We first posted about this back in June; The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently finalized a rule they say will remove around $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of nearly 15 million people. The CFPB says medical debts provide little predictive value to lenders about borrowers’ ability to repay other debts. The new rule amends Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) The CFPB’s action will ban the inclusion of medical bills on credit reports used by lenders and prohibit lenders from using medical information in their lending decisions. The rule will increase…
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
Statista says “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) services have gained popularity as an alternative to credit cards or other “traditional” payment methods. In fact, they say 41% of U.S. adults have used Buy Now, Pay Later services in the past 12 months with another 22% saying they haven’t but could in the future. Indeed…. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Statista.
Each year, Zumper’s Annual Rent Report takes a deep-dive into past year of data, knowledge of economic trends, Zumper surveys, internal data on renter search, and ongoing conversations with clients, experts, and others in the industry. They say this intel gives them a comprehensive view of 2024 and a look at what’s to come in 2025. 2024 was the year of the renter. Record high levels of supply came online and many markets that saw dramatic rent spikes in 2022 and 2023, such as cities in Texas, Florida, and Arizona, finally experienced some softening. Renters who moved into new properties…
According to U-Haul’s annual Growth Index, the trend of southern states netting larger numbers of one-way U-Haul rentals continued in 2024, with South Carolina topping U-Haul Growth Index for the first time. In addition, Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee round out their five top growth states. Not surprisingly, California had the greatest net loss of U-Haul equipment and ranks 50th for the 5th year in a row. U-Haul’s Growth Index was compiled from over 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and moving container transactions. Indeed… “State-to-state transactions from the past year reaffirm customer tendencies that have been pronounced for…
You will often hear advice from National REIA about the importance of maintaining contact with elected officials as well as candidates for public office. Its importance cannot be emphasized enough. With that in mind, on a recent episode of the AZREIA Show, Michael Del Prete talked with Matt Evans, a recent candidate for Mayor of Phoenix, about the challenges & insights, sacrifices, media hurdles, and support he encountered during his recent candidacy. Despite running as an underdog, Matt garnered support and raised awareness about city leadership. Ultimately, Matt was unsuccessful but he learned invaluable lessons. Take a listen… Click here…
According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices were up 4.5% from October 2023 to October 2024, after rising 0.4% in October. The FHFA HPI is the nation’s only collection of public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from all 50 states and over 400 American cities that extend back to the mid-1970s. “Annual house price gains have been trending down since February, stabilizing around 4.5 percent during the last three months…Even with elevated house prices and mortgage rates putting continued pressure on affordability,…
The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 3.6% annual increase for October, 2024. Their 10-City Composite increased 4.8% and their 20-City Composite increased 4.2%, year-over-year. “With the latest data covering the period prior to the election, our national index has shown continued improvement…Removing the political uncertainly risk has led to an equity market rally; it will be telling should the similar sentiment occur among homeowners” Said Brian D. Luke, Head of Commodities, Real & Digital Assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). Click here to read the full report at S&P Dow Jones…
The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in October, 2024 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,152 billion, which is roughly the same as October’s revised number. However, November’s revised estimate is 3% higher than one year ago. Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $906 billion in November, which is 0.1% higher than October’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.
The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales rose 2.2% in in October, 2024, which the NAR says is the 4th straight month of increases. The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) came in at 79 in November. The NAR says expectations are being recalibrated…Indeed. “Consumers appeared to have recalibrated expectations regarding mortgage rates and are taking advantage of more available inventory…mortgage rates have averaged above 6% for the past 24 months. Buyers are no longer waiting for or expecting mortgage rates to fall substantially. Furthermore, buyers are in a better…
The Visual Capitalist says the composition of American households has shifted significantly since 1960 as fewer people have kids and the scale of economic resources has declined. In fact, they point out that the number of households without kids now exceeds those with kids. And, in 1960, the share of U.S. households that consisted of married parents was 44.2% – which since has dropped in half. Indeed…Today’s graphic illustrates (using Census data) how U.S. households have changed from 1960 to 2023. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip tip to the Visual Capitalist.
