Author: Brad Beckett

Beginning in 2024, landlords in Denver (Colorado) will be required to purchase long-term rental licenses for each of their properties under a new law unanimously approved by the Denver City Council in early May.  According to the Denver Post, the new law takes full effect by 2024 and will affect around 54k properties.  In addition, they say that it’s the largest overhaul of the city’s licensing department and will take a couple of years to phase in as well as requiring hundreds of thousands of dollars (of course).  Indeed… “As the council considered the new law…renters voiced concerns that requiring…

Rentable says that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in April was $1,131 (up 0.62%) with two-bedroom units coming in at $1387 (up 0.36%).  Be sure to check out their full data set of U.S. cities. “The current economic scenario looks a little iffy to us, however, and when we see the inevitable crash, apartment rental price increases may come to a quick halt. For now, though, we look for near-term apartment rental prices to trudge upward…” Click here to read the full report at Rentable.co.

(UPDATED 8/13/21…scroll down)  Another federal judge has ruled against the CDC’s nationwide eviction moratorium.  According to The Hill, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich vacated a nationwide freeze on evictions that was put in place by the federal government last year and recently extended to June 30th.  The Hill says it was a a win for a coalition of property owners and realtors, who brought one of several challenges against the CDC’s eviction moratorium.  Indeed… “It is the role of the political branches, and not the courts, to assess the merits of policy measures designed to combat the spread of…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in March was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,513.1 billion, which is 0.2% above February’s revised estimate.  In addition, March’s figure was 5.3% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $725.2 billion in march, which is 1.7% higher than February’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rental information site Zumper recently released their monthly National Rent Report showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1,245 (down 0.2%) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,524 (down 0.7%).  Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. Click here to read the full report at Zumper.

According to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, the rate of home price increases reported a 12% annual gain in February, 2021.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 11.7% and the 20-City Composite posted a 11.9% year-over-year gain.  The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are one of the leading measures of U.S. residential real estate prices, tracking changes in the value of residential real estate both nationally as well as in 20 metropolitan regions. Click here to read the full report at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

In late April the U.S. Census Bureau released their state population counts form the 2020 census that will, among many things, be used to determine how many congressional seats and electoral votes each state receives.  The Cook Political recently put together short analysis of what this means for the 50-state composition of the next Congress as well as the electoral map across the nation.  They show that only 7 seats are shifting between the states, with Texas being the big winner.  In addition, they point out that Republicans need to pick up 5 seats in order to win control of…

It is often said that elections have consequences…here’s a good example:   The Wall Street Journal is reporting (reposted on Realtor.com) that tucked into President Biden’s new $1.9 trillion spending package is a provision going after 1031 exchanges.  According to the report, Biden’s proposal would abolish 1031 exchanges on real-estate profits in excess of $500k.  In addition, the WSJ points out that a recent congressional tax committee report estimated that the 1031 tax break would save property investors more than $41 billion between 2020 and 2024.  That is, of course, $41 billion that would get reinvested and not spent on…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were up 1.9% in March, 2021.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) rose to 111.3  In addition, they report that year-over-year contract signings were up 23.3%.  In an optimistic tone, the NAR says these increases are indicative of a high demand for housing.  Indeed… “…With mortgage rates still very close to record lows and a solid job recovery underway, demand will likely remain high….Low inventory has been a consistent problem, but more inventory will show up as new home construction intensifies in…

The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2020, was 331,449,281.  This figure represents a 7.4% increase from 2010’s number.  Today’s infographic from the Census Bureau illustrates the percentage of change in resident population, for all 50 states (including D.C. & Puerto Rico).  The most populous state is California and the least populous is Wyoming.  The fastest growing state was Utah and the state that gained the most numerically since 2010 was…drum-roll please….Texas.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday! Hat tip to the U.S. Census Bureau.