Author: Brad Beckett

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices were up 4.2% from November 2023 to November 2024, after rising 0.3% in November.  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 continued to moderate in November, with all nine Census divisions showing slower pace of growth than a year ago…The slowdown in price growth is likely due to…

Recent analysis from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing reveals young adults ages 25-34 are not moving out and are continuing to live with their parents, based on data from the 2023 American Community Survey.  In fact, data show that the share of adults living with parents or parents-in-law hovered just above 19% in 2023, stagnant from 2022.  They say this has had a profound impact on the housing market; Traditionally, young adults ages 25 to 34 make up around half of all first-time homebuyers. Consequently, the number and share of young adults in this age group that choose to stay…

According to the latest CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), U.S. single-family home rental prices continue to experience slower growth, registering a 1.5% increase in November, the lowest annual increase in 14 years. “Single-family annual rent growth slowed in November to the lowest rate in about 14 years. Wage growth outpaced single-family rent growth for much of the past two years which kept rent growth in positive territory…Despite the recent slowdown in rent growth demand for rentals should remain strong as wage and job growth are anticipated to remain strong this year.”  Said CoreLogic senior principal economist Molly Boesel. Click here…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales fell 5.5% in in December, 2024, following four consecutive months of increases. The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) came in at 74.2 in December.  The NAR says this drop wasn’t surprising. “After four straight months of gains in contract signings, one step back is not welcome news, but it is not entirely surprising…Economic data never moves in a straight line. High mortgage rates have not significantly dented housing demand due to greater numbers of cash transactions Said the NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in November, 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698k, which is 3.6% higher than November’s revised rate and is 6.7% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in December was $427k with an average sales price of $513,600.  There were an estimated 494k new houses for sale at the end of December representing a 8.5-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

We have had several posts with the forecasts & prognostications for 2025’s housing market.  They’re always interesting and exciting to look at.  With that in mind, today’s graphic from Keeping Current Matters takes a look at several “expert” forecasts and puts them all in one place.  Their conculsion; mortgage rates will slightly come down, home prices will rise, and there will be more homes for sale.  Indeed…..Happy investing, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Keeping Current Matters.

Rentcafe says 2024 was a year of transformations that were driven by shifting job markets, lifestyle changes and emerging trends in urban development. With that in mind, they say 2025 is poised to be an exciting year for rentals.  Their new report highlights those urban areas they believe will be hotspots for new residents, thriving businesses and fresh opportunities.  Indeed… Click here to read the full report at RentCafe.

A new report from WalletHub says certain states make it easier than others to raise a family.  They say the ideal state is one that’s affordable to live in that also offers a high degree of safety and good job prospects, quality education, healthcare and entertainment.  To that end, WalletHub analyzed all 50 states using 50 key indicators of family-friendliness (factors included median annual family income, housing affordability, health care quality, crime rate, and school quality) find the best & worst states to raise a family in 2025. “Raising a family has become significantly more expensive in recent years as…

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says the U.S. government has an in-house landlord, and President Trump is no fan.  In fact, they say the new administration is considering selling two-thirds of the federal government’s office stock – many of which has been poorly maintained and are sitting empty or underused, according to the GSA (Government Services Administration).  Interestingly, the GSA manages a huge portfolio of federal buildings nationwide that consists of nearly 370 million square feet.  Indeed… A GSA spokeswoman said: “GSA continues to work to right-size the federal portfolio, and is committed to…

According to ATTOM Data’s Year-End 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, there were 322,103 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions) – representing 0.23% of all U.S. housing units, down slightly from 2023 and down from a peak of 2.23% in 2010.  In addition, lenders started the foreclosure process on 253,306 properties in 2024, down 6% from 2023, up 174% from 2021, but down 25% form 2019 and down 88% from a peak of 2,139,005 in 2009. The continued decline in foreclosure activity throughout 2024 suggests a housing market that may be stabilizing, even as economic…