Beth Mattson-Teig at National Real Estate Investor writes “There is a correlation between the bond market and commercial real estate, and that could mean that there are some definite changes ahead. The changes in BBB and BB rated bonds are most relevant to the real estate market. To that point, the low investment grade BBB and high non-investment grade BB bonds have seen yields rise over the past several months. “BB bonds in particular have seen yields increase by more than 120 basis points, climbing from 4.52 percent in early March to a range between 5.71 and 6.22 percent during the first two weeks of October. BBB bonds also have seen a modest uptick of about 50 basis points, rising from 3.55 percent in early February to a current rate of between 3.98 and 4.12 percent.” […]

Estate sales (or tag sales in some parts of the country) are increasingly used in the U.S. for the four “Ds:” Death, Divorce, Debt and Downsizing. Sometimes when the neighbors are close friends, we can add one more “D,” desertion. It feels like that doesn’t it? Does it ever shock you when your neighbors here in the Simi Valley area decide to sell almost everything they had accumulated over the years and move to Oregon, Florida, Charlotte, or become expats? They worked hard to buy the large dining room table and eight chairs, the sofas, the lamps, the art work, the beds and exercise equipment, the outdoor furniture and even the BBQ that practically cooked by itself. They start with a couple of garage sales, but the big stuff was is auctioned or sold in estate sales. […]