Author: Brad Beckett

A recent report from Reason shows how the government and media relied on studies plagued by shoddy statistics to make the case for blocking evictions during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.  They point out some deep flaws in two studies that got widespread media attention and that were cited by the federal government to support its policies.  These studies claim to show that the moratoriums saved thousands of lives.   Reason lays out a pretty good case to show how their results were implausible.  Indeed… “These studies are deeply flawed. Their underlying data are incomplete and inconsistent. Their results are implausible. The…

According to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Insights (HPI) report, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 15.4% year-over-year in May.  CoreLogic predicts that home prices will increase on a month-over-month basis by 0.8% through June, 2021, and on a year-over-year basis by 3.4% through May, 2022. “First-time buyers are hitting a wall in many places around the country as the pace of home price rises outpace the benefits of lower borrowing costs. Younger and first-time buyers, including younger millennials, are faced with the challenge of having sufficient savings for a down payment, closing costs and cash reserves. As we…

Today’s infographic from the Daily Infographic presents an hour-by-hour plan for getting through the workday after a night without sleep. They say, on its own, these tips will make the day seem shorter and more bearable.  Indeed….  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Daily Infographic.

Now that the pandemic is waning, Americans are hitting the roads again.  In fact, Realtor.com points out that more than two-thirds of Americans said they plan to travel at some point this summer.  In that vein, their number-crunchers put pen to paper to find the most profitable real estate markets for buying a short-term rental property to list on sites like Airbnb or VRBO.  Indeed… “There’s a very big opportunity to buy cheap and make a lot of money in return,” says Luis D. Ortiz, a real estate broker who stars on Netflix’s “World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.”  The series…

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.

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%,…