Author: Brad Beckett

It seems like yesterday, but a couple months ago we posted about the Treasury Department patting itself on the back for spending $1.5 billion in rental assistance out of the nearly $46 billion allocated.  Now, fast-forward to October and we learn that only an addition $8.5 billion has been spent, or around 20% of the total.  As reported by Bloomberg & various media outlets, the Treasury Department is boasting that $2.8 billion was released last month, bringing the total to $10.7 billion, out of the $46.5 billion appropriated by Congress to prevent evictions during last year’s Covid-19 pandemic.  Reportedly, just…

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 19.8% annual gain for August, 2021, basically the same as the previous  month.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 18.6% and their 20-City Composite posted a 19.7% year-over-year gain – both down from the previous month. “The U.S. housing market showed continuing strength in August 2021,” says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI.  Every one of our city and composite indices stands at its all-time high, and year-over-year price growth continues to be very strong, although moderating somewhat…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in September, 2021 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800k, which is 14% higher than August’s revised rate but is 17.6% lower than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in September was $408,800 with an average sales price of $451,700.  There were an estimated 379k new houses for sale at the end of September representing a 5.7-month supply at the current sales rate.Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to Black Knight’s “first look” report for September, 2021, the national delinquency rate on first lien mortgages fell slightly to 3.91% in September, the first time it’s been below 4% in 18 months.  However, Black Knight points out that nearly 400k mortgage holders exited forbearance plans in the first two weeks of October alone, meaning it will be essential to track foreclosure metrics closely in the coming months. Click here to read the full report at Black Knight.

On a recent episode of Rent Perfect podcast David Pickron says “show me the money” and stop chasing your tenant(s) down every month to get your rent payment, without hassle. Rent Perfect is the solution rental property owners & managers have been crying out for! Their Online Lease Agreement allows you to send your tenant(s) a customized lease agreement, electronically & securely. They offer the most accurate & thorough credit & background screening available. Members of National REIA receive a discounted set up fee. Click here to listen on Spotify.com.

A new report from Redfin says mortgage payments rose faster than rents for the 8th consecutive month in September.  They say average monthly rents increased 11% nationwide over the past year- the highest growth rate in at least 2 years. However. the national median monthly mortgage payment for homebuyers went up even faster, climbing 15% since September 2020. Redfin says this is the 9th consecutive month that growth in median mortgage payments for new homebuyers has outpaced that of rents. Click here to read the full report at Redfin.com.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were up 7% in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.29 million (down 2.3% from one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of September was 1.27 million units, down 13% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 2.4-month supply at the current sales pace with properties remaining on the market for around 17 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types was $352,800, up 13.3% from September, 2020. Click here to read the full report at the National Association of Realtors.

There is one thing that unites all of us, whether we have a disability or know someone who does, and that is the need for safe, clean and quality housing. Today’s graphic from the U.S. Census Bureau illustrates the number of Americans living with several types of disabilities, broken down by age and sex. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the U.S. Census Bureau.

We’ve had several posts about investing in student housing and college towns.  A recent report on Realtor.com says there’s nothing quite like the buzz of a college town.  That’s why they crunched the numbers to find the best college towns to buy a home for any stage of life – from starting a career to raising a family, to forever homes.  To get their numbers, they looked at about 200 cities with at least 10k residents where undergraduates make up at least 20% of the population.  Next they factors in things like related businesses around them; lots of bars and…

According to ATTOM Data’s Q3 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, lenders started the foreclosure process on 25,209 U.S. properties in Q3, up 32% from Q2 and up 67% from a year ago.  ATTOM says this is the first double digit quarterly percent increase since 2014.  Overall, there were a total of 45,517 properties with foreclosure filings in the U.S.  This figure is up 34% from Q2 and up 68% from one year ago.  In addition, lenders repossessed 7,574 U.S. properties through foreclosure (REO) in Q3, up 22% from Q2 and up 46% from one year ago – the first quarterly…