Author: Brad Beckett

We like these kinds of surveys because they always point out what we real estate investors already know – that investing in real estate is not only a smart choice but the best choice for the long run!  That being said, the folks over Sophisticated Investor conducted a survey asking 2k US respondents which investments they regarded as the safest for long-term retirement investing. They used Google Surveys and targeted men & women between the ages of 35 to 65+ from coast to coast. They asked them which investments (from a list) do you view as the “safest” for long…

National REIA’s Charles Tassell was the featured guest on a recent episode of The Lobbying Show podcast where he discussed the real estate investing industry as well as his experience working in politics & government. “Charles has helped develop policy for dozens of municipalities, counties, and states. He’s worked on several pieces of legislation dealing with economic development, fair housing, and environmental issues. He also helps train local chapters of REIA in organizing, coalition building, and best practices for hiring contract lobbyists.” Click here to listen on the Lobbying Show home page.

On a recent episode of Jim Cramer’s Mad Money, Jim interviewed the since-retired CFO of Home Depot, Carol Tomé, who shared some of her vast experience with The Home Depot as well as what the future holds.  Tomé was with The Home Depot for 24 years.  Among the many items they discussed were Home Depot’s new B2B personalized experienced program they’re rolling out as well as how millinnenals are now buying homes and seeing them as investments.  Indeed…. “They’ve told us through our research, ‘We want to work on our house because we think it’s a good investment,’” Tomé said…

We have kept our eyes on that rapidly retiring cohort known as the Baby Boomers.  With that in mind, a recent article on Realtor.com caught our attention.  They put their number-crunchers to work to come up with a list of the top 10 cities experiencing a “boomer boom.”  To get their list, they calculated the counties with the greatest numbers of incoming people aged 55 and up (per capita), and identified those places that have seen the biggest increases over the past two years (using U.S. Census Bureau numbers). They then they selected the primary cities from all of those…

According to recent data from the Associated General Contractors of America, construction employment increased by 14k jobs in August and was up 177,000, or 2.4%, over the past 12 months.  In addition, they also report that the number of unemployed jobseekers with construction experience remained near historic lows.  AGC officials said that 80% of contractors reported they were having a hard time finding enough qualified hourly craft workers to hire. “Construction employment gains would likely have been higher if firms could find even more people to hire,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Our survey found that 91 percent…

Online flipping site Opendoor recently acquired OS National, a national title & escrow firm.  According to CNBC, the purchase allows them to integrate title, escrow and closings into their online buying & selling portfolio.  Last year they purchased Open Listings, an online real estate brokerage that focused exclusively on representing buyers. “Title and escrow has always been a major pain point in the homebuying and -selling process,” an Opendoor spokeswoman told CNBC. “This acquisition will enable us to start mitigating that pain point with deeper integration with OSN.” Click here to read the full story at CNBC.com.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently submitted a plan to President Trump proposing to overhaul & reform the Nation’s housing system.  The plan was developed along with an accompanying one from the U.S. Treasury department pursuant to a memorandum from the President back in March of this year.  HUD says the plan ensures FHA and Ginnie Mae can continue to serve their important missions effectively, responsibly, and sustainably for many years to come as well as accomplishing four objectives: Refocuses FHA to its core mission Protects American taxpayers Provides FHA and Ginnie Mae the tools to…

The Wall Street Journal is reporting (reposted on Realtor.com) that President Trump supports returning mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to private hands, which they say is a development that could keep the two companies at the center of the housing market for decades.  The WSJ said that if the administration follows through on privatizing the firms, they would essentially return to a status similar to before the financial crisis, with their effective duopolies intact, for lack of a better alternative. “Our view is that the government footprint has become too big,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview ahead…

Today’s infographic from the U.S. Census Bureau breaks America down into “micropolitans.”  These statistical areas provide a lens on small-town America and contain between 10k and 50k people.  As of last year, there were 542 micropolitans in the U.S.  Who knew?  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the U.S. Census Bureau.

If you love wine then Trulia has an interesting find for you.  They recently put together a short list of “Wine Country towns you can actually afford.”  They say these places are great if you love the “Napa lifestyle” but not the price – especially if your budget is more “house blend” than “rare vintage.”  Indeed… “We found four wine country towns where you can sip local vino on your patio without dropping a fortune on your house.” Their four wine-country towns are: Palisade, Colorado Walla Walla, Washington Tryon, North Carolina Traverse City, Michigan Click here to read the full…