Foreclosed houses to be sold to and rented out by private equity firms
Private equity firms are jumping into distressed housing as the U.S. government plans to market 200,000 foreclosed homes as rentals to speed up the economic recovery.
GTIS Partners will spend $1 billion by 2016 acquiring single-family homes to manage as rentals, Thomas Shapiro, the fund's founder said. That followed announcements this month that GI Partners, a Menlo Park private equity fund, expects to invest $1 billion, and Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LP will spend $450 million on similar housing.
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Creating more single-family rental properties is one of a series of programs introduced by President Barack Obama's administration aimed at reviving the housing market. An S&P/Case-Shiller index (SPX) of property values in 20 cities has dropped 33 percent from its peak in July 2006 and 12 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are either delinquent or in foreclosure. Last week, the administration revised its Home Affordable Modification Program, offering government incentives for mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (FMCC) when they forgive debt on homes that lost value as a way of preventing delinquent borrowers from losing their houses.
Increasing Rentals
Increasing rentals may reduce lenders' losses on foreclosed and surrendered properties and curb declines in home prices, according to a Federal Reserve study Chairman Ben S. Bernanke sent to Congress on Jan. 4. Private equity funds began focusing on these investments in September, after the administration asked for proposals to sell the government's inventory of foreclosed homes -- about half of all houses seized from delinquent borrowers.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/foreclosures-draw-private-equity-u-150127753.html;_ylt=Avr7ojjP0i.IGOfw68lt5JyiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTNycDlhNHVzBG1pdANGUCBUb3AgU3RvcnkgTGVmdARwa2cDZWUyYzVkYjctZjIxZC0zZjFhLWIwMGUtNWNmZjUyMTJmMjg2BHBvcwMyBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyAzVmNDQ5N2QwLTRjMjQtMTFlMS05ZmZiLWE4OGZlOTk3MmUxNA--;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3
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A recent networking event, a realtor told us that mortgage rates are the lowest they've been in decades, housing prices are at 2000 levels & rental rates are the highest they've ever been.
How much longer can rental rates (& groceries & fuel) be the hightest they've ever been if people are forced to live on $8-$10 an hour? Didn't some stupid fuck repub recently say that they thought $8 was a middle class income? 
