Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in February, 2022 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,704.4 billion, which is 0.5% higher than January’s revised estimate and 11.2% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $850.6 billion in February, which is 1.1% above January’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

National REIA’s Charles Tassell was a recent guest on the Scott Sloan Show (WLW 700 AM, Cincinnati, Ohio) to discuss the languishing covid impact on housing.  In 2021 emergency rental assistance funds began to slowly trickle out of non-profit agencies.  Many times renters were waiting not just weeks, but months to receive confirmation of a check, let alone the check itself. Low-income housing advocates, always pushing to limit housing providers’ rights, sought to establish a very limited form of affirmative defense. The idea being that, if a renter was behind due to Covid, and their money was in process, the…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartments in March, 2022 was $1,400, up 12.2% year-over-year and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,723 up 13.8%, 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 S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 19.2% annual gain for January, 2022, another near record high.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 17.5% and their 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% year-over-year gain. “Last fall we observed that home prices, although continuing to rise quite sharply, had begun to decelerate. Even that modest deceleration was on pause in January. The 19.2% year-over-year change for January was the fourth-largest reading in 35 years of history.”  Said Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI. Click here to read the full report at S&P Dow…

We post a lot about where people are moving to and from – in fact, the ones about U-Haul one-way rentals are always very popular!  Today’s infographic from the  U.S. Census Bureau takes a look at the percentage change in population for all U.S. counties from 2020-21.  In other words, which counties are seeing an influx of residents and which ones are losing them.  As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday! Hat tip to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Treasury Department said on the $46.6 billion rental assistance program has disbursed/obligated over $30 billion to renters & landlords through the end of February, 2022.  In addition, they report that the “vast majority” of funding  will be exhausted by mid-year.  The Emergency Rental Assistance Program reportedly spent about $1.93 billion spent on rent, utilities and arrears in February alone and aided 462,552 households. Click here to read the full report at Reuters. Click here to read the full release at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, overall state personal income increased 7.4% in 2021 after a 6.6% increase in 2020.  The percent change in personal income across individual states ranged from 9.6% in Idaho to 4.5% in Vermont. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

According to CoreLogic’s latest Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), U.S. single-family rent prices started 2022 strong, increasing 12.6% year over year in January compared to 3.9% in January 2021.  In order to gain a detailed view of single-family rental prices, CoreLogic examines four tiers of rental prices. National single-family rent growth across the four tiers, and the year-over-year changes, were as follows: Lower-priced (75% or less than the regional median): 12%, up from 3% in January 2021 Lower-middle priced (75% to 100% of the regional median): 13.3%, up from 3.2% in January 2021 Higher-middle priced (100% to 125% of the regional…

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing says the prices of goods used in residential construction (excluding energy) rose 1.6% in February, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.   Their data show that building materials prices increased 20.4%, year-over-year, and have risen 31.3% since January 2020.Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

A recent video story in the Wall Street Journal’s The Economics of…” highlighted how Home Depot has become the dominant player in home improvement by catering to its professional customers.  In addition, as the WSJ points out, they are the world’s largest home-improvement retail company, with a net worth of about $350 billion.  Indeed… “Our Orange Promise is to deliver the most convenient experience and best value to our customers. Please take a few minutes to watch the Wall Street Journal feature on The Home Depot which highlights how we are growing our business with the Pro customer.”  Said Brian…