Author: Brad Beckett

Back in March we posted about Zillow pausing its Zillow Offers program due to market uncertainty from the Coronavirus pandemic.   Well, fast-forward to the present with HousingWire reporting that they have resumed homebuying in at least 15 (out of 24) markets where they operate.  In addition the report said Zillow is also launching a health-safety initiative to protect customers, employees and partners. “”Our goal at Zillow is to help people navigate what can be a stressful and complex process, and with Zillow Offers, give them a way to skip over a lot of the hassles and challenges of selling a…

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.1% in May, which the BLS says is the first time this index has ever declined in three consecutive months.  However, the indexes for shelter, recreation, medical care, household furnishings and operations, and new vehicles all increased. “Declines in the indexes for motor vehicle insurance, energy, and apparel more than offset increases in food and shelter indexes to result in the monthly decrease in the seasonally adjusted all items index. The gasoline index declined 3.5 percent in May, leading to a…

Sunday, June 14th, is Flag Day across America!  Today’s infographic from Brightspark gives us Flag Day by the Numbers. Who knew Old Glory has been updated 27 times?  And as always, stay safe and have and Happy Friday!!!  And,put your flag out! Hat tip to Brightspark Travel.

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 June 10, 2020 – Unexpectedly, the job data for May did not show a worsening of the recession. Compared to the 13 percent loss of jobs in April (from the same month a year ago), the loss in May was 12 percent. This isn’t an improvement, or even a difference, but most people (me too) expected the May loss to be closer to 20 percent. That’s…

According to recent data from the Associated General Contractors of America, construction employment increased by 464,000 jobs in May, however the AGC cautioned that the industry remains far short of full employment.  In addition, they said the industry is experiencing a 12.7% unemployment rate, the highest for May since 2012. “The huge pickup in construction employment in May is good news and probably reflects the industry’s widespread receipt of Paycheck Protection Program loans and the loosening of restrictions on business activity in some states.” Said Ken Simonson, the AGC’s chief economist. Click here to read the full report at the…

The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) says that 80.8% of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by June 6th.  This figure represents a 0.7-percentage point decrease in the share who paid rent through June 6, 2019 and compares to 80.2% that paid by May 6th.  The  data comes from the NMHC’s Rent Payment Tracker which uses data from 11.4 million professionally managed apartment units across the country. “While our Rent Payment Tracker metric continues to show the resilience and strength of the professionally managed apartment industry, it does not necessarily tell the whole story, as it doesn’t…

The Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says Cleveland, Ohio is a “house-flipping hot spot” and the Coronavirus pandemic has helped.  In a recent article they discuss how real estate investors are moving away from the sunbelt to lower-price markets (like Cleveland) and scooping up homes that they turn into rentals.  Their story focuses-in on one Cleveland house-flipper that sold nearly 200 renovated rental houses to investors last year.  Currently, she has about 60 fix-n-flips in the pipeline along with a waiting list of individual investors that has been growing since the pandemic began. “Greater Cleveland has been one of…

According Black Knight’s latest Mortgage Monitor, April saw the largest single-month increase in delinquencies on record, coming in at nearly 3 times the previous record in November, 2008.  Black Knight’s delinquency numbers include both homeowners past due on mortgage payments who are not in forbearance, as well as those who are in forbearance plans and did not make an April mortgage payment. Black Knight’s monthly monitor reviews some of the high-level mortgage performance statistics reported in their most recent First Look report, as well as an update on delinquency, foreclosure and prepayment trends. They then drill further down into April’s…

Real Estate News for Investors is reporting that some of America’s biggest SFR landlords are betting on a surge in demand for single-family rentals in our nation’s suburbs.  Kathy Fettke says that several big players (including JPMorgan Asset Management and American Homes 4 Rent) recently announced a joint venture to build 2,500 new single-family rentals in western and southwestern high-growth markets.  They say the deal will capitalize on a post-pandemic desire to move away from apartments in crowded cities and help address a lack of existing home inventory.  Indeed…. “…a move towards more a spread-out living in the wake of…

According to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Insights (HPI) report, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 5.4% (year over year) in April 2020 compared with April 2019 and increased month over month by 1.4% in April 2020 compared with March 2020.  However, they also caution that 2021 will mark the first year home prices are expected to decline in more than nine years, due to the lingering impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.  Indeed… “The very low inventory of homes for sale, coupled with homebuyers’ spur of record-low mortgage rates, will likely continue to support home price growth during the…