Author: Brad Beckett

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…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in December, 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 842k which is 1.6% above than November’s revised rate, but is 15.2% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in December was $355,900 with an average sales price of $394,900.  There were an estimated 302k new houses for sale at the end of December representing a 4.3–month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Fortunebuilders reminds us that real estate investors are constantly looking for new ways to find great deals. They say there are several options for investors looking to get ahead of the competition, including short sales, foreclosures, and REO properties.  Today’s infographic takes a look at these options to help answer the question; “Which property type best aligns with my strategy?”  Indeed….. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “Whether it be an original marketing strategy, a trending lead generation tool, or a negotiation technique to help you move forward, the most successful investors are consistently up to date on the…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices were up 1% in November and up 11% 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.  The FHFA’s HPIs are built on tens of millions of home sales and offer insights about home price fluctuations at the levels of the nation, census division, state, metro area, county, ZIP code,…

According to Black Knight’s “first look” report for December, 2020 ended with at least 1.7 million more seriously delinquent homeowners than when it started as well as foreclosures being at a record low.  In addition, they say despite the year-over-year increase, the national delinquency rate saw only modest improvement in December, falling to 6.08% –  the lowest level since April 2020. Click here to read the full report at Black Knight.

We have recently seen two other big mover report their annual moving patterns and now we’re going to take a look at North American’s.  Interestingly, they say that despite being an atypical year, Americans are following similar moving trends as prior years.  One thing that sets this report apart from others is the ability view & compare historic data thanks to their interactive chart.  Also, be sure to check out their first takeaway, which corroborates what we have been seeing for some time. Their key takeaways: People are fleeing California for Texas and Idaho. Illinois, New York, and New Jersey…