 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
How to figure a home's fundamental value
# Y- q5 }- C: ^: E* M6 Q" M# P0 [1 {2 CLeamer says he can tell because homes, just like stocks, have a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) that he believes determines their fundamental value. The “earnings” part of the ratio consists of the annual rent the house could command. Homebuyers can compare current P/Es with historical levels, Leamer says, to get some idea of whether houses in their cities are becoming overvalued.
: O0 `7 i- \- u+ [5 T0 `2 h$ O b( L
Not everyone buys the idea that P/Es dictate value. But investors who completely ignore P/Es do so at their peril, as many have learned in recent years. Leamer, who heads the prestigious Anderson Forecast at the University of California in Los Angeles, points out that the P/E for the Standard & Poor’s 500, a key stock benchmark, was nearly double its previous historical high when the stock market bubble burst in 2000. When home P/Es peaked in California, Boston, Dallas and other markets in the mid-1980s, devastating real estate recessions followed.
6 H3 G# q3 U( Y
5 W$ B. q9 \: ]- v- ULeamer didn’t invent the concept of P/Es for homes. But his willingness to proclaim bubbles in several of the nation’s hottest markets has brought him lots of attention recently.
1 r4 M1 V# g8 }* K" ?
$ ?( @( i9 a; l1 [; @, }2 I$ ^: z6 X% ZTo calculate P/Es for entire cities, Leamer divided the median home price in each by the annual rent for a two-bedroom unit in each city -- and looked at P/Es each year since 1988. Here’s what he found:
9 R6 T) l% s3 v# ~% a0 c& A$ w
# B+ g4 l( H- o" r- ~' h# b% i& H7 H( D- q: e! d! z+ C
In Boston, the residential real estate market’s P/E recently topped 30 -- compared with just under 20 in 1988.2 d6 O% \* w/ W. c a* \
w$ i- V5 y; ]
San Francisco’s previous peak of 25.6 in 1989 has been eclipsed, with the P/E currently at just over 27./ z0 O- G" O, \" n9 w m
San Diego’s current P/E is nearly 30, compared with a 1989 high of 23.4.
( N$ A9 Z4 a( P9 }New York, by contrast, is actually well below previous peaks. The area’s current 22.5 P/E is above its recent nadir of 17.6 in 1993, but down from 28.6 in 1988.
3 c& |6 W, N; x9 XYou don’t have to know exact P/Es, however, to spot signs of trouble, Leamer says. Any time there’s a disconnect between prices and the underlying value of homes, as measured by their market rents, there’s the potential for a bubble. $ Y! @& _0 E c$ T9 U
9 R2 L4 t# ]2 C/ oIf home prices are rising much faster than rents, as is true in Los Angeles, that’s a strong indication a bubble is forming.- q5 w: w; w1 ^! i% D2 E) c) _: [
0 B6 s. R5 q1 t5 S
If home prices are rising while average rents are falling -- which is the situation in San Francisco -- the bubble is pretty much unmistakable.# g Z' S& \/ t: U1 ~7 b0 {- L C
# X+ W3 V& o! \" r. m4 v/ G% @" E$ }* o Home P/E ratios for 9 metro areas ) D. x; z" E, s6 y) h
Avg. 1988-2000 2001 " a# m; J, t- X4 `' j
Boston 20.5 30.2 2 a- F& q* B- X% M
San Diego 22.8 29.7
$ a' ]0 K+ d' t0 Z BSan Francisco 23.8 27.2 3 \( ~1 x7 W( v3 C+ a2 M
Los Angeles 21.3 25.6
# ]5 s; a/ N1 P5 ?$ |. c" TSeattle 20.4 25 % r( U8 A- _; E
Denver 17.7 23.7 I9 G* K% c" s# Q1 a! i
New York 21.2 22.5
5 u0 F# U) i: H1 a( vChicago 17.2 20.8
0 G" v0 o: A: M, V$ V, s+ ^Washington, D.C. 17.1 20.4 7 i) }7 u5 B4 a* _% d! O
5 A% ]7 P8 Z& L0 j( `6 N8 R" r1 c; B$ U, L7 E! c$ F7 R- j. B# B
' ]/ Q7 e1 Q, \' Y' oIt's difficult to compare P/Es from one city with those from another. P/Es in Atlantic City, N.J., have wavered between 17.3 and 11.6 since 1988; in San Diego, P/Es have not dropped below 20. But you can look on the P/E as a measure of risk -- that is, the higher the P/E is above its average level, the greater the risk, no matter where you live.
/ D/ |5 h9 p, k, y1 @- B- {/ g6 r, g! d$ v) t7 @& t4 q: m
0 M* u6 x5 \* KFrom: http://moneycentral.msn.com/cont ... ingguide/P37631.asp |
|