant shadow in this heavenly retreat.
4. The Bahamas. The country consists of many perfect islands, beaches and resorts.
3. The Amalfi Coast, Italy. The country provides its visitors not only with the beautiful nature and many beaches, but also with culture, food and wines.
2. Zanzibar. Semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in
Indian Ocean provides with many islands and beaches, as well as the
perfect climate all year round.
1. Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia. One of the most impressive beaches in the world. The holiday is certainly divine in this incredible place.
9:32 AM | Posted by
Cross Border Investment / Hipotecaria CBI |
|
Edit Post
Alex Veiga, AP 11:05 a.m. EDT June 17, 2013
A widely followed measure of home builder sentiment jumped to a seven-year high in June, the National Association of Home Builders said Monday.,
For the first time in seven years, an index that measures sentiment about home building is above 50. It jumped to 52 in June from 44 in May and well above the consensus estimate of 45.
It was the biggest one-month jump in the index since 2002. A reading above 50 in the the NAHB/Wells Fargo index indicates more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. The index hasn't been that high since April 2006, just before the housing market collapsed.
Measures of customer traffic, current sales conditions and builders' outlook for single-family home sales over the next six months also soared to their highest levels in seven years.
The housing recovery is looking more sustainable and should continue to boost economic growth this year, offsetting some of the drag from higher taxes and federal spending cuts.
Steady hiring and low mortgage rates have encouraged more people to buy homes. The increased demand, along with a tight supply of homes for sale, has pushed home prices higher. That's made builders more optimistic about the market for newly built homes, leading to more construction and jobs.
In April, applications for new home construction reached a five-year peak. And sales of new homes rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 454,000, nearly matching the fastest pace since July 2008. Sales are still below the 700,000 pace considered healthy by most economists. But they have risen 29 percent in the past year.
In recent weeks, many of the major large homebuilders have reported strong annual growth in sales during the spring home-selling season. The increased demand has paved the way for builders to raise prices and ramp up construction of more homes, despite lingering concerns over rising costs for land, building materials and labor.
"Builders are experiencing some relief in the headwinds that are holding back a more robust recovery," said David Crowe, the NAHB's chief economist.
Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to NAHB statistics.
The latest builder confidence index was based on responses from 255 builders.
A gauge of current sales conditions for single-family homes jumped eight points to 56, the highest level since March 2006, while a measure of traffic by prospective buyers improved seven points to 40.
Builders' outlook for single-family home sales over the next six months increased nine points to 61, the highest reading since March 2006.
On a regional basis, confidence grew strongest among builders in the South, while firms in the Northeast and Midwest also posted a gain. An index of confidence among builders in the West declined by one point. Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
10:28 AM | Posted by
Cross Border Investment / Hipotecaria CBI |
|
Edit Post
Robert Frank , CNBC6:03 a.m. EDT June 15, 2013
The role of luck in getting wealthy is no longer just an academic issue: it's also a political one.
If we assume that wealth comes from working hard, taking great personal risk and coming up with great ideas, then the wealthy don't necessarily "owe" society for their success.
But if the rich are simply lucky, or if they get wealthy on the back of America's publicly funded infrastructure, they owe more of a debt in the form of taxes or philanthropy.
The debate over luck or work, self or community, came into the spotlight last summer with a commencement speech at Princeton by author Michael Lewis. The speech was called "Don't Eat Fortune's Cookie." Success, he said, often comes from luck and happenstance—yet the successful often "rationalize" their success as stemming from talent or work or intelligence.
"Recognize that if you have had success, you have also had luck—and with luck comes obligation," he wrote. "You owe a debt, and not just to your Gods. You owe a debt to the unlucky."
President Barack Obama reignited the debate during the election campaign with the "you didn't build that" line. Many said it was taken out of context—he was talking about roads and bridges and public schools—but it still hit a nerve. And it fueled the battle over the wealthy paying their "fair share" in taxes.
But what about the wealthy themselves? A study from Spectrem Group, the wealth research firm, shows that while some of the wealthy say luck played a role in their success, many say hard work, education and risk-taking played a much bigger role.
Among people worth $5 million or more, more than 98% cited hard work as a "wealth creation factor." More than 90% cited education, followed by "smart investing," "frugality" and then "taking risk."
Slightly more than half of those surveyed cited "being at the right place at the right time" as a factor in their success—ranking it far below hard work and education.
Among business owners, however, the number of self-described "lucky wealthy" is much higher: 79% of them cited "being at the right place at the right time" as a factor in their success. Fully 68% of business owners cited "luck" as a factor.
Among corporate executives, 64% cited "being at the right place and right time" as a factor in their success while half cited "luck."
So are the wealthy downplaying luck or is wealth truly self-made?
"One way to interpret the data is that it's a balance," said George Walper of Spectrem Group. "Some acknowledge that their success is partly based on luck. But some people don't. And maybe ego plays a role among the people who may understate the effects of luck."
By many measures, Americans should be feeling flush.
The Federal Reserve reports that total household wealth in America hit an all-time high in the first quarter, to $70.4 trillion. That's even higher than $66.8 trillion in the roaring days of 2007—and nearly 50 percent higher than the down-and-out recession trough of $54.1 trillion in 2009.
The stock market, despite some recent slippage, is still close to all-time highs, filling up pension plans and stock-based pay. And housing prices are up double digits in many part of the country, adding trillions of dollars to the wealth of home-owning Americans.
Hooray, we're rich again!
Or not.
Part of the reason Americans aren't feeling all that wealth has to do with inflation and population growth. According to Moody's Analytics, that $70 trillion is still more than 10 percent below the 2007 peak when adjusted for inflation.
And that peak wealth in 2013 is spread over more Americans than in 2000.Average household wealth was $539,500 at the end of last year—37 percent below where it was in 2007, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Another reason Americans aren't feeling the wealth is the fundamental difference between income and assets. Unemployment remains stubbornly high at 7.6 percent and broader income growth remains weak. Wealth is one thing. But income—"what's in your wallet"—is another.
Mad Money host Jim Cramer digs into the "Gatsby Index" and what it says about the market's next step.
One other factor is the reduced power of the wealth effect. Wealth effect theory states that every dollar in stock market wealth adds 2 cents to spending. Every dollar of added housing wealth is supposed to add 10 cents to consumer spending.
Yet both wealth effects have been underwhelming. Americans can't cash in on their rising housing prices as much as they used to because credit is tighter, home equity loans are tougher to get and even with the price increases, many Americans are still underwater on their homes.
The wealth effect from stocks has been highly concentrated. And that leads to the biggest reason for the elusive wealth effect—the distribution of the wealth gains.
The bulk of the recent increase in American wealth has been from the stock market. Of the recent gains in total household wealth, $1.5 trillion of the gains came from the stock market and $784 billion came from from rising house prices, according to the Fed.
The top 5 percent of Americans hold 80 percent of stocks, according to research from Ed Wolff at NYU. So housing wealth matters more to most Americans than stock prices. And homes have yet to recover as much as stocks.
Which explains why American wealth may have hit an all-time high—but Americans as a whole don't feel quite so wealthy.
Have you wanted to own a vacation or second home in Mexico but thought it was out of your reach? For the past several years, foreigners have been able to purchase properties in Mexico using a traditional mortgage! Cross Border Investment provides premium financial services in Mexico – including mortgage brokering and closing coordination. At CBI, we work with you to select the top loan for your needs and we shop for the best deals amongst our lenders. CBI offers 99% of the loans available – we are your link to the lowest interest rates and fees, as well as the smoothest closing. Contact us today, and let CBI make your dreams a reality!
--------------------------
Hipotecaria CBI está orgulloso de ofrecer 99% de las opciones de hipotecas disponibles. Trabajamos con Ud. para seleccionar el crédito hipotecario más económico de acuerdo a sus necesidades y escogemos entre las mejores ofertas entre los prestamistas. Póngase en contacto con Hipotecaria CBI para informarse sobre cuál es el mejor crédito para usted.
El
ritmo de construcción de viviendas en Estados Unidos aumentó un 6.8 %
en mayo y alcanzó una tasa anualizada de 914,000 unidades, según informó
hoy el Departamento de Comercio.
