Author: Brad Beckett

After sifting through recent home sales data from the National Association of Realtors, CNBC’s Diana Olick reports that 56% of existing homeowners, that sold their home after March, were in the suburbs, compared to 48% pre-pandemic.  She says this is indicative of the pandemic driving buyers to larger homes in the suburbs.  Indeed… Click here to watch the story at CNBC.com.

The Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) is reporting that renters in New York City owe in excess of $1 billion in unpaid rent during the Coronavirus pandemic, according to data from a recent survey.  The WSJ says this figure is the most recent indicator that unemployment benefits & federal stimulus packages have been inadequate to alleviate what they say is a growing financial burden.  Interestingly, they do point out that both landlord and tenant advocacy groups have lobbied heavily for more government rental assistance during the  pandemic.  Indeed… “The Covid-19 relief package passed by Congress in December included $1.3…

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,669,000, which is 5.8% above November’s revised number.  December’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 312k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,709,000, which was 4.5% higher than November’s revised number.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 437k in December. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

With everyone bracing themselves for big changes in national taxes being ushered in with the Biden administration, a new report from the Tax Foundation reminds us that many states had changes in their tax codes that began in the new year.  In fact, 26 states and the District of Columbia had notable tax changes at the beginning of 2021 – many of which were directly adopted by voters in this past November’s election. “Because most states’ legislative sessions were cut short in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer tax changes were adopted in 2020 than in a typical year.…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were up 0.7% in December to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.76 million (up 22.2% from one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of December was 1.07 million units, down 16.4% from November and down 23% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at an all-time low 1.9-month supply at the current sales pace with properties remaining on the market for around 21 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types was $314,300, up 13.5% from December, 2019. “Home sales rose in December, and for 2020…

Today’s infographic from the Visual Capitalist reminds us that Airbnb has a market cap close to $90 billion, making them one of the largest businesses in travel & tourism.  They point out that nights & experiences booked by customers have shot up from 72 million in 2015 to 326 million in 2019 – with the gross dollar value of those bookings surging from $8.1 billion to $38 billion….Indeed.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.

Among the many executive orders signed by President Joe Biden on his first day in office was one ordering the CDC to extend their eviction moratorium though March 31, 2021.  The following statement was issued by the new CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky on the matter: Media Statement from CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, on Extending the Eviction Moratorium As a protective public health measure, I will extend the current order temporarily halting residential evictions until at least March 31, 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to our nation’s health. It has also triggered…

We have had several posts about the self storage industry and its growing impact on real estate investing.  A recent report from STORAGECafé takes a look at how much self storage units actually cost across America.  They say the industry continues to expand by meeting the need for safe & affordable storage space.  In fact, they point out that while there is currently about 1.4 billion square feet of self storage space in the U.S., 13%, of that (roughly 190 million sq. ft.)  was built over the last five years. “The demand for storage has increased substantially in recent times,…

Last week we posted United Van Lines’ annual moving report and this week we’re taking a look at Atlas Van Lines’ 2020 Migration Patterns Study.  According to the report, 23 states registered as balanced (in/out moves were roughly equal) 12 were outbound, and 15 were inbound.  In addition, their data showed a decrease in moves from 2019 to 2020. “Millions of Americans relocated in 2020 because of COVID-19, moving out of college dorms that abruptly closed, moving back to home states to work remotely, moving out of housing that no longer suited their lifestyle and more. Alternatively, companies relocated employees…

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced they are extending their moratorium on foreclosures and evictions from single-family foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) through February 28, 2021.  The foreclosure moratorium applies to Enterprise-backed (Fannie Mae & Freddie mac), single-family mortgages only.  The REO eviction moratorium applies to properties that have been acquired by an Enterprise through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions.  The current moratorium was set to expire at the end of January. “To keep our communities safe, and families in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, FHFA is extending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s foreclosure and eviction…