Author: Brad Beckett

Porch-sitters take note;  According to new research from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing, 65.3% new homes built in 2020 were equipped with a porch.  While this might sound mundane, it marks only the 3rd time that porches have broken the 65% threshold.   The data showed that porches tended to be located on the front versus the side or rear.  However when they were on the rear they were a little larger, coming in at an average of 143 sq. ft. versus 99 sq. ft. for those in the front. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye…

Rentable says that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in September was $1,219 (up 2.4%) with two-bedroom units coming in at $1,479 (up 2.09%).  Year-to-date, Rentable says one-bedrooms are now up 8.27% and two-bedrooms have gained 6.87%.  Be sure to check out their full data set of U.S. cities. “…rents are skyrocketing. There are fewer rental units available, and landlords stung by eviction restrictions are looking to recoup past lost rent. Add that to the red-hot housing market fueled by low supply and high demand and we have the recipe for continued sharp rent increases.” Click here to…

On a recent episode of the Rental Property Owner & Real Estate Investor Podcast, Brian Hamrick talked with Ken Gee the five most important steps you must follow when renovating a multifamily apartment property.  Ken has over 24 years of real estate, banking, private equity transaction, and principal investing experience. He’s also been involved with transactions valued at over $2 Billion dollars. Brian reminded listeners that one of the most lucrative ways to invest in real estate is finding an under-performing, tired multifamily property and bring it back to life through better management, renovations, and capital improvements.  Click here…

The Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says 2020’s pandemic induced an “explosion” of swimming pools across the country.  They cite data showing sales of new in-ground pools rose 24% in 2020 – which they say is historic.  However, they do offer up this caveat;  Homeowners without any prior pool-ownership experience need to know what they are getting into considering that basic pool maintenance averages between $1,200 and 1,800 per year…and that doesn’t include repairs.  Indeed…. “In past years, we were getting estimates for filling in or removing pools prior to going on the market,” said Emily McClintock, a real-estate…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartments in August was $1,536 (up 9.2%) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,993 (up 11%).  Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. Click here to read the full report at Zumper.

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in July was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,568.8 billion, which is 0.3% above June’s revised estimate.  However, July’s figure was 9% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $773 billion in June, which is 0.5% higher than June’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

We have reported about this problem several times now.  It’s almost criminal, in fact National REIA’s Charles Tassell even said “Let’s face it, the government is so inept they cannot give away money!”   Indeed…Today’s infographic from Statista points out how the $46 BILLION in Emergency Rental Assistance has been incredibly slow to reach tenants.  As of July 31, only around $5.2 billion of the $46.6 billion in program funding has been given out.  Good grief…… Well, as always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!! Hat tip to Statista

We have had several posts over the years about the lucrative student housing market.  A recent report from CNBC’s Diana Olick says demand this year is up over 2%, even in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic.  She also points out that 70% of students live in off-campus housing. Click here to watch on CNBC.com.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 18.6% annual gain for June, 2021.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 18.5% and their 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% year-over-year gain. “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. June’s data are consistent with this hypothesis. This demand surge may simply represent an acceleration of purchases that would have occurred anyway over the next several years. Alternatively, there may have…

The list keeps growing of small business men & woman who have been economically harmed (and in many cases ruined) by the CDC’s unconstitutional eviction moratorium.  Indeed…. Breitbart News is reporting that an Air Force veteran in New York state is now living out of her car after the eviction moratorium prevented her from evicting tenants who withheld over $23k rent for over the past year.  In addition, it was reported that the landlord and her tenants qualify for federal rental assistance, however the U.S. Treasury has only distributed 10% of the allotted funds AND of the $2.6 billion in…