Author: Brad Beckett

People are on the move.  Whether it’s pandemic related, high-taxes, better schools, safer neighborhoods, larger home, or any/all of the above.  A recent story in the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) takes a look at the exodus from New York City and that factors are driving it.  The WSJ says this current wave of selling has contributed to a glut of properties in a number of NY City neighborhoods with total sales inventory across the five boroughs reaching its highest levels since at least 2010.  Indeed… “The pandemic has led many New York City residents to uproot their lives in search…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in September, 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 959,000, which is 3.5% lower than August’s revised rate, and is 32.1% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in September was $326,800 with an average sales price of $405,400.  There were an estimated 284k new houses for sale at the end of September representing a 3.6-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to ATTOM Data’s Q3 2020 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, foreclosure filings were down 81% from one year ago to the lowest level since they began tracking quarterly filings back in 2008.  The report says there were a total of 27,016 properties with foreclosure filings for the quarter. In addition, lenders repossessed 6,076 properties through foreclosure (REO) in Q3, down 22% from Q2 and down 82% from one year ago – another record low since they began tracking.  Interestingly, ATTOM says the recent government moratoriums were the source of the low numbers however they cautioned that once those moratoriums are…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales jumped 9.4% in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million (up 20.9% from one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of September was 1.47 million units, down 1.3% from August and down 19.2% from one year ago.  Total unsold inventory was at a 2.7-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 $311,800, up 14.8% from September, 2019. “Home sales traditionally taper off toward the end of the…

Does the Amazon truck swing by your home or office on a regular basis?  There is a very good chance that it does just like millions of other people all across the nation.  Today’s infographic from Visual Capitalist does a deep-dive into what exactly people are searching for on that big shopping behemoth.  In fact, they report that over half of all searches are for electronics…..Remember when they just sold books???  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!! “When it comes to searching for products online, a majority of U.S. shoppers go directly to Amazon. Thanks to this widespread use,…

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,415,000, which is 1.9% higher than August’s revised number.  September’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 295k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,553,000, which was 5.2% higher than August’s revised number.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 390k in September. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the NAHB’s Eye on Housing (using recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics), Softwood Lumber prices have surged a record 29% in September, pushing building materials up 4.4% in 2020.  They report that higher lumber prices have added nearly $16k to the price of an average new single-family home since mid-April. “The monthly increase is the largest in the history of both the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data sets which date back to 1975 and 1947, respectively.  The biggest monthly increase during the then-historic price run of 2018 was 5.4%, less than half the magnitude of the…

According to Mortgage News Daily, a new California law taking effect on January 1st will seek to hinder a repeat of the 1000’s of single-family homes that converted from ownership to rental properties during the “Great Recession.”  The new law (formerly SB1079) will reportedly give tenants, affordable housing groups and local governments will get “first crack” at buying foreclosed homes. Interestingly, according to the legislation, the law is only operational between January 1, 2021 and January 1, 2026. “The California legislation, SB1079, was the brainchild of an activist Oakland group, Moms 4 Housing. It bars sellers of foreclosed homes from…

What are the top 10 housing markets most vulnerable to COVID-19’s Impact?  In a recent special report,  ATTOM Data looked at the U.S. housing markets that are more or less at risk of an economic impact related to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Their findings showed that pockets of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions were the most vulnerable in Q3, while the West and Midwest fared less risk.  Interestingly, the counties least at-risk were concentrated in Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin  Indeed… “The U.S. housing market continues to show remarkable resilience during a time of widespread economic trouble and high unemployment…

The CDC recently issued a set of FAQs (frequently asked questions) offering “non-binding” guidance with respect to their recent “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19″ eviction moratorium.  On a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke takes a look at that guidance to help understand what it is saying (and not saying) as well as other areas that she says have caused some confusion. “Although the new guidelines provide landlords with more options, they won’t pay the bills for landlords. The vast majority of renters are paying their rent, but some…