Author: Brad Beckett

They’re back….Last year, due to the pandemic, AAA declined to issue their annual Memorial Day travel forecast for the first time in decades.  Now, fast-forward one year, the pandemic is winding down (hopefully) and AAA is back with their prediction that over 37 million Americans will travel this Memorial Day Weekend.  However, they do point that there will be nearly 6 million fewer travelers than pre-pandemic.  Indeed… “As more people get the COVID-19 vaccine and consumer confidence grows, Americans are demonstrating a strong desire to travel this Memorial Day…This pent-up demand will result in a significant increase in Memorial Day…

A new report from ATTOM Data Solutions says that median home prices increased from Q1 2020 to the first Q1 2021 in 75% of Opportunity Zones and rose by at least 10% in nearly to two-thirds of them. ATTOM says those percentages roughly tracked trends in areas of the U.S. outside of Opportunity Zones, continuing patterns from the fourth quarter of last year.  However, they also point out that home prices in Opportunity Zones continued to lag far behind the national average in Q1.  Around 43% of zones had median prices of less than $150,000. “Some of the country’s poorest…

Black Knight is reporting that forbearance volumes rose by 16k (+0.74%), in May, which they say is only the second increase over the past 12 weeks.  As of May 18, 2021 there were 2.18 million (4.1% of homeowners) mortgages remaining in COVID-19-related forbearance plans.  However they do point out that nearly 190k plans are still listed with May 2021 expiration dates. “Plan starts were driven up this week thanks mostly to an increase in restart activity, which was expected for the middle of the month and amidst the large volume of removals we’ve seen in recent months. Removals also fell…

Winning…..For the 8th year in a row, Gallup is reporting that more Americans prefer real estate over other long-term investment vehicles for growing wealth.  When broken down, the numbers show that 41% prefer real estate (up 6 points from 2020), 26% prefer the stock market, 18% prefer gold, 9% prefer CDs/bank accounts, and 3% prefer bonds. Click here to read the full report at Gallup.com.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 2.7% in April to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.851 million (up 33.9% from one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of April was 1.16 million units, down 20.5% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 2.4-month supply at the current sales pace with properties remaining on the market for around 17 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types was $341,600, up 19.1% from April, 2020.  Once again, there just aren’t enough homes for sale out there to meet demand. “Home…

Today’s image from infographicsarchive.com, quite frankly, nails it.  America is a rich country because we are free.  They point out that the average American has more than one car, air conditioning, and eats out several times a week (pandemic aside).  Take a look at the necessary building blocks mentioned below….And, as always, stay safe (the light at the end of the tunnel is getting nearer by the day) and have a Happy Friday!!! “Today, the average American has more than one car, has air conditioning, and eats out several times a week.  There’s no doubt that, on average, Americans are…

Redfin says the rise in demand for second homes is more than twice the increase for primary homes, with the number of buyers who locked in mortgage rates for primary homes rising a whopping 178% from one year ago.  They say that these second-home buyers are “out in full force” as many so-called wealthy Americans work remotely from vacation destinations.  Indeed… “Demand for vacation homes remains elevated as wealthy Americans continue to have the freedom to work remotely and earn money from robust stock portfolios and rising home values. Even as some offices start to reopen, many Americans plan to…

According to their recent Q1 2021 U.S. Sales Report, ATTOM Data Solutions says nationwide homeseller profit margins increased to 34.2% in Q1 2021, up from 30.8% in Q1 2020. The typical home-sale profit in Q1 2021 increased 26% to $70,050 from $55,750 in Q1 2020.  Interestingly, the report also dug into homeownership tenure data which revealed the top 10 U.S. counties with the greatest year-over-year increases in average homeownership tenure. “Homeowners who sold in the first quarter of 2021 had owned their homes an average of 7.94 years, down from the high for this century of 8.17 years in the…

Oh what a difference a month can make.  The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,569,000, which is 9.5% lower than March’s revised number.  However, this figure is 67.3% higher than one year ago.  April’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 470k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,760,000, which was 0.3% higher than March’s revised number.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of…

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their monthly National Economic Outlook where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. National Economic Outlook By Ingo Winzer May, 2021 As more and more people are vaccinated and as more states allow businesses to open, it’s a good time to think about the longer-term fall-out from the pandemic, both nationally and for individual markets. But first, let’s remember that the pandemic is still here and could upset the optimistic outlook. If large numbers of people refuse vaccination or deadlier variants of the virus circulate…