22 May 2019 FT — Articles to Read

22 May 2019

 

Question: According to MSN: Money, what are eleven (11) tips for pricing your home so it sells for top dollar?

 

OECD urges Europe to raise spending and boost growth – Pg. 3

–          European governments that can afford to raise public spending should loosen their purse strings to stop the economic slowdown from turning into long-term stagnation…

–          Global growth remained heavily dependent on the “unprecedented” monetary support put in place by central banks since the financial crisis…

–          Global growth has weakened markedly in the past year, and the Eurozone has been especially hard hit by the sharp trade slowdown and uncertainty over trade policy, which is holding back business investment

–          Tariffs imposed by the US and China last year had already started to slow growth and add to inflation,…

–          A further escalation, with the US and China imposing 25% tariffs on all bilateral trade from July, could cut 0.6% from US output and 0.8% from Chinese output by 2021

 

China fire sale sees bids for US hotels – Pg. 11

–          Chinese authorities unwinding Anbang Insurance have received offers of up to $5.8bn for the group’s luxury US hotels business from bidders including Blackstone and Brookfield, …

–          The sale of Strategic Hotels, one of Anbang’s most valuable assets in the US, comes after the insurer was placed under the control of Chinese regulators last year….

–          Meanwhile, the Anbang-owned Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Which is not part of Strategic, remains closed while part of it is converted to apartments, even as that part of the real estate market in the city has softened

 

Sales retreat at US department stores – Pg. 12

–          Two of the biggest US department stores, Kohl’s and JCPenny, intensified concerns over the health of bricks and mortar retail yesterday as falling sales sent their share prices tumbling

–          Despite robust consumer spending, US retailers are being squeezed by falling mall traffic, increasing labour and transport costs, the rise of online shopping and a shift by consumers towards spending more on recreation and travel

 

KPMG at risk of record fine over bank reports – Pg. 13

–          British regulators have called for KPMG to be fined at least a record 12.5m (sterling) for misconduct in its work for Bank of New York Mellow, dealing another heavy blow to the reputation of the big Four accounting firm

–          The largest sanction imposed by the FRC to date was the 6.5m (sterling) penalty PwC paid last year for misconduct on its audit of retailer BHS

–          (Prof Note: I think the most straight-forward way to accomplish this is to send while collar workers to jail.  Or strip them of the coveted CPA.  Personally, I think that would solve these issues the most quickly.  Personally, I do not think fines work.)

 

Answer: (1) Curb your emotions (Prof Note: Be careful with emotions.  Try and view the real estate transaction as a business deal which requires a positive yield.); (2) Get the house in tip-top condition; (3) Tour competing listings (Prof Note: Always best to know the competition.); (4) Get a comparative market analysis (Prof Note: Remember to look at settlement/sale pricing and not listing pricing); (5) Have a heart-to-heart with your agent (Prof Note: Be careful and vet the listing agent.  Like lawyers, real estate agents, in general and in my opinion, have a poor reputation BUT a competent agent is GOLD in a transaction); (6) Find your own comps; (7) Hire an appraiser (Prof Note: One of my mates is the former chief appraiser for a larger bank.  Prior to renovating a building I brought him down to a site to review everything.  His insight was spot on and saved me a big mistake!); (8) Hold an open house for friends and family; (9) Listen to your agent’s colleagues; (10) Avoid zeros; (11) Embrace zeros