Author: Brad Beckett

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) discusses the thorny issues of beach access along the Florida panhandle.  According to the WSJ, Walton County has 26 miles of coastline and looks like something from a postcard with soft, sugar-white sand and emerald green water.  However, those without private beaches can only get access to public stretches of sand at three state parks or through public access points, which are scattered throughout neighborhoods and between private properties.  In addition, they point out that beach rights didn’t used to be such a controversial issue in Walton County, where…

On a recent episode of the Rental Property Owner & Real Estate Investor Podcast, Brian Hamrick talks with George McCleary, an expert on squatters and how to prevent, detect, and eject them.  George discusses the squatting epidemic, as well as related crimes like deed fraud – hot-button issues that affect all homeowners and rental property owners nationwide. “You may have seen his viral video “I Stole a House” which details how squatters exploit the system for illicit financial gain. It got tens of millions of views across all platforms, and led him to be a guest on Dr. Phil and…

According to recent data from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing, there are 6.5 million second homes in America, representing 4.6% of the total housing stock.  The state with the largest number of second homes was Florida with 1 million homes (15.3% of all 2nd homes).  Interestingly, half of the country’s second homes are found in just seven states – Florida, California, New York, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. U.S. counties where at least half of their housing stock is second homes were widely spread over in 14 states – four in Wisconsin, four in Colorado, two in Michigan,…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix Multifamily Report, the average U.S. multifamily rent was $1,731 in August, 2024.  Year-over-year growth was 0.7%.  Yardi says multifamily performance held steady in August as the market eagerly anticipates interest rate cuts in September. “Multifamily advertised rents were essentially flat in August as the market prepared to adjust to evolving economic conditions, which include potentially lower interest rates and slower growth. While likely to be incremental rather than drastic, change is nontheless brewing.” Click here to read the full report at Yardi.

According to the ADP National Employment Report for August, 2024, the labor market continued to cool in August, with private employers adding 99k jobs. The ADP National Employment Report is an independent and high-frequency view of the private-sector labor market based on the aggregated and anonymized payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. employees. “The job market’s downward drift brought us to slower-than-normal hiring after two years of outsized growth. The next indicator to watch is wage growth, which is stabilizing after a dramatic post-pandemic slowdown.”  Said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. Click here to read the full report…

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142k in August, 2024 with the unemployment rate coming in at 4.2% (7.1 million people).  The BLS says both of these numbers are higher than one year ago.  Indeed… Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in July, 2024 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,162.7 billion, which is 0.3% lower than June’s revised number.  However, July’s revised estimate is 6.7% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $941.6 billion in July, which is 0.4% lower than June’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

We follow inflation pretty closely here on our news site.  It’s an important indicator that ripples through the entire economy.  A recent chart from Statista illustrates those CPI categories that have been hardest hit by inflation over the past few years.  As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “…there’s no way around the fact that consumer prices in the United States have risen sharply over the past three years, as several factors came together to form a perfect storm of inflationary pressures.” Hat tip to Statista.

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report for August, 2024.  According to their data, median rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1,534 (up 1.6%) and $1,915 (up 2.7%) for two-bedrooms.  Be sure to check out their entire list of the top 100 metro areas. “In an era where the amount of new supply is shattering records, it’s remarkable to see vacancy rates holding steady this year…Strong renter retention alongside our growing national rent index underscores the robust demand present in the U.S. market.”   Said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades. Click here to read the full report…

We reported back in the Spring that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to combat and deter money laundering in the U.S. residential real estate sector by increasing transparency. Now, according to American Land Title Association (ALTA), the U.S. Treasury Department’s FinCEN issued a final rule requiring certain people involved in real estate closings and settlements to report information to the agency about all-cash residential transactions nationwide involving legal entities and trusts.  The effective date will be December, 1, 2025 and a fact sheet can be found by clicking here. ALTA…