Author: Brad Beckett

In case you were curious, the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says that in 2024, 65% of newly completed single-family homes featured two-car garages.  The share of new homes with three or more car garages stood at 15%, continuing a downward trend from its peak of 24% in 2015 and decreasing 2 percentage points from 2023. One-car garages, which have been steadily increasing in recent years, reached their highest share in three decades coming in at 9%.  Shares of homes with carports and homes without any parking facility remained steady, coming in at 1% and 9%.  This was all according to…

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released statistical data that measures income, poverty & health insurance coverage in the United States in 2024.  The data comes from three Census Bureau reports: “Income in the United States: 2024,” “Poverty in the United States: 2024,” and “Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2024.” Among the findings; Real median household income was $83,730. The official poverty rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 10.6%. 92% of the U.S. population had health insurance coverage for all or part of of the year. An estimated 27.1 million or 8% of people did not have health insurance.…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 0.2% in August, 2025 to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4 million.  Total housing inventory at the end of August was 1.53 million units, down 1.3% from July and up 11.7% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 4.6-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 31 days.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $422,600 – the 26th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.  The NAR says more inventory is needed; “Home sales…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in August, 2025 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800k, which is 20.5% higher than July’s revised rate and is 15.4% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in August was $413,500 with an average sales price of $534,100.  There were an estimated 490k new houses for sale at the end of August representing an 7.4-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

VOIP service OOMA says retirement is the well-earned chapter of life when you can finally escape the busy workweek to focus on relaxation, personal pursuits and quality time with your loved ones.  Indeed….and today’s graphic lays out the most and least expensive state for retirees. Hat tip to Ooma.com

Realtor.com says cities may be thought of as glamorous and exciting, but many prefer the suburbs.  However, how do you know which suburb to pick?   They recently combed through data from various sources (Census, cost of living, school rankings and quality of life metrics) to come up with the top 20 suburbs for a quieter life away from the city.  They define suburb is as a place located within a Census-defined urbanized area, but outside the principal city with a population of at least 1,000. “Many of the suburbs on the list are relatively high-priced, but those higher costs often come…

On a recent episode of the Idaho Real Estate Investor Show, Jonna Weber shares her personal journey into real estate investing and the pivotal role conferences and networking have played in her success. She reflects on how one event in 2011 sparked opportunities that led to over $200 million in real estate sales and the launch of Idaho REI Network.  She also reveals why she’s so passionate about bringing investors together for the upcoming Idaho Real Estate Investing Conference, and why even brand-new investors can’t afford to miss it. Click here to listen.

According to ATTOM Data’s August 2025 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, there were 35,697 residential properties with foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions) down 1.1% from July and up 18.1% from a year ago.  ATTOM says, nationwide, one in every 3,987 housing units had a foreclosure filing in August.  States with the worst foreclosure rates were Nevada, Florida, and South Carolina.  Be sure to look at their list of all 50 states. Nevada led the nation in foreclosure rates for August 2025, overtaking South Carolina and Florida. This shift may signal emerging regional pressures, as affordability challenges and…

Local Market Monitor recently released their monthly National Economic Outlook where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. “Measured by the number of jobs, the economy has grown at a steadily slower pace for the past few years, but new government policies seem to be accelerating that trend. While the rate of job growth was 1.3 percent in December, it fell to 0.8 percent in August.” Click here to read more at Local Market Monitor.

Recent analysis from the Associated General Contractors said construction employment decreased by 7k  positions in August and has seen little change since December (less than 1% increase). In addition, the report says the unemployment rate for recent construction industry workers in August was only 3.2%.  Construction employment in August totaled 8,295,000, seasonally adjusted. “The latest figures show that nonresidential construction—not only homebuilding—has stalled…That fits with reports that owners have hit the pause button on many projects, in large part because of uncertainty over the impact of tariffs and other policy upheavals, as our workforce survey found.”  Said Ken Simonson, the…