Author: Brad Beckett

Visual Capitalist reminds us that the spending habits of millennials have not only been reshaping the retail landscape but setting the tone for its future.   They say they want anything, anywhere and anytime.  That’s pretty intense, but it is reality.  In that vein, today’s infographic looks at the top categories in which consumers rent and their potential long term impact on the economy.   Happy Friday!!! “Although the current market for rentals is still in its early stages, the sheer momentum that the industry has gained in the last year is enough to threaten even the largest retailers—forcing them to reconsider…

According to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, the rate of home price increases reported a 3.2% annual gain in August, nearly the same as July.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 1.5% and the 20-City Composite posted a 2.0% year-over-year gain.  The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are one of the leading measures of U.S. residential real estate prices, tracking changes in the value of residential real estate both nationally as well as in 20 metropolitan regions. Click here to read the full report at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The U.S. government is reporting that the national vacancy rates in Q3 2019 were 6.8% for rental housing and 1.4% for homeowner housing.  The national homeownership rate for Q3 2019 was 64.8%, which they report was not statistically different from one year ago.  Approximately 87.8% of the housing units in the United States in Q3 2019 were occupied and 12.2% were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units made up 56.9% of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 30.9% of the inventory. Click here to read the full release at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their National Economic Outlook for October, 2019 where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. National Economic Outlook – October 2019 By Ingo Winzer The number of jobs in September was up 1.4 percent from last year, a repeat of August and a confirmation that the August data weren’t an outlier. It’s now most likely that we’ll see a further weakening in the months ahead, and the big question is whether the economy can keep gliding along at this reduced pace. The last two recessions began…

Where are the top cities in America with the most young people?  That’s the question the folks at Realtor.com put pen to paper to find out.  They combed through census data to come up with the top 10 cities with the lowest average resident age (one per state) of 30 or younger.  Interestingly, these cities are almost all college towns with one exception. “…there are a few places in America you can go to gain a more energetic and exuberant outlook on life. How do you pull this off? By surrounding yourself with young people, of course…Think of the fun…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down in September following two consecutive months of increases.  Total existing-home sales fell 2.2% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million in September.  The Realtors say that despite the decline, overall sales are up 3.9% from a year ago  However, once again, low inventory is the primary culprit: “We must continue to beat the drum for more inventory…Home prices are rising too rapidly because of the housing shortage, and this lack of inventory is preventing home sales growth potential.”  Said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s…

The U.S. government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in September, 2019 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 701,000.  This figure is 0.7% below revised August’s revised rate but is 15.5% higher than September 2018 estimate of 607,000.  The median sales price of new houses sold in September 2019 was $299,400 and the average sales price was $362,700.  There were new 321k new houses for sale at the end of September was 321,000 representing a 5.5 months supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full release at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Halloween is next week and with that notion (or potion, if you will), the scary folks over at smartasset once again came up with their list of the top 25 cities in America for trick-or-treating.  To find these creepy places, they looked at housing density, housing stock, crime rates, percent of residents under 15 and weather.  Happy Halloween and Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to smartasset.

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing picked up on an interesting tidbit in the latest Federal Reserve G.19 Consumer Credit Report that shows rising trends in consumer credit, excluding loans secured by real estate, through August 2019.  They point out that most of the increase in this period also owed to the closed-ended credit extended by the federal government, which is also the largest component of nonrevolving debt which they say manifests most prominently in the form of student loans – a long-established barrier to homeownership.  Indeed… “This month’s percentage increase in nonrevolving debt is the largest increase that has occurred…

A new study says that as the demand for workforce housing is growing, so too is the demand for renting in manufactured-home communities (MHC).  Citing a recent study from Marcus & Millichap, the Scotsman Guide is reporting that this trend is being fueled by the relatively low price of renting in an MHC compared to the cost to rent an apartment.  They say that as a result of this demand, vacancies within MHCs are decreasing, causing rents to rise.  Indeed….A little Econ 101: “The shrinking vacancy rate is boosting rent growth nationwide, Marcus & Millichap reported, with manufactured-housing units in…