Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,256,000.  This figure is 9.4% below August’s revised estimate but is 1.6% higher than September, 2018.  Single‐family housing starts in September were at a rate of 918k, which is 0.3% above August’s revised figure. September’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 327k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,387,000. This figure is 2.7% below August’s revised rate but is 7.7% higher than September, 2018.  Single‐family…

Fall is firmly upon us and with that in mind, today’s infographic from Today’s Homeowner (from their 4 Seasons of Homeownership) goes over some simple things you can do to prepare your home for winter.  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to TodaysHomeowner.com.

We have had several posts about owning vacation homes – whether to rent them out, use them as a 2nd home or both.  With that in mind, a new report from the National Association of Realtors says that increased financial wealth and low mortgage rates have boosted the demand and price of vacation homes.  In fact, they report that between 2013 & 2018 the median sales price in “vacation home counties” increased at a slightly higher pace than all new & existing homes sold.  They used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to examine the 206 counties…

A new startup called Doorstead doesn’t want you to miss out on a month’s rent just because you can’t find a tenant.  Calling themselves a “full-service property management with guaranteed rental income,” the new company will not only manage your property but guarantee rent for rent for a certain number of days – even if it can’t fill the unit.  In addition TechCrunch reports that they will handle all the algorithmic pricing, advertising, tenant screening, repairs & maintenance, leases and online payments in exchange for just 8% of the rent.  Caveat emptor indeed…. “Owners just sit back and receive the…

A recent poll from none other than the University of California, Berkeley, reveals that 52% (of the nearly 5k registered-voters polled) said they had given “serious” or “some” consideration to leaving California and that most of them cited high housing cost as part of that reason.  In fact, 71% of all respondents cited housing costs as the reason they had considered leaving California, followed by high taxes (48%) and the state’s political culture (46%).   In addition, Reuters pointed out that the study’s authors said “that the partisan and ideological differences in voters’ feelings about living in California had widened even…

A REO speed wagon they are not;  HousingWire is reporting that Citibank was recently fined $30 million for holding onto foreclosures for far too long, exceeding a 5-year REO limit on hundreds of homes.  They reported that under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) regulations, there is a two-year limit on banks maintaining possession of a foreclosed property, although banks can apply for an exemption that takes it up to 5 years.  Citibank said the the issue only applied to 200 properties.  Indeed… “The OCC found the bank engaged in repeated violations of the statutory holding period…

What happens when you try to sell a property and a 3rd party throws a wrench into the process at the last minute?  That’s what happened to a couple in Florida that had a contract to sell their house (and adjacent lots) for a new development but a neighbor put in an application to have their home designated as a historic property.  According to the Wall Street Journal article (as reposted by Realtor.com), everything then “stopped in its tracks.”  Indeed…. “Third-party historic designation is among the most contentious tools that historic preservationists have at their disposal. It pits homeowners against…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix, U.S. multifamily rents flattened in September, coming in at $1,471 with year-over-year growth coming in at 3.2%.  Yardi says multifamily rent growth performance is still “very respectable compared to long-term historical trends.” Click here to read the full report at Yardimatrix.com.

This week’s infographic is really a no-brainier.  It illustrates just a few of the awesome benefits of joining a real estate investors association, or REIA as they’re commonly known.  You really do get “a bang for your buck” when you become a part of a local community of real estate investors.  Click here to find a REIA near you!  Happy Friday!!! Click here to find a REIA near you!

According to the latest Corelogic Loan Performance Insights Report, all but six states posted an annual drop in mortgage delinquency rates.  According to their data, in July 2019, 3.8% of all home mortgages were in some stage of delinquency – which was the lowest for the month of July in over 20 years.  In fact CoreLogic says that since March, 2018 the overall delinquency rate for each month has been lower than during the pre-crisis period of 2000 through 2006, when the rate averaged 4.7%.  In addition, the share of mortgages that were 30 to 59 days past due was…