Hedging Your House Redux

By Brad Zigler | October 02, 2008 | 12:32 PM | 0 Comments

Back in August, when prices were only spiraling, not free-falling, downward, we ran a feature on hedging the hardest of hard assets, real estate ("Using Futures To Hedge Your House"). The article highlighted futures on the S&P/Case-Shiller Real Estate Indexes and a strategy that could help home owners protect the investment value of their properties.

For some investors, however, using futures, even as a hedge, is a nonstarter. For a lot of reasons. First of all, a new account relationship has to be established. Not every stock brokerage can trade futures. Even in the bigger wire houses that are registered as commodity brokers, only certain representatives are futures-qualified.

Then there's the margin issue. In a futures trade, both sides - short and long - universally post margin. This fact bespeaks the leverage obtainable in a futures trade. For the housing futures described in our August article, the leverage factor was nearly 20-to-1. That means relatively small moves can have dramatic effects upon an account holder's equity. The risk of maintenance calls - requests to restore equity diminished by market action with fresh cash - is unpalatable to many would-be hedgers.

Not to worry, though. MacroShares is coming to market with exchange-traded securities based upon the broad-based housing index. No futures account and no margin required, unless you really want margin.

You remember MacroShares, don't you? We've written about two generations of MacroShares oil portfolios frequently (our last take on the securities was July's "Gold Vs. Oil").

MacroShares Major Metro Housing securities will track the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-10 Home Price Index, a national benchmark, via a 10-year trust structure that affords investors a built-in 2-to-1 leverage factor.

For a futures-style selling hedge, investors would simply buy the Major Metro Housing Down (NYSE Arca: DMM) which is designed to increase in value as home prices, measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller index, fall. (Real estate bulls, on the other hand, would be likely buyers of the complementary Major Metro Housing Up [NYSE Arca: UMM] portfolio, which should increase in value as the underlying benchmark rises).

While there's no word yet on a definitive launch date for the new portfolios, the offering is being floated via an electronic auction managed by San Francisco-based WR Hambrecht + Co. The auction is tentatively scheduled to open on November 3 and to close on November 17. Secondary trading on the NYSE Arca platform should follow the auction's close.