2011-06-30 Update from Scott Clay

Let's keep buying all summer long!

In a recent Azcan company meeting,
Scott Clay
Managing Director of US Operations,
reflected on the current conditions in the marketplace....

"Throughout the past year we have seen increased activity at Trustee Auction Sales. It is clear the word is out ...

Phoenix is an outstanding market and presents excellent opportunity for real estate investors.

It's also safe to say, based on recent Metro Phoenix area MLS data, most pricing has stabilized and in some areas increased pricing is firmly in place.

This continues to be a market that provides attractive buying opportunities."
-Scott Clay

We appreciate your support and your confidence in Azcan.
Please let us know how we can continue to assist you in our mutual growth.

Kind regards,
Mark O'Donoghue,
President
AZCAN RPG CORP
403-245-4440
403-991-4446 Cell
mark@azcan.ca

2011-06-02 What does this mean for Azcan?

Read Mark O'Donoghue's comments

regarding the excerpt below, "Housing Starts Will Need to Rise Sharply"

What does this mean for Azcan?

If demand hits 23 million units over the next 10 years, as this analysis suggests, that translates into an average 2.3 million homes per year that will need to be built.

The US has been building at an annualized rate of between 250,000 and 400,000 homes over the last six months. In fact, the current build rates are the lowest since record keeping began in the early 1950's.

Obviously, there is a large gap between what will be required over the medium and long term and what is currently being built. The effect is a drawdown of excess inventories. Ultimately, the longer this goes on, the faster the industry will need to ramp up once excess inventories are absorbed. This is one of the key reasons we at Azcan see a pricing recovery to at least replacement cost (or current build cost) in the not too distant future.

The builder's will not construct those needed homes unless it is profitable to do so. And that requires prices to be much higher than they are currently.

We appreciate your support and your confidence in Azcan.
Please let us know how we can continue to assist you in our mutual growth.

Kind regards,
Mark O'Donoghue,
President
AZCAN RPG CORP
403-245-4440
403-991-4446 Cell
mark@azcan.ca

2011-06-02 Housing Starts Will Need to Rise Sharply

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2011

The Long View on Housing

--There’s a Boom Out There Somewhere

In this Macro Musing, we review what underlying demographic trends imply for the 10-year outlook for housing starts and conclude that starts will need to rise sharply to average roughly 1.6 million units per year over the next decade. Driving our conclusion are assumptions about the rate of population growth, the rates at which various segments of the population form households, the vacancy rate, the depreciation rate, and the share of additions to the housing stock that are accounted for by new construction. Reasonable assumptions for these parameters lead to an unavoidable conclusion: there’s a boom out there somewhere! It’s just a matter of when.

Despite the current difficulties in the housing market, the U.S. population continues to grow, households continue to form, and the housing stock will have to expand at some point to accommodate them. The only questions are by how much and when? Given the current level of vacancies, one can ask: can’t household formation continue for some time before an expansion of the housing stock is necessary? And if that’s the case, won’t housing starts remain flat for a long time?

That’s a fair question. Here are some numbers. Over the next 10 years, nearly 14 million new households are likely to form. To be sure, some of these households can occupy the existing stock of housing, pushing the housing vacancy rate down from its currently elevated level. But if the housing vacancy rate returns to a normal, pre-boom level — but not lower — the housing stock will have to expand by about 12½ million units over the next 10 years to accommodate 14 million new households.

Here’s where the story gets interesting. Every year, a portion of the housing stock is lost to demolition, disaster, condemnation, and other factors. Over the last decade or so, the rate of depletion has been 0.8% of the housing stock per year. If this rate continues over the next 10 years, roughly 11 million units will be lost, implying that the same number of units will have to be added to the housing stock simply to prevent a decline. For the housing stock to expand by 12½ million units, then, 23½ million units must be added to the stock over the next 10 years!

Now, not all of these additions to the housing stock would result from new construction. In recent years, new construction has accounted for about 70% of all gross additions to the housing stock, with other sources, such as recoveries of condemned units, mobile homes, and conversions of nonresidential structures, accounting for the rest. Still, these proportions, if maintained over the next 10 years, suggest roughly 16 million housing starts over the next 10 years. That’s an average of 1.6 million starts per year!

---This is an excerpt from a commentary that was published on May 16, 2011.

2011-05-16 Your Success is Our Success.

Our Ongoing Support of Your Business

You may have noticed our recent email with a link to an article about John Paulson & Bill Ackman, two large hedge fund managers going long on single family housing. The article contained information regarding their strategies and views on the changing market in US Residential Real Estate.

We hope you found it informative and useful.

We will continue to support your business and our joint success with ongoing regular emails noting interesting information, articles and statistics. Our goal is to provide you with the tools you need to make your recommendations to your clients as informed, and as easy as possible.

Please let us know if there is anything further you need that will help you build your business with your clients.

Changes you may notice ...

• Certainly you will notice our regular communications with you to provide information to assist with your knowledge and success.



• The calendar on our website is current with upcoming Presentations and information and watch our website for News Updates.

Moving us forward ...

Azcan is pleased to announce the addition of Gail Hope to the position of Manager, Advisor Services. Gail's role will involve supporting our Financial Advisors and clients with marketing & communication, presentations & events, and strengthening Azcan's capital raising efforts. Gail brings a strong financial and professional services support background to Azcan.

Please join me in welcoming Gail Hope to our team, and feel free to contact her at 403-245-8411 or gail@azcan.ca

We appreciate your support and your confidence in Azcan.
Please let us know how we can continue to assist you in our mutual growth.

Kind regards,
Mark O'Donoghue,
President
AZCAN RPG CORP

Check your Email for New and Interesting Information Coming Your Way.