Author: Brad Beckett

Good cyber security is something that affects everyone.  We now live in a world where we can no longer have nice things like simple, easy to remember passwords because of online mischief.  With all that in mind, the folks at Hive say whether you’re training employees, updating your password policy, or just want to see if your own password would survive the hour, their table shows reality.  Indeed it does…. Stay safe (especially online) and have a Happy Friday!!! “Password reuse, short character lengths, and weak complexity remain some of the easiest ways attackers gain access to systems. The 2025…

New data from Redfin shows that the typical luxury home sold for $1.26 million in September 2025, up 4.8% from a year earlier and a record high for the month. This rate is just over twice the pace of price growth for non-luxury homes, which rose 1.8% year over year to a median price of $371,583. Some takeaways: The typical U.S. luxury home sold for $1,262,000 in September, up 4.8% from a year earlier. Luxury home sales were essentially unchanged (+0.3%) from a year earlier. Non-luxury home sales fell 0.3% year over year, remaining near their lowest level since at…

According to the ADP National Employment Report for October, 2025, private sector employment decreased by 42k jobs and pay was up 4.5% year-over-year. The ADP National Employment Report is an independent and high-frequency view of the private-sector labor market based on the aggregated and anonymized payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. employees. “Private employers added jobs in October for the first time since July, but hiring was modest relative to what we reported earlier this year. Meanwhile, pay growth has been largely flat for more than a year, indicating that shifts in supply and demand are balanced.”  Said…

Last month we featured an infographic with a state by state breakdown of American’s on Welfare.  That being said, with all of the recent hullabaloo (and controversy) over funding for SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, the folks at Brilliant Maps put together an interactive map of households by congressional receiving SNAP benefits (aka food stamps).    Be sure to look at their complete list of all congressional districts which can be sorted several different ways. Click read the full report at Brilliant Maps.

According to ATTOM Data’s Q4 2025 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, there were nearly 1.4 million residential properties in the U.S. sitting vacant in Q4.  That figure represents 1.32% of residential properties in the United States (about 1.4 million homes) that were vacant.  In addition, there were 228,943 residential properties nationwide that were in the process of foreclosure during Q4.  Of those homes, 3.25% (about 7,448 homes) were “zombie” properties, meaning they had been abandoned by their owner prior to the conclusion of the foreclosure proceedings. That was down from a 3.38% zombie rate in Q3 2025.  To produce…

Local Market Monitor recently released their monthly National Economic Outlook where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. “Without fresh job data because of the government shutdown, we can examine other aspects of the economy that can be a guide to future growth.” Click here to read more at Local Market Monitor.

According to Apartment List’s National Rent Report for November 2025, national median rent dropped 0.8% in September to $1,381 – the third consecutive month-over-month decline.  They say it’s likely that we’ll continue to see further modest rent declines to close out the year.  In addition, they say year-over-year rent growth has been slightly negative for over two full years, and national median rent has now fallen from its 2022 peak by a total of 4.2%.  Indeed… “All of our key indicators are pointing toward ongoing sluggishness in the multifamily rental market – rent prices are down and the vacancy rate…

This Tuesday, November 11th, is Veterans Day… Here’s a little history about this important day;  In 1918, the armistice ending the First World War officially took effect on the 11th day, of the 11th month, at the 11th hour.  The following year President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th as Armistice Day.   Later, it would become a holiday to honor veterans of World War I and then in 1954, after World War II & the Korean War, it was renamed “Veterans Day” to honor all Americans who served in the military during times of war and peace. Be sure to take…

A recent article on the multifamily-industry news site Yield PRO says the assault on rentals marches on – adding to the mounting reasons the supply of the nation’s housing remains behind demand.  They say this time, the weapon of choice isn’t new legislation, it’s decades-old consumer protection laws that activists & plaintiff’s attorneys have suddenly discovered can be twisted to destroy standard business practices that have worked for generations.  Indeed… “Property owners across the nation are waking up to a harsh reality: fees they’ve charged for years—pest control, trash collection, community amenities—are now being labeled junk fees by federal bureaucrats…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices U.S. house prices house prices rose 0.4% in August, 2025.  In addition, year-over-year, house prices have rose 2.3% from August 2024 to August 2025.  The FHFA HPI is the nation’s only collection of public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from all 50 states and over 400 American cities that extend back to the mid-1970s. Click here to read the full report at the FHFA.