Author: Brad Beckett

The unofficial start of Summer (aka Memorial Day) is coming up fast and along with that reminder comes AAA’s annual travel forecast.  This year, even with rising gas prices, the venerable AAA predicts that 39.2 million Americans will travel 50+ miles from home this Memorial Day weekend – an increase of 8.3% over 2021! “Memorial Day is always a good predictor of what’s to come for summer travel,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president, AAA Travel. “Based on our projections, summer travel isn’t just heating up, it will be on fire. People are overdue for a vacation and they are…

RentCafe says millions of Americans have been working and living in the same place for more than two years, and, consequently, the need for privacy is higher than ever.  With that in mind, they point out that over the last 10 years the amount of living space per renter has been decreasing along with a corresponding decrease in the size of apartment.  Nationwide, the average apartment space per person is about 540 square feet, based on the ratio of the average apartment size to the average number of renters living in a household.  Their recent report takes a look at…

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,724,000, which is 0.2% lower than March’s revised number and 14.6% higher than one year ago.  April’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 612k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,819,000, which is 3.2% lower than March’s revised number.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 656k in April. Click here to read the full report at…

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing says the prices of goods used in residential construction (excluding energy) rose 0.5% in April, 2022, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.   This increase comes on the heals of upwardly revised increases of 1.9% and 2.4% in March and February, respectively. These numbers represent a 4.9% increase in building materials prices since the start of 2022.  However, year-over-year, building materials prices are up 19.2% and have risen 35.6% since the start of the pandemic. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 2.4% in April to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million (down 5.9% from one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of April was 1,030,000 units, down 10.4% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 2.2-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 17 days.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in April was $391k, which was up 14.8% from one year ago.  The NAR says this marks 122 consecutive months of year-over-year increases,…

A recent chart from the Visual Capitalist illustrates how U.S. consumer debt is rapidly approaching a record-breaking $16 trillion.  In addition, they point out that the rate of increase in consumer debt for Q4 2021 was also the highest seen since 2007.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “Economists believe that today’s housing debt isn’t a cause for concern. This is because the quality of borrowers is much stronger than it was between 2003 and 2007, in the years leading up to the financial crisis and subsequent housing crash.” Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.

Recently we saw a report about where homebuyers want to live. Today, we’re looking at where renters are moving to & from.  According to Apartment List’s latest Migration Report, migration of renters  was impacted by one of the most significant societal shifts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic – the widespread adoption of remote work that allowed some workers to pursue longer-distance moves.  The report says that in Q1 2022, 40% of Apartment List users were searching to move to a new metro area and 27% were searching in a completely different state.  Indeed… “As we emerge from the pandemic,…

On a recent episode of the Rent Perfect podcast David Pickron says statistically, fraud is on the rise and landlords, whose information is all over the web and on legal documents, are not immune from its effects. He points out that it’s important to know ways to protect yourself and your information.  David says this is critical in avoiding this growing epidemic of fraud. To learn more about freezing your credit, please visit here.  Rent Perfect is the solution rental property owners & managers have been crying out for! Their Online Lease Agreement allows you to send your tenant(s)…

HousingWire is reporting that the FHA is giving nonprofit organizations and owner-occupant buyers first dibs on foreclosed properties that get auctioned off through its Claims Without Conveyance of Title (CWCOT) program, specifically prioritizing these groups over investors.  According to the report, for the first 30 days, a foreclosed property listed for sale can only be bid on by owner-occupant buyers, approved nonprofits, and government entities. HousingWire says these buyers would also enjoy an additional 60 days for conveyance from the date that the sales contract is ratified. “This policy change is critical as the nation continues to address the challenges…

We’ve had a lot of posts about where people are moving to and from, as well as the reasons why.  A recent report at Realtor.com took a look at search traffic to figure out where people wanted to move to and where they most wanted to leave.  They used that data to determine the nation’s most sought-after areas from buyers who are looking at homes in a different metro area from where they currently live.  As for locations, they looked at data from the 300 largest metropolitan areas in America in Q1 2022.  Indeed… “The pandemic led many Americans to…