Toronto, Land, Real estate listings and real estates for sale, real estate buying, real estate selling information

Who Am I?

I am the basis of all wealth, the heritage of the wise, the thrifty and prudent.

I am the poor person's joy and comfort, the rich person's prize, the right hand of capital, the silent partner of thousands of successful people.

I am solace of the widow, the comfort of old age, the cornerstone of security against misfortune and want. I am handed down through generations, as a possession of great value.

I am the choicest fruit of labor, the safest collateral and yet I am humble. I stand before every person bidding them to know me for what I am and asking them to possess me.

I am quietly growing in value through countless days. Though I might seem dormant, my worth increases, never falling, never ceasing. Time is my aid and the ever increasing population adds to my gain. I defy fire and the elements, for they cannot destroy me.

My possessors learn to believe in me and invariably they become envied by those that have passed me by. While all other things wither and decay, I alone survive. The centuries find me younger, always increasing in strength. All oil and minerals come from me. I am the producer of food, building materials and the home to every living thing. I serve as the foundation for homes, factories, banks and stores.

I have not been produced for millions of years yet, I am so common that thousands, unthinking and unknowingly, pass me by.

Who Am I?

I Am Land.

--Anonymous

Daily Real Estate News | August 29, 2008

Consider Stocking Up on Land

More small buyers are investing in undeveloped land.

"There is a really attractive market emerging for the small investor," says Eric O'Keefe, editor-in-chief of Land Report magazine. "With credit tightening, what you're seeing in essence is some of the air being let out of the bubble that was driving prices up."

Buying land is no slam-dunk. An investor must be able to judge which land is most apt to deliver a profit down the road and be able to hold onto the property long enough to benefit.

Also, variations in prices make these kinds of investments painful for the faint of heart. For instance, the Texas real estate commission reported that land prices went up by 20 percent in 2007. But land values in Southern California have tumbled at least 50 percent along the coast and as high as 90 percent. inland, investors say.

Plus, ownership can be expensive. Besides high borrowing costs, there are property taxes and liability insurance costs to pay.

Nevertheless, some investors are convinced now is the time. "It's a delicate business, but it's just about bad enough to be good again," says William Shopoff, chief executive of Shopoff Group, a real estate investment firm in Irvine, Calif.

Source: Investor’s Business Daily, Brad Kelly (08/29/2008)

Daily Real Estate News | July 10, 2008

Builders Bank on Turnaround, Buy Up Land

Builders, including Lennar Corp, KB Home, Hovnanian Enterprises Inc, Meritage Homes Corp., are back buying and developing land again.

Lennar spent $162 million on new land in the second quarter and will spend at least $200 million more by the end of the fourth quarter, JP Morgan analyst Michael Rehaut wrote in a note to clients. KB expects to spend $300 million on land and $400 million on land development this year, Rehaut said.

Hovnanian is working on a land development joint venture, company spokesman Jeffrey O'Keefe says. And Meritage is "beginning to shift from defense to offense," looking to buy land in the second half of the year, wrote Wachovia analyst Carl Reichardt after meeting with Meritage management.

In theory, buying land now is a smart move, said Todd Lowenstein of HighMark Value Momentum Fund, which owns 187,000 shares of Pulte Homes Inc.

"You have to be a predator in these down markets to position yourself for the upturn," he said.

Daily Real Estate News | June 23, 2008

Investors Swoop In as Land Prices Fall

Investor demand for undeveloped land is increasing as prices decline in many areas.

The decline is fueled by developers and individuals who are unloading property they previously bought to build on.

Real Capital Analytics, a research firm, says the exodus of some developers has pushed prices down substantially. Real Capital says the price per buildable square foot on land earmarked for retail development averaged $44 so far this year, compared with $79 in 2007, while the average price for land for condominiums was $87, versus $151.

“I haven't seen this market in 20 years,'' says Jaime Raskulinecz, a real estate investor and property manager from Verona, N.J., who wants to buy land in the hard-hit market of Cape Coral, Fla. During a recent visit there, she found lots for sale on or near the water at about a third to half below their peak prices of two years ago.

Investors in raw land need cash to spend because financing is hard to get. They also must be able to pay the property taxes, keep liability insurance on the property and provide upkeep. The possibility that there might be contaminants hiding there is also a risk.

Source: The New York Times, Vivian Marino (06/22/2008)