Author: Brad Beckett

According to Black Knight’s “first look” report for November, 2020, mortgage delinquencies improved for the 6th consecutive month in November, falling to 6.33% from 6.44% in October.  In addition, Black Knight says while early-stage delinquencies have fallen back below pre-pandemic levels, seriously past-due (90+ days) mortgages remain 1.8 million above their pre-pandemic level.  Indeed… “Delinquencies Improved Again in November 2020, But Nearly 2.2 Million Seriously Past-Due Mortgages Remain” Click here to read the full report at Black Knight.

With President Trump’s signature on the recent $900 Billion Covid-19 Relief Bill the details are fully emerging and being implemented by the Administration.  Among these are an extension of the CDC eviction moratorium through January, 2021 as well as provisions for emergency rental assistance, details of which were discussed in a previous post.  Below is an excerpt from a congressional summary document of H.R. 133, courtesy of WSJ.com: Subtitle A — Emergency Rental Assistance Sec. 501. Emergency Rental Assistance. Section 5201 appropriates $25 billion through Treasury to provide to state and local government entities, including $400 million for U.S. territories…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in November, 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 841k which is 11% lower than October’s revised rate, but is 20.8% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in November was $335,300 with an average sales price of $390,100.  There were an estimated 286k new houses for sale at the end of November representing a 4.1–month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales dropped 2.5% in November to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million (up 25.8% from one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of November was 1.28 million units, down 9.9% from October and down 22% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at an all-time low 2.3-month supply at the current sales pace with properties remaining on the market for around 21 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types was $310,800, up 14.6% from November, 2019. “Home sales in November took a marginal step back,…

Merry Christmas!  With that in mind, discount site CouponLawn.com says this Christmas will be unlike any other we have ever seen.  This year’s Pandemic has changed our lives in so many ways that it will be some time before a new normal emerges.  In fact, This Christmas saw Americans spending less with their gift-giving spirit – not to mention being hindered by the travel restrictions, lock-downs and health issues that many of us or our loved ones experienced.  However, the love & spirit of Christmas cannot be taken away and we will emerge better and stronger as we focus on…

According to recent analysis from the NAHB’s Survey of Construction, 63.2% of all new single-family homes started in 2019 were built on slab foundations, followed by 22.6% with a full/partial basement and 13.0% with a crawl space.  Interestingly, the NAHB says the gap between slab and full/partial basement foundation adoption rates seems to be growing.  Indeed… There are large regional differences in foundation types across the nation. Homes in colder areas, where building codes normally require foundations to be built below the frost line, are predominately constructed with full or partial basements. Click here to read the full report at…

Realtor.com says the pandemic has taken the shine out of big-city life with gathering places shuttered and little space to maintain physical distance from others.  They say this has caused many people to revise the perceived value of urban living and are now looking to the suburbs – where they might have room for a real home office and even a yard.  To that end, their number-crunchers took a look at which suburbs are seeing prices rise the most due to low inventory coupled with high demand.  Indeed… “If you look at the towns on this list, it highlights there…

On the heels of Congress passing a $900 billion COVID-relief package, the Federal Housing Administration announced that it was extending their eviction and foreclosure moratorium as well as their loan forbearance policies through February 28, 2021.  Listed below is the full text of their release: FHA EXTENDS OPTIONS FOR SINGLE FAMILY BORROWERS FINANCIALLY IMPACTED BY COVID-19 Extensions ensure borrowers can continue to seek assistance and avoid eviction and foreclosure while maintaining temporary policy flexibilities for lenders and servicers WASHINGTON – Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced it is extending the foreclosure and eviction moratorium for single family FHA-insured mortgages…

As we close out the year, the prognostications for the coming year continue to be issued.  Wells Fargo recently released their 2021 Annual Economic Outlook, where they say 2020’s pandemic was equivalent to a magnitude 9 earthquake.  Indeed…. The longest U.S. economic expansion since the end of the Second World War came to an abrupt end earlier this year as the COVID pandemic essentially shut down the economy. Following an unprecedented plunge in Q2-2020—real GDP nosedived at an annualized rate of 31.4%—economic activity rebounded sharply in the third quarter…” “Few areas of the economy have felt the seismic effects of…

According to the latest home flipping report from ATTOM Data, gross returns for home flippers soared to their highest level in 20 years. The report said there were just over 57k single-family homes and condominiums flipped in Q3 2020.  As CNBC’s Diana Olick reports, ATTOM attributes the gains to the effects of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.  She also points out that Investors have sold for at least double their purchase price in 14 U.S. markets.  Indeed… “This all happened in the context of the pandemic, which has created unusual circumstances for the housing market to thrive, and that has included…