Author: Brad Beckett

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartments in January, 2022 was $1,374, up 12% year-over-year and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,698 up 14.1%, 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.

According to Black Knight’s “first look” report for December, 2021, the national delinquency rate ended the year at 3.38%, which report is just 0.1% above February 2020’s near record-low of 3.28% (right before the pandemic).  However, they point out that over half a million excess serious delinquencies remain (borrowers 90+ days past due) including those in active forbearance – more than twice pre-pandemic levels.  Likewise, Black Knight says that given the large volume of borrowers who’ve exited forbearance in recent months, the industry must keep a very close eye on the foreclosure metrics moving forward in 2022.  Indeed… Click here…

As many have suggested, the housing market will remain hot well into 2022.  With that in mind, Zillow says that the number one driver of hot markets will be in the south, and leading the way will be none other than Tampa, Florida.  In addition, they suggest that Jacksonville, Raleigh, San Antonio and Charlotte will fill out the list of the top five hottest markets for 2022, each having a strong combination of forecasted home value growth, economic fundamentals and fast-moving inventory with plentiful likely buyers.  Indeed…however, they do offer a cautionary note: “There are two large known risk factors…

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is reporting that America’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 6.9% in Q4 2021.  That figure is 4.6 percentage points higher than Q3’s annualized increase. “The increase in real GDP primarily reflected increases in private inventory investment, exports, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by decreases in both federal and state and local government spending.” Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices in November were up 1.1% from the previous month.  In addition, home prices were up 17.5% from one year ago.  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. Click here to read the full report at FHFA.gov.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were down 3.8% in December, 2021.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) dropped to 117.7.  However, the NAR says that, overall 2021 was a great period for housing in terms of sales & price appreciation.  Indeed… “Pending home sales faded toward the end of 2021, as a diminished housing supply offered consumers very few options…Mortgage rates have climbed steadily the last several weeks, which unfortunately will ultimately push aside marginal buyers.”  Said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. Click here to read the…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in December, 2021 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 811k, which is 11.9% higher than November’s revised rate but is 14% lower than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in December was $377,700 with an average sales price of $457,300.  There were an estimated 403k new houses for sale at the end of December representing a 6-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

We have been seeing this data for many years now and it never gets old.  Today’s infographic from Keeping Current Matters sums it up quite nicely;  Americans choose real estate as the best long-term investment for 8 years in a row (citing Gallup polling data).  Indeed…  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Keeping Current Matters.

According to CNBC’s Diana Olick, many developers are changing unused office space into high-demand apartment space at a record rate.  Some of the projects are in even places that current zoning wouldn’t allow – with Philadelphia and Washington, DC leading the market.  Indeed… Click here to watch the full report at CNBC.com.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 18.1% annual gain for November, 2021, which they say is a record high.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 16.8% and their 20-City Composite posted a 18.3% year-over-year gain. “We have previously suggested that the strength in the U.S. housing market is being driven in part by a change in locational preferences as households react to the COVID pandemic. More data will be required to understand whether this demand surge represents an acceleration of purchases that would have occurred over the next several years or reflects…