Author: Brad Beckett

We saw last month that during the final quarter of 2019 the homeownership rate increased to 65.1%, the highest level in 7 years.  A recent “chart of the week” from the Mortgage Bankers Association took a deeper dive into the numbers to breakout the homeownership rate by age.  They find that older homeowners are staying put longer than previous generations.  Indeed…. “Households headed by a person 65 years old or greater (green line) had the highest proportion of homeowners in last year’s fourth quarter (by age group) at 79%. If we drill down within the 65+ age group, the homeownership…

With record tight inventories all over across the country Realtor.com reminds us that few markets are immune.  However, they did take a look at a look at the numbers across the board and pinpointed the places they say are “easiest” to buy a home as well as those locations where it is pretty hard.   Their analysis looked at the number of listings per 1,000 homeowner-occupied households in the 100 largest metros in the Q4, 2019.  Indeed… “Inventory is falling—even in the easiest markets to buy a home,” says realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “For buyers, it means there are fewer…

According to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data, total household debt increased by $193 billion (1.4%) to $14.15 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2019 – marking 22 consecutive quarters of increases.  Interestingly,the proportion of credit-card debt that was in serious delinquency increased 5.32% – the highest in 8 years.  As for mortgages (the largest component at $9.56 trillion), the total share of the balance increased by $120 billion.  Indeed…. “Mortgage originations, including refinances, increased significantly in the final quarter of 2019, with auto loan originations also remaining at the brisk…

According to ATTOM Data’s year-end 2019 U.S. Home Flipping Report, over 245k single family homes & condos were flipped in 2019, up 2% from 2018 – the highest point since 2006.  In addition, they report that while flipping itself was at an 8-year high, the profit margins continued dropping to an 8-year low themselves at $62,900.  Indeed…. “Home-flipping profits across the U.S. dropped again in 2019 as the business of buying and selling houses absorbed its worst year since the housing market was mired in the fallout from the Great Recession. This happened as the cost of buying properties continued…

The folks at Baptist Health of South Florida remind us that good health is in our hands.  They say that washing your hands properly and frequently is the best way of protecting you and others from infections.  Indeed….and with that pretty nasty virus lurking about (not to mention cold & flu season), you’ll want to be sure you not only cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, BUT wash your hands!  (and sing whatever song you want) Thank you….and Happy Friday!!! “Keep in mind that viruses and bacteria can live for several hours on hard surfaces such as cafeteria…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for March, 2020 showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,219 (down 0.1%) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,463 (down 0.1%).   Year to date, one-bedroom prices are up 0.2% and two-bedroom prices are up 0.9%.  Zumper analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the United States. Data is aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population, providing a comprehensive view of the current state of the market. The report is based on all…

A new report form Redfin says that Spokane, Las Vegas, Charlotte, and Orlando will be the hottest metros among “affordability-seeking” homebuyers over this decade.  They say that buyers have begun looking to smaller more affordable metros where land is cheaper and incomes are growing. Indeed… “Already, Spokane, Las Vegas, Charlotte and Orlando are attracting out-of-town homebuyers and, thanks to the low cost of acquiring and developing land for new home construction, each is poised to attract homebuyers for years to come. That makes these the four metros primed for growth over the next decade.” Click here to read the full…

Mortgage delinquency rates are at their lowest levels since the 70’s, according to the Mortgage Bankers of America’s National Delinquency Survey.  The report says that the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four unit properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.77% of all loans outstanding at the end of Q4 2019.  Indeed… “The mortgage delinquency rate in the final three months of 2019 fell to its lowest level since the current survey series began in 1979,” said Marina Walsh, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “Mortgage delinquencies track closely to the U.S. unemployment rate, and with unemployment at…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in January was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,369.2 billion, which is 1.8% above December’s revised estimate.  In addition, January’s figure is 6.8% higher than January, 2019.  Total residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $554.8 billion in January, which is 2.1% higher than December’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in March was $1,089 with two-bedroom units coming in at $1,353.  ABODO uses over 1 million listings across the United States to calculate the median 1-bedroom rent price by city, state, and nation and then track the month-over-month percentage change. To avoid small sample sizes, they restrict their analysis to cities meeting minimum population and property count thresholds. Be sure to check out their extensive city list. Click here to read the full report on ABODO.com.