Author: Brad Beckett

According to the ATTOM Data’s Q4 2022 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, there were 1.3 million (1,277,162) residential properties in the United States sitting vacant, representing 1.3%, or one in 78 homes.  A report also reveals that 270,470 residential properties in the U.S. are in the process of foreclosure in Q3 of this year, up 4.4% from Q2, 2022 and up 25.5% from Q3 of 2021. ATTOM says this latest increase marks the 4th straight quarter that pre-foreclosure properties have increased since a nationwide moratorium on lenders pursuing delinquent homeowners was lifted last July. However, among those pre-foreclosure properties,…

A recent Chart of the Week from the Mortgage Bankers Association says the mortgage payment to rent ratio (which was 1.46 in September) is the highest that it has been since the beginning of their series in 2009, with the chart below illustrating this fact.  The orange line relates the median principal and interest payment to the median asking rent, and the blue line relates the 25th percentile mortgage application payment to the median asking rent.  The MBA points out that, at the 25th percentile for monthly mortgage payments, the ratio is still below a value of 1. Which they…

Recent analysis of new home sales data by the NAHB’s Eye on Housing reveals that the share of cash purchases has climbed in each of the past three quarters to reach a 20-year high of 9.5% (14k sales).  They say this is the first time since 2007 that cash sales accounted for both a larger number as well as a larger share of the total.  In addition, according to the data, new home sales financed through FHA numbered 11k and accounted for 7.5% of the total in Q3 2022 – the smallest share since Q4 of 2007.  The share has…

The U.S. government is reporting that the national vacancy rates for Q3, 2022 were 6% for rental housing and 0.9% for homeowner housing.  The national homeownership rate for Q3, 2022 was 66%.  This figure 0.6% higher than Q2 and virtually unchanged form one year ago.  In addition, approximately 89.3% of the housing units in the United States in Q3 were occupied and 10.7% were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units made up 59% of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 30.3% of the inventory.  Vacant year-round units comprised 8.2% of total housing units, while 2% were vacant for seasonal use.…

Statista reminds us that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been called upon rarely since its creation in the 1970s.  In fact there have only been three instances where supply disruptions warranted the President of the United State to order a release: Operation Desert Storm (1991), Hurricane Katrina (2005), and during the so-called Arab Spring (2011) when oil stopped flowing from Libya and other countries. However, last spring, President Joe Biden authorized the release of 180 million barrels until the end of this year and an additional 15 million barrels last month in order to ease increasing gasoline prices.  Indeed…  Be…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in September, 2022 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,811.1 billion, which is 0.2% higher than August’s revised estimate but is 10.9% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $918 billion in September, which is about the same as August’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the latest CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), U.S. single-family home rental costs posted an 11.4% year-over-year increase in August, marking the 4th straight month of annual deceleration.  However, they do point out rental costs remained elevated, with annual growth running at about 5x the rate in August 2020. In addition they say a shortage of available rental units continues to fuel price growth. “Single-family rent prices in August were 26% higher than before the onset of the pandemic, adding an average of $400 per month to tenants’ monthly costs and compounding other household expenses caused by inflation…While annual…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices dropped 0.7% in August but were up 11.9% 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 prices declined in August at a similar pace to the previous month. This is the first time since March 2011 that the index has seen two consecutive months of decline…”  said Will…

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 13% annual gain for August, 2022.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 12.1% and their 20-City Composite posted a 13.1% year-over-year gain. “As the Federal Reserve moves interest rates higher, mortgage financing becomes more expensive and housing becomes less affordable. Given the continuing prospects for a challenging macroeconomic environment, home prices may well continue to decelerate.”  Said Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI. Click here to read the full report at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartments in October, 2022 was $1,491 (down 0.8% from September) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,832 (up 0.7% from September).  Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. “This reversal of widespread price hikes is fueled by several factors, including rising vacancy rates in some markets, a return to more typical seasonal moving patterns and, above all, fear of recession…” Click here to read the full report at Zumper.