Author: Brad Beckett

We have reported about this problem several times now.  It’s almost criminal, in fact National REIA’s Charles Tassell even said “Let’s face it, the government is so inept they cannot give away money!”   Indeed…Today’s infographic from Statista points out how the $46 BILLION in Emergency Rental Assistance has been incredibly slow to reach tenants.  As of July 31, only around $5.2 billion of the $46.6 billion in program funding has been given out.  Good grief…… Well, as always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!! Hat tip to Statista

We have had several posts over the years about the lucrative student housing market.  A recent report from CNBC’s Diana Olick says demand this year is up over 2%, even in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic.  She also points out that 70% of students live in off-campus housing. Click here to watch on CNBC.com.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 18.6% annual gain for June, 2021.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 18.5% and their 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% year-over-year gain. “We have previously suggested that the strength in the U.S. housing market is being driven in part by reaction to the COVID pandemic, as potential buyers move from urban apartments to suburban homes. June’s data are consistent with this hypothesis. This demand surge may simply represent an acceleration of purchases that would have occurred anyway over the next several years. Alternatively, there may have…

The list keeps growing of small business men & woman who have been economically harmed (and in many cases ruined) by the CDC’s unconstitutional eviction moratorium.  Indeed…. Breitbart News is reporting that an Air Force veteran in New York state is now living out of her car after the eviction moratorium prevented her from evicting tenants who withheld over $23k rent for over the past year.  In addition, it was reported that the landlord and her tenants qualify for federal rental assistance, however the U.S. Treasury has only distributed 10% of the allotted funds AND of the $2.6 billion in…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices were up 1.6% in June and up 17.4% from Q2, 2020.  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, and…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were down 1.8% in July, 2021.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) fell to 110.7.  In addition, they report that year-over-year contract signings were also down 8.5%.  They say the market may be starting to slightly cool but low inventory is still playing a part.  Indeed… “The market may be starting to cool slightly, but at the moment there is not enough supply to match the demand from would-be buyers,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “That said, inventory is slowly increasing…

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says vacation-rental ownership among young adults is on the rise across the country.  They look at several young people who find that rental income is worth it despite the challenges involved – such as lack of credit history, student debt or limited time to save for a down payment.  Indeed… “I believe real estate is the safest and most sustainable way to grow wealth,” says Mr. North, who purchased the house in the high $200,000s. He started renting out his place the first week the pandemic hit. “Housing is so hot…

According to Black Knight’s “first look” report for July, 2021, overall delinquency volumes continued to edge closer to their pre-pandemic levels, however the number of serious delinquencies were still significantly elevated at the end of July.  They point out that around 1.45 million borrowers remained 90+ days past due (not yet in foreclosure) entering August.  Black Knight says the potential foreclosure activity in the coming months warrants close observation.  Indeed… Click here to read the full report at Black Knight.

In a recent essay on FOXNews.com, former Cincinnati Mayor & deputy undersecretary of HUD, Ken Blackwell, says we often expect politicians to enact constitutionally dubious laws & executive orders, but usually they at least pretend that their actions are legal.   However, he says President Biden has dropped any pretenses when he recently reimposed the CDC’s eviction moratorium, after previous statements saying it wouldn’t pass constitutional muster.  Blackwell says Biden’s actions have now put small landlords on their last legs.  Indeed… (Editor’s note:  this was published just before the Supreme Court blocked the latest eviction moratorium on 8/26/21) “Without a consistent…

In a decision late Thursday evening (8/26), The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the CDC from enforcing a federal moratorium on evictions that was recently reinstated by the Biden Administration.   CNBC said called it a defeat for the Biden administration’s efforts to continue the eviction moratorium despite an earlier signal from the court that the government lacked the proper legal basis.  According to the The Wall Street Journal, in the unsigned opinion, the court’s conservative majority said the temporary eviction ban exceeded the CDC’s authority to combat communicable diseases, forcing landlords to bear the pandemic’s costs.  Indeed… “It would be one…