Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,793,000, which is 0.3% higher than February’s revised number and 3.9% higher than one year ago.  March’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 574k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,873,000, which is 0.4% higher than February’s revised number.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 672 in March. Click here to read the full report at…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 2.7% in March to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million (down 4.5% from one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of March was 950k units, down 9.5% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 2-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 17 days.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in March was $382k, which was up 15.2% from one year ago.  The NAR says this marks 121 consecutive months of year-over-year increases,…

With Springtime in full gear now is a good time to get up to speed with those deadly whirlwinds that few of us ever want to see firsthand, tornadoes.  Today’s infographic from Weather.gov tells us about the various types of tornadoes and how to correctly identify them.  In addition, Home Depot has put together a handy severe weather emergency checklist to not only be prepared but keep track of what you have on-hand and and supplies you might need – for any disaster.  Remember, severe weather can strike at any time and with little to no warning.  And, as always,…

On a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke discusses inflation hitting a 40-year-high, where rents are growing the fastest, the high cost of building new homes, mortgage rates hit the 5% mark and home values appear to be rising much faster than property taxes. Click here to listen on Spotify.com.

New data from ATTOM says the average tax on single-family homes increased at the smallest pace in five years, rising 1.8% from $3,719 in 2020 to $3,785 in 2021. Interestingly, their report says the latest figures show an average effective tax rate of 0.9%, down from 1.1% in 2020.  The data comes from ATTOM’s 2021 Property Tax Analysis report.  Indeed… States with the highest effective property tax rates in 2021 included Illinois (1.86%), New Jersey (1.73%), Connecticut (1.67%), Vermont (1.55%) and Pennsylvania (1.37%). States with the lowest effective tax rates in 2021 were in Hawaii (0.27%), Alabama (0.37%), Utah (0.39%),…

As we continue to see, Americans have been on the move of the last couple years.  A new report from StorageCafé about U.S. migration patterns shows renter interest grew stronger, with a 10% increase in renter applications in 2021 versus 2020.  They also point out that some big urban areas attracted large renter cohorts, but nearby smaller cities “stole the limelight” as preferred destinations for apartment hunters.  To come up with their data StorageCafe looked into 3.4M rental applications from RentGrow from 2021, illustrating renter interest across 257 markets with populations of over 100,000. They determined preferred migration destinations based…

Google is planning some big investments across America this year. In a recent blog post, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, announced plans to invest approximately $9.5 billion in their U.S. offices and data centers in 2022. Their projections indicate that at least 12,000 new full-time Google jobs will be created by the end of the year, and thousands more among their local suppliers, partners and communities. Indeed… “Google’s offices and data centers provide vital anchors to our local communities and help us contribute to their economies. In the U.S., over the past five years, we’ve invested more than…

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing says that, compared to one year ago, average hourly earnings for residential building workers continue to rise even as the construction labor market remains tight.  Citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), they report that average hourly earnings (AHE) for residential building workers was $28.66 in February, 2022 which is 6% from one year ago.  This data accounts for approximately two-third of the total employment in residential building industry.Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was up 1.2% in March, 2022.  However, the all items index was up 8.5% for the 12 months ending in March, continuing a 40-year high streak.  See chart below. “Increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted all items increase…” Click here to read the full release at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to the latest Yardi Matrix Multifamily Report, the average U.S. multifamily rents in March increased $14 to an all-time high of $1,642 (up 14.8% year-over-year).  Yardi says while demand is expected to remain healthy, rent growth is likely to decelerate as concerns grow about the economy. “The big picture that emerges from March multifamily data is that the market remains healthy, though signs point to the inevitable deceleration in some markets.” [HOWEVER] “Rent growth continues to be a national phenomenon, led by the migration to the Southeast and Southwest. The top five metros—Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas and Phoenix—all…