Author: Brad Beckett

According to their Year-End 2020 U.S. Home Sales Report, ATTOM Data Solutions says profits on home sales increased in 9 out of 10 Housing Markets in 2020 with the national median home price up 13%.  In addition the report says sellers nationwide realized price gains of $68,843 (a 34.7% ROI) on the typical sale, up from $53,700 in 2019 and $48,500 two years ago. “Last year marked a unique year in the history of home prices and profits in the United States. A once-in-a-century health crisis tore through much of the nation’s economy but seemed to have the opposite effect…

According to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Insights (HPI) report, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 9.2% year-over-year in December.  CoreLogic predicts that home prices will increase on a month-over-month basis by 0.2% through January, and on a year-over-year basis by 2.9% through December 2021. “Two record lows are fueling home price gains: for-sale inventory and mortgage rates. Prospective sellers with flexible timetables have opted to delay listing their home until the pandemic fades or they are vaccinated. We can expect more inventory to come available in the second half of the year, leading to slowing in price growth…

The U.S. government is reporting that the national vacancy rates in Q4 2020 were 6.5% for rental housing and 1% for homeowner housing.  The national homeownership rate for Q4 2020 was 65.8%.  In addition, approximately 89.1% of the housing units in the United States in Q4 were occupied and 10.9% were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units made up 58.6% of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 30.4% of the inventory. Click here to read the full release at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Life is a continuing learning experience and no one is perfect….and from time to time the best of us need to be reminded to say “please” or “thank you, “sir” or “ma’am” as well as many other little things that might seem trivial, but can set the stage for a positive interaction.  Today’s infographic from Business Insider reminds us that there are 8 phone etiquette rules that every professional should know.  Some of them are patently obvious but a couple might surprise you.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “We’ve all experienced that thoughtless person who yells down the…

On a recent episode of the Rental Property Owner & Real Estate Investor Podcast, Brian Hamrick talks with Martin Saenz about the state of note investing during the pandemic and helping homeowners stay in their homes.  Martin has directly helped over a thousand families stay in their homes, and countless more through the influence of his mentorship.  In this episode, he is going to discuss how he’s working with his borrowers to help them avoid foreclosure, the types of note opportunities he’s investing in, what he’s expecting to happen in the next 12 months, as well as the $50 Million…

Rentable (formerly known as ABODO) says that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in February was $1,124 with two-bedroom units coming in at $1391.  They point out that not one city moved more than 8% in any of their top ten loser & gainer lists, which they say is a strong indication of a lackluster market.  Indeed… “Unfortunately, uncertainty prevails, as the vaccine rollout has been rocky, and the stock market has been anything but orderly. Interestingly, oil prices have firmed and crossed the $50 barrier as the oil market views Biden’s presidency as a precursor to tightened…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in December was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,490.4 billion, which is 1% above than November’s revised estimate.  In addition, December’s figure was 5.7% higher than December, 2019.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $691 billion in December, which is 3.1% higher than November’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for February, 2021 showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,231 (up 0.6%) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,516 (up 1.7%).  Be sure to look at their list of the top 100 metro areas. Click here to read the full report at Zumper.com.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were up slightly in December, 2020.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) fell slightly to 125.5, the fourth straight month of declines.  In addition, they report that year-over-year contract signings were up 21.4% with all regions seeing double-digit year-over-year increases.  Once again, like a broken record, we find a lack of inventory influencing the market…. “Pending home sales contracts have dipped during recent months, but I would attribute that to having too few homes for sale,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.…

According to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, the rate of home price increases reported a 9.5% annual gain in November, 2020.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 8.8% and the 20-City Composite posted a 9.1% year-over-year gain.  The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are one of the leading measures of U.S. residential real estate prices, tracking changes in the value of residential real estate both nationally as well as in 20 metropolitan regions. “Recent data are consistent with the view that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban…