Author: Brad Beckett

According to research from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing, the median lot size for homes sold in 2019 dropped to 8,177 square feet, or 0.188 of an acre – which they say is the first time this has happened since the Census Bureau began collecting this data.  The NAHB says the shrinking median lot size largely reflects the shift in speculatively built (or spec) home building towards smaller lots.  Interestingly, they point out that sizes still vary by region: “While the nation’s production of spec homes shifts towards smaller lots, the regional differences in lot sizes persist. Looking at single-family…

The CDC recently issued a set of FAQs (frequently asked questions) offering “non-binding” guidance with respect to their recent “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19” moratorium.  This order temporarily halted residential evictions of covered persons for nonpayment of rent September 4th through December 31st, 2020. National REIA’s Charles Tassell said “Numerous voices of a nationwide housing coalition have prevailed upon the CDC to, at a minimum, clarify their September 4th eviction moratorium edict. While there are numerous lawsuits currently in place, and additional clarifications that will be forthcoming, it is vitally important for landlords…

A recent essay in NY’s Daily News asserts that “landlords are people too” and addresses some of the current misdirected rage against landlords – most of whom are mom & pop operations – as well as dispelling the myths that landlords are both uncaring and rich.  As readers well know, those notions are both dangerous and flat out incorrect.  As the author, Charlotte Laws, points out, most landlords faithfully make repairs and don’t want to evict anyone because having an empty unit leaves the property owner with a loss of income (among other things).  She emphatically says that if small…

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their monthly National Economic Outlook where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. National Economic Outlook By Ingo Winzer (October, 2020)  In April, the number of jobs in the economy sank an unheard of 13 percent compared to last year. By July the loss was ‘only’ 7.7 percent and the possibility of a further quick recovery seemed possible as states re-opened their economy. But in August the loss was still 6.9 percent and now in September still 6.4 percent. The monthly improvement is becoming smaller…

Airbnb says that “trust is the real energy source” that drives them and part of maintaining that trust has been through implementing smart community policies and new technologies to protect their hosts, guests, their homes and neighborhoods.  With that in mind, Airbnb recently issued a new policy prohibiting one-night reservations over the upcoming Halloween weekend for entire home listings in the United States or Canada.   In addition, they have also implemented high-risk detection systems that will flag potentially problematic reservations for a manual review. Airbnb says they have already identified and proactively cancelled nearly 9k high-risk reservations in the U.S.…

Black Knight is reporting that during the first week of October, active mortgage forbearances fell 649k, representing an 18% reduction from the prior week and the largest single-week decline since the start of the pandemic. In addition, their McDash Flash Forbearance Tracker shows the national forbearance rate coming in at 5.6%, down 1.2% from the week before. As of October 6th, there are 2.97 million homeowners in COVID-19-related forbearance plans, representing $614 billion in unpaid principal. “Though the market continues to adjust to historic and unprecedented conditions, these are clear signs of long-term improvement…” Click here to read the full…

The Visual Capitalist reminds us that millions of Americans eat fast food every day – and some of us might even eat too much of it!  Today’s infographic takes a look at the venerable fast food industry and illustrates the 50 largest fast food chains by revenue.  As you might have suspected, McDonald’s is king of the pile.  Stay safe & healthy and have a Happy Friday! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.

The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) says that 79.4% of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by October 6th, 2020.  This figure is the same share who paid rent through October 6, 2019 and compares to 76.4% that paid by September 6th, 2020.  The  data comes from the NMHC’s Rent Payment Tracker which uses data from 11.4 million professionally managed apartment units across the country. “Our initial findings for October show that despite ongoing efforts by apartment community owners and operators to help residents facing financial distress through creative and nuanced payment plans, rent relief and other…

The Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says lower taxes are among the reasons why wealthy buyers from high-tax states like California & New York are buying homes in Puerto Rico where luxury developers are reporting that business is brisk.  According to the WSJ, sales of Puerto Rican luxury houses and condominiums have been spiking during the Coronavirus pandemic with developers reporting increasing sales volume & prices compared with 2019.  Of course it might also help that Puerto Rico doesn’t only has an income tax but doesn’t have any federal or local income taxes (for qualified residents). “As awful as…

According to data from ATTOM Data’s most recent U.S. Home Sales Report, homeowners who sold in Q2 had owned their homes an average of 7.95 years, slightly up from Q1 and nearly the same as the peak of 7.96 years back in Q4 2019.  ATTOM says that metros with the longest average homeownership tenures were along the east and west coasts.  Interestingly, while the report showed that 55% of metros saw declines in average homeownership tenure from Q1 to Q2, there were areas with significant increases. Click here to read the full report at ATTOMdata.com.