Author: Brad Beckett

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.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were up 5.2% in January with the NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) increasing to 108.8.  In addition, they reported that year-over-year contract signings were up 5.7%.  However, the lack of inventory is still a large factor for future sales: “We are still lacking in inventory,” he said, noting December’s and January’s combined supply was at the lowest level since 1999. “Inventory availability will be the key to consistent future gains.  Said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. Click here to read the full…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in January, 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 764k,  which is 7.9%  higher than December’s revised rate and is 18.6% above the January, 2019.  The median sales price of new houses sold in January was $348,200 and the average sales price was $402,300.  There were an estimated 324k new houses for sale at the end of January representing a 5.1 months at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at Census.gov.

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 February 28, 2020- The corona epidemic in China is disrupting manufacturing for many products and will cause companies to rethink their supply chains. A wholesale transplantation of manufacturing jobs back to the US is unlikely, however, because the allure of cheaper labor is just too great when making products that have a large labor input; diversification among several low-cost countries is probably the answer instead. For…

Earlier in the week we looked at some interesting mobility data from the Census Bureau.  Now comes today’s infographic from Keeping Current Matters that looks at the top cities where Americans are making the move.  They say whether capitalizing on job opportunities, affordability, or warm-weather places to retire, folks are moving to these top cities to take advantage of the strength in the current housing market. Indeed…..Happy Friday!! Hat tip to Keeping Current Matters.

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices were up 1.3% in Q4 2019.  In addition, they report that prices were up 5.1% from 2018.  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,…

Wouldn’t it be nice to know how to find properties for sale that aren’t listed anywhere and there’s virtually no competition?  On a recent episode of the Rental Property Owner & Real Estate Investor Podcast, host Brian Hamrick talks with Tony Youngs, an expert at finding distressed properties, who tells listeners how to find hidden gems in your own backyard.  Specifically, Brian & Tony do a deep dive into the conversations Tony has with sellers, how he approaches them, the phrases and tactics he uses, how he makes his offer, and whether the buyer or seller should be the first…

We have seen several posts about where people are moving here in America.  If you look at that data through a political lens (it is an election year, after all) and see them as Red (Republican) and Blue (Democratic) states, an interesting picture emerges.  A new report from Veros Real Estate Solutions took a look at home price appreciation across party lines in the largest 100 markets across the nation. Their analysis shows that the average appreciation in Blue States is forecast to be just 3.5%, while the average appreciation for Red States is projected to be over a percentage…