Author: Brad Beckett

With interest rates going up and record high home prices, the folks over at Realtor.com took a look at the 100 largest metropolitan areas and found where home prices are doing what recently seemed unthinkable – they’re falling.  They say these dips are because prices grew too “out of whack” with what locals in many Rust Belt communities could afford.  Or, in other cases, it’s not that the same house costs less, rather the lower prices are due to fewer larger homes for sale, which generally fetch higher prices.   They do point out that they believe this is not a…

CNBC’s Diana Olick says recent mortgage rate volatility has caused monthly mortgages to spike $1,800 from pre-pandemic levels.  Click on the image below to watch the report. Click here to watch at CNBC.com. Click here to see the current interest rates.

According to ATTOM Data’s latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, properties with a foreclosure filing during Q1 2022 were up 39% from the previous quarter and up 132% from a year ago.  In addition, ATTOM says there were  a total of 33,333 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in March 2022, up 29% from February and up 181% from a year ago – which they say is the 11th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in foreclosure activity.  States with the greatest number of foreclosures starts in Q1 2022 included, California (5,378), Florida (4.707), Texas (4,649), Illinois (3,534), and Ohio (3,136). “…even…

This Sunday, May 8th is Mother’s Day (your final reminder, btw).  The History Channel says Mother’s Day became an official U.S. holiday in 1914 and traditionally involves presenting moms with flowers, cards and other gifts.  Today’s infographic from Groupon shares with us the best ideas for what Mom really wants (and doesn’t) on this special day…and yes, a card is necessary.  As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Groupon.

On a recent episode of the Rental Property Owner & Real Estate Investor Podcast, Brian Hamrick talked with Art Morrison, III, a former professional basketball player who has taken his passion and persistence from the basketball court to the real estate world.  Art shared his trajectory from professional basketball player, to part-time real estate investing, to becoming a professional business owner with a team that helps him excel in the real estate world. “I know you’re going to benefit from the wisdom and inspiration that Art has to share. You’ll especially appreciate his tips on branding yourself and your business…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartments in April, 2022 was $1,410 (an all-time high), up 13.2% year-over-year and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,746 up 14.6%, year-over-year.  Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. Click here to read the full report at Zumper.

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in March, 2022 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,730.5 billion, which is 0.1% higher than February’s revised estimate and 11.7% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $882 billion in March, which is 1% above February’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. government is reporting that the national vacancy rates for Q1, 2022 were 5.8% for rental housing and 0.8% for homeowner housing.  The national homeownership rate for Q1, 2022 was 65.4% (about the same as Q4, 2021).  In addition, approximately 89.4% of the housing units in the United States in Q1 were occupied and 10.6% were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units made up 58.5% of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 30.9% of the inventory. Click here to read the full release at the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices rose 2.1% in February, 2022 and were up 19.4% from one year ago.  The FHFA produces the nation’s only public, freely available house price indexes (HPIs) that measure changes in single-family house prices based on data that cover all 50 states and over 400 American cities and extend back to the mid-1970s. “House prices rose to set a new historical record in February…Acceleration approached twice the monthly rate as seen a year ago. Housing prices continue to rise owing in part to supply constraints.” …

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were down 1.2% in March, 2022.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) dropped to 103.7. “The falling contract signings are implying that multiple offers will soon dissipate and be replaced by much calmer and normalized market conditions…As it stands, the sudden large gains in mortgage rates have reduced the pool of eligible homebuyers, and that has consequently lowered buying activity.”  Said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. [in addition] “Fast-rising rents will encourage renters to consider buying a home, though higher mortgage…