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How to figure a home's fundamental value r5 ^% ^: h' C" U- D
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.- A2 U( h% s/ j, i: A! m8 N; O
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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.
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; u9 G/ I! ~. z. OLeamer 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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To 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:7 N7 u) K" h g: G# y% g' X* Z
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In Boston, the residential real estate market’s P/E recently topped 30 -- compared with just under 20 in 1988. i9 I a" o2 \- l
4 W6 A1 a4 A, D8 D" kSan Francisco’s previous peak of 25.6 in 1989 has been eclipsed, with the P/E currently at just over 27.
2 k/ N: }1 b* B5 Y6 TSan Diego’s current P/E is nearly 30, compared with a 1989 high of 23.4.( \3 X4 n: @5 W+ J
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.$ L- G6 d9 H' W: `1 c6 A2 c |" b( ^$ v
You 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. t" e# z0 y7 f( f5 n
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If home prices are rising much faster than rents, as is true in Los Angeles, that’s a strong indication a bubble is forming.
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: o4 ~( l3 U+ G& ^( [0 e& {+ uIf home prices are rising while average rents are falling -- which is the situation in San Francisco -- the bubble is pretty much unmistakable.2 _6 M4 W6 O7 d+ p
5 k/ J8 z# R h- v3 y; Q) J! z Home P/E ratios for 9 metro areas 2 U. W: N) N" k( k( k6 V6 C
Avg. 1988-2000 2001
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San Diego 22.8 29.7
0 R# w0 I Q7 \1 w7 S0 o' y; |San Francisco 23.8 27.2 , O7 ^+ R. V" }) n8 {/ R
Los Angeles 21.3 25.6 # o6 |1 @' ]% a6 o2 T
Seattle 20.4 25 6 z/ T3 b4 @& q) I5 G! B
Denver 17.7 23.7
8 Z8 p4 k P! y; k0 [9 l1 sNew York 21.2 22.5
: ~3 `. Y& Q/ @Chicago 17.2 20.8
; M" o F3 c9 q! R# p& l! @Washington, D.C. 17.1 20.4 ( t) D( \) H5 b. M; h
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It'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.. j* T. n; ]! L
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7 a, o4 k( I1 K' x$ K' j' u# MFrom: http://moneycentral.msn.com/cont ... ingguide/P37631.asp |
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