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How to figure a home's fundamental value" R! v* @ s( _# E; ?/ E5 M
Leamer 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.
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. i1 D Y9 G6 D2 m k1 c5 aNot 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.5 x# m, g q$ c) g
* A. [& R8 U. s$ @; T/ P7 YLeamer 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.
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w" v, A0 |9 B, y1 |9 g4 D% ETo 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:
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! {3 V9 n3 N- x! ^0 u, c2 qIn Boston, the residential real estate market’s P/E recently topped 30 -- compared with just under 20 in 1988.1 u& m* `( K5 R- T" G9 W0 ?: ^
- w% v# f1 C% zSan Francisco’s previous peak of 25.6 in 1989 has been eclipsed, with the P/E currently at just over 27.
" a8 j4 P ^+ m, FSan Diego’s current P/E is nearly 30, compared with a 1989 high of 23.4.
! _6 C0 y) y3 n1 m2 m' aNew 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.
6 Z" Z' h& G+ X4 N; u& NYou 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.
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3 Y+ Z5 o9 R" TIf home prices are rising much faster than rents, as is true in Los Angeles, that’s a strong indication a bubble is forming.( a& d* ?) y& ]& V8 W
% q: F6 m4 |9 f5 C4 _If home prices are rising while average rents are falling -- which is the situation in San Francisco -- the bubble is pretty much unmistakable.% y: \1 d3 M6 \4 \# ~# P
& ~" z2 F6 D: n% z Home P/E ratios for 9 metro areas 3 a, D8 O/ U+ H8 z8 `* M
Avg. 1988-2000 2001
+ w6 ?, Y" L3 P, u( XBoston 20.5 30.2
/ k- w5 Z2 a1 P: e/ g+ N5 c! g q2 FSan Diego 22.8 29.7
6 Q$ |0 V, U+ o( F; g. PSan Francisco 23.8 27.2
/ T E# w n7 _% S" w1 a. pLos Angeles 21.3 25.6
A3 q' r H. ^Seattle 20.4 25 1 x+ U( Q/ |; u( H; K+ K: ?
Denver 17.7 23.7 # d% X2 ]6 R3 F" n9 I3 G
New York 21.2 22.5 ; x9 k9 u/ M) N: K9 ]
Chicago 17.2 20.8 3 p; {9 X: U$ @- u( Y6 l; g
Washington, D.C. 17.1 20.4 , V; E% Z: T3 q9 r* g n
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% L# C+ _& c" {( s: BIt'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.% z8 {1 b+ c) |2 a8 u7 W
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. k" a8 |# K3 P1 Y' t7 U1 gFrom: http://moneycentral.msn.com/cont ... ingguide/P37631.asp |
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