Author: Brad Beckett

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for December showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,212 and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,430.  Year over year, both one and two bedroom prices are up 1.9% and 3.9%, respectively.  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 data available in the…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in October was estimated at $1,308.8 billion, which is nearly identical to September’s revised estimate and 4.9% higher than October, 2017.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $539 billion in October, which was 0.5% below September’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at Census.gov.

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in December rose slightly to $1,025 (up .57%) with two-bedroom units coming in again at $1,279 (up .08%).  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. Click here to read the full report at Abodo.com.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that overall pending home sales declined 2.6% in October.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) declined to 102.1 in October.  However, year-over-year, contract signings are down 6.7%, marking the tenth straight month of annual decreases.  The Realtors say that recent rises in mortgage rates have reduced the number of eligible homebuyers.  Indeed…The NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun notes: “…that a similar period of decline occurred during the 2013 Taper Tantrum when interest rates jumped from 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent. After 11 months – November 2013…

According to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, home prices continued to climb with a 5.5% annual gain in September, down from 5.7% in August. Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 4.8% and their 20-City Composite posted a 5.1% year-over-year gain.  However, they do point out that the rate of home price increases across the U.S. slowed for the second month in a row.  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…

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in October, 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544k.  This figure is 8.9% below September’s revised rate and is 12% lower than October, 2017.  The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2018 was $309,700 and the average sales price was $395k.  There were an estimated 336k new houses for sale at the end of October representing a 7.4 months supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at census.gov.

Do you own just a single investment property?  Thinking about another?  Today’s infographic from FortuneBuilders poses six questions to ask yourself before buying another.  They rightly point out that that buying a second investment property can serve as a vehicle for expanding your business and move you closer to your financial goals. However, managing more than one property brings a new set of challenges and implications that can make anyone hesitate. Today’s infographic equips you with invaluable tips, as well as key questions that can help you determine whether or not you are ready to take on a second property. …

No matter where you live, or where you own properties, you’re paying utility costs.  A recent report by move.org (illustrated by howmuch.net) took a look at the average costs for five utilities across the nation – electricity, natural gas, internet, cable and water.  They analyzed data from several sources in order to give a true apples-to-apples comparison of costs across all 50 states. The top 10 states with highest costs per month: Hawaii: $730.86 Alaska: $527.96 Rhode Island: $521.98 Connecticut: $496.07 New York: $477.31 New Hampshire: $477.02 South Carolina: $473.78 Massachusetts: $469.13 Vermont: $468.3 Maine: $464.45 Click here to read…

Earlier this year a realtor in Houston, Texas enticed buyers with “free tacos” with the purchase of a home.  Now we’ve come across another “innovative” realtor in the same market that used half-naked models to help promote a listed property.  According to the Houston Chronicle, with the approval of the homeowner, the realtor posted photos of scantily-clad fitness models posing throughout the home.  Of course as the complaints started rolling in they were promptly removed.  However the models helped garner over 20k views within the first 24 hours of its posting. The report also quoted the realtor as saying she’s…

Black Knight is reporting that after rising sharply in September, mortgage delinquencies fell by 8.2% in October and are now down by nearly 18% year-over-year.  Their October “first look” report also says serious delinquencies (90 or more days past due) have hit a 12-year low and are down 90k from one year ago.  In addition, the number of loans in active foreclosure fell slightly from September and has decreased by 24% from last year.  Black Knight derives its data  from their loan-level database representing the majority of the national mortgage market. Click here to read the full report at Black…