Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in June, 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 776k, which is 13.8% higher than May’s revised rate, and is 6.9% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in June was $329,200 with an average sales price of $384,700.  There were an estimated 307k new houses for sale at the end of June representing a 4.7 month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full release at the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the latest Yardi Matrix Multifamily Report, the average U.S. rent in June was $1,457, down $2 from May.  In addition, they point out that rents decreased 0.4% year-over-year (the first time since December 2010) with average U.S. rents declining by 0.8% in the first half of 2020 and 0.4% in Q2. Indeed “A few months ago, many were hopeful that economic expansion would return by July, but with a rise in cases in many southern states, the economic recovery will likely be pushed out further than many initially hoped.” Click here to read the full report at YardiMatrix.com.…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales jumped 20.7% in June to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million (11.3% lower than one year ago).  Total housing inventory at the end of June was 1.57 million units, up 1.3% from May and down 18.2% from one year ago. Total unsold inventory was at a 4-month supply at the current sales pace with properties remaining on the market for around 24 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types was $95,300, up 3.5% from June, 2019. Click here to read the full report at the National…

Dogs biting the mailman might seem like a classic joke, but for those who carry the mail or deliver packages the threat for bodily harm is real.  According to Statista, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) annually documents the number of attacks on its letter carriers.  In fact, in 2019 it was nearly 6k!  Today’s infographic takes a look at that data to discover the worst cities in America for dog-vs-mailman attacks.  No word on cat attacks…..  Happy Friday!! “The USPS provides a number of recommendations for dog owners to prevent these incidents such as keeping dogs in a separate and…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices were down 0.3% in May and were up 4.9% 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…

According to data from the Tax Foundation, pass-through businesses (sole proprietorships, S corporations, and partnerships) make up a majority of businesses across the United States.  As many real estate investors know, owners must pay individual income tax on income earned from these businesses.  The Tax Foundation took a look at the marginal tax rates for the whole country to illustrate that many pass-through businesses face marginal tax rates close to 50%.  Indeed… “In 2018, pass-through firms made up over half of nearly every state’s private sector employment. The share of private sector employment provided by pass-through firms ranges from 49.7…

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their monthly National Economic Outlook where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. National Economic Outlook By Ingo Winzer July 21, 2020 – The slowing of consumer spending (which accounts for 70 percent of the economy) is usually a leading indicator for a recession. For this recession there was no lead time at all; spending plunged when businesses shut down and employees were let go. Back in the 2008 recession, retail sales eventually dropped 10 percent, this time they bottomed out at 20 percent. But…

Just when you thought you might have seen it all with the sharing economy, a new start-up lets you enjoy the luxury of a private pool whenever you feel like it.  How?  By renting one by the hour, of course.  Swimply lets you escape the heat by finding a pool near you to rent out, just like you would for a VRBO or Airbnb vacation rental.  As reported by CNBC’s Diana Olick, prices range from $15 to $300 per hour, depending on the type of pool, location and amenities.  The site lists pools in 39 U.S. states as well as…

As of mid-July, mortgage interest rates dropped to historic levels.  In fact, the average 30-fixed-rate mortgage settled below the 3% mark!  As Kathy Fettke points out in a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, low rates are great for buyers, but are also the results of the current pandemic-induced crisis.  Indeed… “Mortgage rates tend to drop when investors pour money into the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond. When there’s more demand from investors buying up Treasurys, bond prices rise as yields go down (just like in real estate, when prices rise and cash flows decline). Investors who typically buy…

Redfin is reporting that national median home prices were up 2.8% (year-over-year) in June to a record high of $311k, which they say is being powered by record-low mortgage rates.  In addition, they report that median prices increased in all but four of the 85 largest metro areas that Redfin tracks. “The coronavirus hasn’t dragged home prices down; in fact we’ve seen just the opposite—prices are rising in spite of the pandemic,” said Brian Walsh, a Redfin agent in Tampa, where the median home price was up 8% year over year in June. “Every house that is the slightest bit…