Hot Investment Opportunity Related To Housing Market

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


US Housing data from October came in at their highest levels in ten years. High demand and limited supply are pushing housing prices higher this year. In August, housing prices in Denver, Miami, Houston and the Washington D.C. metro area hit levels that most consider being overvalued.

Furthermore, now reports indicate that home prices on the lower end of the spectrum are rising faster than those in the middle and high end. Acute shortages of housing, especially in the low end of the market is causing prices in that tier to increase much faster than those in the middle or high-end tier.

Many believe home prices are increasing because millennials are finally entering the housing market, which would certainly make sense when you consider the low end of the market, or starter homes, currently have the most demand.

Prices will increase until either supply, as in the number of homes available for purchase, catches up with demand or prices hit a point that reduces demand.

It is more likely the latter will occur first, due to the time required to build more homes and especially when we consider what is likely to continue happening with interest rates. The Federal Reserve has made it clear they plan to continue increasing interest rates for the next few years, and as rates rise, the cost of homeownership follows.

So, what does this all mean? Continue reading "Hot Investment Opportunity Related To Housing Market"

Short-Term ETF Investment Capitalizing On This Time Of Year

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


The Holiday Season is now upon us, and in just a matter of days, millions of dollars will be spent buying presents. On Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday we will see millions of shoppers spending billions of dollars on gifts for the holidays.

But since we have a 'holiday' shopping season every year the more important thing from an investors perspective is whether holiday sales will be higher or lower than last year. Luckily this year the National Retail Federation expects annual holiday spending will increase by 3.6% to 4% this holiday season over last year.

Soon after the weekend, sales figures will start rolling in, and investors will either start selling or buying shares of the companies winning the retail holiday war. This makes it hard for investors to accurately predict ahead of time which companies will be the winners and which will be the losers, and therefore Exchange Traded Funds are the best way to make this investment.

With ETF's you can easily purchase a small or large basket of retail stocks right before the holiday shopping season, benefit from the winners while not getting crushed by the losers, and then get out of investing in retail before the end of the year.

So, if this sounds like the kind of purchase you want to make this holiday season, let's look at a few different ETF's you can buy now. Continue reading "Short-Term ETF Investment Capitalizing On This Time Of Year"

Housing Starts Down In September A Sign You Should Buy Housing Related ETF

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


Housing starts for September came in at 829,000 units, lower than the 851,000 units reported in August. Some economist and market participants are saying the weak housing starts are a sign the economy is beginning to show signs of wear.

Others have noted that 15.3% of the decline in starts came from parts of the country that were affected by hurricane Harvey and Irma. Furthermore, we can't forget about the wildfires in California, which may not be as impactful as the hurricane's, but still likely played some role in the decline.

Another data point that points to the health of the housing market is the National Association of Home Builders reported their Housing Market Index. In March of this year, the National Association of Home Builders reported their Housing Market Index hit a 71, just one point lower than its all-time high of 72 which was set in June of 2005. If you recall, shortly after June 2005 the housing bubble began to burst, and the housing crisis took down the U.S. economy. The NAHB report their Housing Market Index was at a 68 in October.

What is again interesting about these data point is that when the NAHB's Market Index hit its all-time high in 2005, the housing starts number was at 1.8 million.

Home builders have cited land and labor shortages for the 'low' number of housing starts. This could be a big problem for those looking to buy a home in the future because it could cause prices to skyrocket. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean the home builders will be making money hand over fist because remember their cost is going higher. Continue reading "Housing Starts Down In September A Sign You Should Buy Housing Related ETF"

Should You Be Investing In Marijuana

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


In April the world's first Marijuana Exchange Traded Fund, Horizon Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (TSE:HMMJ) hit the public markets. The ETF went public at $10 per share and popped during its first few days of trading.

When HMMJ hit the public markets, investors were craving exposure to marijuana stocks as new laws and regulations have helped push marijuana into the mainstream spotlight. Some U.S. states and parts of Canada have decriminalized the drug while it has spread in popularity and acceptance for its medical use.

HMMJ

HMMJ has traded as high as $23 per share since going public, but currently, it is below its Initial Public Offering price, trading at $9.36 per share. So what is happening and is it worth investing in the industry today? Continue reading "Should You Be Investing In Marijuana"

Political Policy Changes Redefining One Industry and Creating Massive Opportunity

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


This summer investors have witnessed firsthand how political policy changes can affect commodity and equity prices. In July both France and the United Kingdom announced it would ban the sale of diesel and gasoline powered cars by the year 2040. Other countries like Norway and India have set goals of even earlier dates to no longer have oil based vehicles sold by 2025 and 2030.
India had even taken it one step further and announced that not only will gasoline vehicles not be sold after 2030, but all gasoline vehicles will need to be replaced with electric and battery powered vehicles by that year.

The Netherlands wants to switch to electric vehicles by 2025 while Germany intends to make the change by 2030, but neither has set these plans in written law. But, the most notable announcement comes from China, a country that has over 300 million registered vehicles. Chinese authorities have not yet set a deadline for the end of sales of internal-combustion vehicles, but they have made it clear that they are working on a timetable.

While the U.S. and some of the other leading countries around the world have yet to come out and formally announce a date of when internal combustion engines will no longer be allowed, many believe there will come a day that all first world countries have such a ban.

So from an investing perspective, cashing in on this opportunity is simply just buying investments today and waiting. Continue reading "Political Policy Changes Redefining One Industry and Creating Massive Opportunity"