Author: Brad Beckett

According to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Insights (HPI) report, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 3.9% in August 2024 compared with August 2023.  On a month-over-month basis, home prices dropped by 1% in August 2024 compared with one year ago. “While mortgage rates have dropped in recent weeks, August home sales were by still-high rates in July and August, which lowered affordability…The combined impact of high prices and high mortgage rates kept a lid on price growth, with annual gains falling to the lowest level in a year and the monthly gain falling well…

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2% in September, 2024 (same as August).  The all items index was up 2.4% for the 12 months ending in September.  The index for shelter rose 0.2% in September, and the index for food increased 0.4%.  The BLS says taken together, these two indexes contributed over 75% of the monthly all items increase. Click here to read the full release at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Citing government data, Statista says approximately nine out of ten trips were undertaken with either a car, an SUV, a pickup truck or a van in 2022.  Not surprisingly, walking played a significantly less important role, with its share in total person trips dropping by 3.6 percent to 6.9 percent compared to 2017.  We love our cars & trucks…and it shows.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Statista.

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal highlights how Argentina’s new President (who happens to be an economist), Javier Milei, scrapped their rental laws and most government price controls in an effort to revive South America’s second-largest economy.   Most notable is his elimination of what the WSJ calls some of the strictest rent control laws in the world…indeed. For years, Argentina imposed one of the world’s strictest rent-control laws. It was meant to keep homes such as the stately belle epoque apartments of Buenos Aires affordable, but instead, officials here say, rents soared. Now, the country’s new president, Javier…

According to the ADP National Employment Report for September, 2024, private sector employment increased by 143k jobs and annual pay was up 4.7% year-over-year. The ADP National Employment Report is an independent and high-frequency view of the private-sector labor market based on the aggregated and anonymized payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. employees. “Stronger hiring didn’t require stronger pay growth last month…Typically, workers who change jobs see faster pay growth. But their premium over job-stayers shrank to 1.9 percent, matching a low we last saw in January.”  Said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. Click here to read the…

On a recent episode of the Rent Perfect podcast David Pickron says the influx of the institutional investor groups that are backed by billions of dollars are having a negative effect on the everyday investors ability to purchase properties.  Pickron discusses some strategies to consider when the market is unpredictable or pricing out the average investor. Click here to listen.

The Tax Foundation says 38 states have legalized sports wagering in some capacity, however only 27 states have online betting.  They say it has seen rapid growth since the U.S. Supreme Court granted states the ability to establish online sports betting markets in Murphy vs. NCAA in 2018.  However, states apply a range of different tax rates and access to legal sports betting can be quite limited, depending on the state.  The interactive map below shows those states with online betting as well as the online betting tax rate. Click here to read the full report at the Tax Foundation.…

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254k in September, 2024 with the unemployment rate coming in at 4.1%.  Interestingly, the BLS says employment in government continued its upward trend in September (up 31K) with an average monthly gain of 45k over the past 12 months. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A recent report from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says that in 2023, the majority of new home starts featured laundry connections on the first floor (72%), second floor or higher (26%) and the basement, garage, and other locations came in at a 1% or lower share.  The data was from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction.  However, in the NAHB’s What Home Buyer’s Really Want survey, buyers’ preferences were slightly different (except for the 1st floor). This comparison highlights a disconnect between what builders are offering and what buyers are seeking. While builders are largely opting for laundry connections…

We have continued to see rising shelter costs in the inflation data we’ve posted.  Now a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau says over 21 million renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2023, representing nearly half (49.7%) of the 42.5 million renter households in the United States for whom rent burden is calculated.  According to HUD, households are considered cost-burdened when they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, mortgage payments, and other housing costs.  Households spending more than 50% of their income on housing costs are considered severely cost-burdened.…