The NAHB’s Eye on Housing says that the general window characteristic that home buyers value more than any other is energy efficiency. Citing data from the 2021 What Home Buyers Really Want report, they say the top three were ENERGY-STAR rated windows followed by tripled-pane insulating glass, and low e-insulating glass. Interestingly, buyers tended to be relatively indifferent about the materials used for the window frames. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
On a recent episode of the Rental Property Owner & Real Estate Investor Podcast, Brian Hamrick talked with Brian Spear about the state of Mobile Home Park Investing. A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Spear discusses the trajectory that led him to investing in real estate, and the systems and tools he’s using to not only build a world-class mobile home park portfolio, but to manage it as well. He also discusses some new investments he’s making in parking lots and parking garages, and why he finds this such an exciting asset class. Click here to listen at the…
Rentable says that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in June was $1,162 (up 1.4%) with two-bedroom units coming in at $1421 (up 1.23%). For the year-to-date, Rentable says one-bedrooms are now up 3.38% and two-bedrooms have gained 2.82%. Be sure to check out their full data set of U.S. cities. “The laws of supply and demand rule, and with immense post-pandemic consumer demand, prices just keep rising, and this upward pressure continues to spill into apartment rental arena. While the supply and demand issue will eventually balance itself, until we see interest rate increases that may result…
Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartments in June was $1,315 (up 4.9%) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,644 (up 6.5%). Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. “According to Zumper’s June rental data, rents are on the rise in a major way. Nationally, rents jumped at a staggering rate, and the cities that experienced the biggest drops in rents during the pandemic are now starting to trend in the opposite direction.” Click here to read the full report…
The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in May was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,545.3 billion, which is 0.3% below April’s revised estimate. However, May’s figure was 7.5% higher than one year ago. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $751.7 billion in May, which is 0.2% higher than April’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 were up 8% in April, 2021 and up 13.1% from one year ago. The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) was up 8% to 114.7. In addition, they report that year-over-year contract signings were up 13.1%. Indeed… “May’s strong increase in transactions – following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability – was indeed a surprise,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The housing market is attracting buyers due to the decline in mortgage rates, which fell below 3%,…
This Sunday, July 4th, marks 245 years of America’s independence! Today’s infographic takes a look at the 4th of July “by the numbers” to provide some insight about this holiday we Americans hold dear. Whatever you do to celebrate, do it safely and have fun…..and, as for today, Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as…
According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices were up 1.8% in April and up 15.7% from April, 2020. The FHFA produces the nation’s only public, freely available house price indexes (HPIs) that measure changes in single-family house prices based on data that cover all 50 states and over 400 American cities and extend back to the mid-1970s. The FHFA’s HPIs are built on tens of millions of home sales and offer insights about home price fluctuations at the levels of the nation, census division, state, metro area, county, ZIP code, and…
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to end the CDC’s nationwide moratorium on evictions. Previously, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich struck down the moratorium saying it exceeded CDC’s authority, however, she put her ruling on hold, pending appeal. The AP is reporting that the court rejected that plea by landlords to end the CDC’s moratorium on evictions, that was previously rejected by the lower courts and had been appealed to the Supreme Court. The Biden administration recently extended that moratorium through July. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Elana Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia…
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 14.6% annual gain for April, 2021. Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 14.4% and their 20-City Composite posted a 14.9% year-over-year gain. April’s figure marked the highest annual rate of price growth since the 1987, the year the index began. “We have previously suggested that the strength in the U.S. housing market is being driven in part by reaction to the COVID pandemic, as potential buyers move from urban apartments to suburban homes. April’s data continue to be consistent with this hypothesis. This demand surge may…
