Author: Brad Beckett

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says land for housing is in short supply because of land-use restrictions and lack of infrastructure.  They say land-use restrictions and a lack of public investment in roads, rail and other infrastructure have made it harder than ever for developers to find sites near big population centers to build homes. As people keep moving to big cities they are pushing up land prices and making the housing shortages in fast-growing urban areas even worse. “The United States, a country of wide open spaces, is short on land.” “Land-use restrictions…

A recent report from Redfin says asking rents climbed to a record high in August however growth moderated for a 3rd straight month. Redfin says the national median asking rent was up 11% year over year in August, coming in at $2,039 – which they note is the smallest annual increase in a year.  Indeed… “Rent growth will likely slow further as the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates. Higher interest rates impact the rental market because they put a damper on spending power in the economy as a whole, including renters’ budgets…Growth in rents is also likely to…

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 15.8% annual gain for July, 2022.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 14.9% and their 20-City Composite posted a 16.1% year-over-year gain. “Although U.S. housing prices remain substantially above their year-ago levels, July’s report reflects a forceful deceleration…For example, while the National Composite Index rose by 15.8% in the 12 months ended July 2022, its year-over-year price rise in June was 18.1%. The -2.3% difference between those two monthly rates of gain is the largest deceleration in the history of the index.”  Said Craig J. Lazzara,…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices dropped 0.6% in July but were up 13.9% year over year.  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. “U.S. house price index posted its first month-over-month decrease in July since May 2020 when the U.S. economy experienced lockdowns as a result of COVID-19. This decline was widespread as eight of the nine…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report showing more than half the cities on their list posted month-over-month decreases in median one-bedroom rent – which they say is a signal that prices are slowly beginning to moderate. However, they do infer that for buyers higher interest rates, low supply and an uncertain economy, is creating more competition and higher prices for rentals.  Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. Click here to read the full report at Zumper.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were down 2% in August, 2022.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) dipped to 88.4.  The NAR says rising inflation and higher mortgage rates are driving the numbers. “The direction of mortgage rates – upward or downward – is the prime mover for home buying, and decade-high rates have deeply cut into contract signings…”  “Only when inflation calms down will we see mortgage rates begin to steady.”  Said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s Chief Economist. Click here to read the full report at…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in August, 2022 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,500, which is 28.8% higher than July’s revised rate and is 0.1% lower than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in September was $436,800k with an average sales price of $521,800.  There were an estimated 461k new houses for sale at the end of August representing a 8.1-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Do you know your blood type or that of a close family member?  Statista says it might surprise you to learn that an awful lot of people have no idea, and even less know how compatible their blood type is with others if it were to come to an emergency. Today’s chart (using data from the American Society of Hematology) shows there can be very big differences in the number of blood types your body can give or receive in the case of a blood transfusion.  As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday! “Safe, reliable source of blood…

A recent report from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says the market value of owner-occupied real estate increased $1.5 trillion to $41.2 trillion in Q2, 2022, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.  In addition they report that, while the current rate of growth has declined, last year saw the largest year-over-year percentage gain since 2001. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

A new report from RentCafe says the growing share of renters among American households have increased both the interest and use of storage space.  In fact, they point out that 21% of US renters are currently leasing a self storage unit while an additional 12% are planning to use the service in the future.  Interestingly, members of Generation X are the most likely to need extra space for their stuff, followed by baby boomers and millennials. “As a service largely responding to life events, self storage is becoming increasingly popular. The recent need to carve out space at home for…