Author: Brad Beckett

According to new data from Redfin, buyers who locked in mortgage rates for second home purchases shot up by a record 128% year-over-year in March – marking the 10th straight month of 80%-plus annual growth.  However, they caution that this year-over-year increase should be taken in the proper context considering demand was relatively weak in March, 2020 at the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic.  Redfin says that the intense demand for vacation homes is a symbol of an ongoing uneven economic recovery in the U.S., with some Americans being able to afford second homes and many others unable to afford…

The Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) recently wrote about how so-called big firms are crowding out the market for houses and in the process, driving up prices.  They report that it runs the gamut from individuals with smartphones and a few thousand bucks to pensions & private-equity firms with billions, yield-chasing investors are snapping up single-family houses to rent out or flip.  In fact, in suburban Houston, TX instead of biding wars for just just one home, the entire subdivision was sold.  The winning bid of $32 million came from none other than the online real estate investing platform…

According to data from ATTOM’s Q1 2021 Single Family Rental Market report, the average annual gross rental yield (annualized gross rent income divided by median purchase price of single-family homes) among the 495 counties is 7.7% for 2021, down from an average of 8.4% in 2020.  However, ATTOM says it’s not all bad news for rental property investors.  Indeed… “The single-family home rental business is less profitable this year compared to last year across most of country, with yields on the average deals decreasing….” [HOWEVER] “…returns on single-family rentals still generally remain strong and there are pockets, especially in the…

According to the National Association of Realtor’s 2021 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report, millennials continue to make up the largest share of homebuyers coming in at 37%.  In fact, millennials have been the largest share of buyers since NAR’s 2014 report.  The 2021 report shows 82% of younger millennials and 48% of older millennials were first-time homebuyers, more than other age group.  The NAR’s report also shows that multigenerational homes increased over the last year, as a rising number of homebuyers purchased larger residences compared to prior years.  Indeed… Some key points: 18% of Generation X buyers purchased…

The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) says that 79.8% of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by April 6th, 2021.  This figure is 1.8% higher than those who paid rent through April 6, 2020.  The data comes from the NMHC’s Rent Payment Tracker which uses data from 11.6 million professionally managed apartment units across the country – representing a wide variety of market-rate rental properties that can vary by size, type and average rental price. “This month’s data is more evidence of a recovering economy and the resilience of the multifamily industry,” said Doug Bibby, NMHC President.…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix Multifamily Report, the average U.S. multifamily rents in March increased $6 to $1,407.  In addition, Yardi says multifamily rents had one of the strongest first quarters in a few years, with rents up 0.8% from the previous quarter.  Indeed… “Enactment of the American Rescue Plan authorized the injection of $1.9 trillion into the economy. The two most recent aid packages (the American Rescue Plan and the Consolidated Appropriations Act) have provided a combined $50 billion of emergency rental assistance and other support to the housing industry. This funding is bound to have a positive…

Time is the one finite resource that we closely guard and often, carefully choose how we spend it.  Today’s interactive infographic from the Visual Capitalist takes a look at who Americans exactly spend their time with and for how long.  They say that if the global pandemic has taught us anything, it is that humans truly are social creatures with most of us needing community & connection to thrive.  Indeed…..Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “Regardless of who we spend the most time with, the pandemic revealed the importance of human connection to our wellbeing. While many are still…

The NAHB recently released their annual What Home Buyers Really Want report that they say sheds light on the housing preferences of the typical home buyer as well as how those preferences change over time, and how they may vary based on demographic factors.  To get their data, the NAHB commissioned a nationwide survey of 3,247 recent & prospective home buyers in the summer of 2020.  Respondents were carefully selected and weighted to represent the actual universe of home owners in the country, in terms of their geographic distribution, age, income and racial/ethnic composition.  Indeed… “Prior to COVID-19, 26% of…

On a recent episode of the Rent Perfect Podcast, David Pickron says the current tenant/landlord climate feels like a good old-fashioned game of musical chairs. As housing providers anticipate the end of the CDC’s eviction moratorium, it’s critical for landlords to know and prepare for what’s next.  Pickron and his guest discuss the three types of current tenants and how to work with each distinct group to protect your asset and your bottom line. Click here to listen on Spotify.com. (UPDATE 4/13/21)  This podcast was excerpted into an article over at the Rental Housing Journal. Click here to read it.…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices were up 1% in January and up 12% from one year ago.  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,…