Think of a guy who is anxious that his hacienda in Miami might be caught in a bubble but doesn't want to cash out and move. If he buys a put option on the Miami housing-price index and the value of homes in Miami (including his) slides, the money he makes on the derivative offsets his loss. A put option is the right, but not the obligation, to sell a security at a set price. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell something at a future date. Both are derivatives because they derive their value from an underlying asset, in this case, real estate. The notional value of the futures contract is about $50,000 and is bought on margin with just a few percent down, which means you can get badly burned. Since the May debut, developers and hedge funds are among the big buyers.
Tags:
Asset
Miami Housing
Hedge Funds
Showing posts with label Las vegas home owners Insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Las vegas home owners Insurance. Show all posts
Friday, January 12, 2007
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