With U.S. mortgage rates lowering and rents set to increase with an upshoot in occupancy rates, real estate agents are proclaiming now is the time to buy a home. However, you can make an equally strong case for renting, according to the New York Times. In fact, it’s a pretty close race. Neither mortgage rates nor rents are likely to quickly sky-rocket and house prices remain higher than their long term average. The relative merits of renting and buying have not been so equal since the beginning of the housing bubble, a decade ago. [more]

Bond launches commercial division
Before working with a commercial broker, I ask them whether [they] know the following terms: LIBOR, cap rate expansion/compression [and] DHCR. If they aren’t familiar with all three — then I [would] move on. Too many brokers think you can apply a dollar-per-square-foot price to anything just like it’s a cookie-cutter condo. Comments

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