Author: Brad Beckett

Bloomberg is reporting that the supply of new homes on the market has climbed to its highest level since 2010.  They point out that for years the housing market has been plagued by too little inventory, now builders are suddenly finding themselves with a glut of unsold homes. “Despite the fact that there aren’t enough housing units in the country, builders are not willing to take the gamble that’s required to build them,” said Jerry Howard, chief executive officer of the NAHB. “They’re afraid that, in a recessionary environment, they won’t be able to sell them.” “Builders are reluctant to…

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was up 1.3% in July, 2022.  However, the all items index was up 8.5% for the 12 months ending in July.  Interestingly, the BLS says the gasoline index fell 7.7% in July and offset increases in the food and shelter indexes, which resulted in the all items index being unchanged from the previous month. Click here to read the full release at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

We have had several posts covering the importance of manufactured housing over the past few years.  Along those lines, a recent infographic from the U.S. Census Bureau illustrates the prevalence of manufactured housing based on where they’re being shipped.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Today, August 11th is National Safe Digging Day.  It is a nationwide public awareness effort to “call before you dig” before starting a building or landscaping project.  The Common Ground Alliance says 811 is the national call-before-you-dig phone number.  They say anyone who plans to dig should call 811 or go to their state 811 center’s website before digging to request that the approximate location of buried utilities be marked with paint or flags so that you don’t unintentionally dig into an underground utility line.  Remember, calling 811 is a year-round punch-list item….not just for today. Click here for information…

StorageCafe says finding a home with good bones is not easy, however, they say a lot of it depends on the location.  To that end, they analyzed over 61k active single-family listings in the 50 biggest US cities to determine their list of best cities for fixer-uppers.  They looked at several metrics, including price, number of active fixer-upper listings, home & lot sizes as well as self storage costs and inventory (which they say is useful both during & after the renovation process).  Interestingly, they point out that fixer-uppers are generally smaller in size (1,400 sq. ft. on avg. vs.…

Realtor.com & the Wall Street Journal recently released their Emerging Housing Markets Index for Summer 2022 which identifies markets they believe will be good areas to purchase a home for both homeowners and investors.  To get their index, they used a slate of housing market, economic vitality, and quality of life metrics to identify emerging housing markets for the largest 300 metropolitan areas in the United States.  As can might suspect, inventory is an ongoing critical issue. “The good news is that the feverish pace of the 2021 market is behind us, and we are seeing markets move toward more…

We love good data about moving and although this data isn’t eye-popping, it is certainly another one to add to the stack.  A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Midwest Economy Blog crunches recent moving data to examine moving patterns between states, metropolitan areas, and other locations across America since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Primarily, migration patterns in 2018 & 2019 compared with those for 2020 and 2021. “Our analysis of United Van Lines data shows that the patterns of pre-pandemic moves were mostly the same as those of pandemic-era moves. However, the number of…

On a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke says the latest reports on inflation have “given the economy indigestion.”  On this episode, she discusses some of the ways to invest when inflation is working against you. Click here to listen on Spotify.com.

On a recent episode of WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, a discussion ensued about how groups of local tenants are unionizing in hopes of pushing for an end to the state rent control ban that was passed back in 1997.  Jane Garvey, President of the Chicago Creative Investors Association, joined a round-table discussion to debate the issue and offer valuable insights. Jane Garvey of Chicago Creative Investors Association says landlords work based on supply and demand.  “We’re facing tremendous increases in costs on all fronts. We’re also facing tremendous increases in risk,” Garvey said. She added that in her view, the real…

According to ATTOM Data’s Q2 2022 U.S. Home Sales Report, profit margins on U.S. median-priced single-family home and condo sales hit another new record of 55.5%.  In addition, ATTOM says the latest typical profit margin was up from 48.3% in Q1 2022 and up 42.9% from one year ago. “Home sellers in the second quarter continued to benefit from the rapid growth in home price appreciation the country has experienced over the past few years…”  Said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. Click here to read the full report at ATTOM.