Author: Brad Beckett

What were the “hottest real estate markets” in October?  Realtor.com crunched the numbers and tells us that for the 4th straight month Ft. Wayne, Indiana topped their list of cities with high demand and low median days on the market.  To get their list, Realtor.com says homes in these hot markets received 1.5 to 2.5 times the number of views per home for sale compared to the national rate.  In addition, homes in these markets are seeing for sale homes move 16 to 29 days quicker than typical properties across the country.  Their list also shows that the Midwest continues…

According to data from the most recent American Community Survey (ACS), since the peak of the recession in 2008, the housing cost burden for U.S. homeowners has eased while it has remained stagnant for renters.  The ACS estimates the percentage of “burdened” households, or those spending 35% of their monthly income on housing costs) and provides a 10-year look at the trends from 2008 to 2018.  In 2018, for homeowners it was approximately 20.9% and for renters it was 40.6%.  Indeed… “The picture wasn’t quite as bright for the nation’s 43.8 million renters. An estimated 40.6% of rental unit residents…

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, a recent “chart of the week” from the Mortgage Bankers Association highlights the estimated and forecasted average annual change in U.S. population, by age group.  Among their findings, they say that while homeownership levels are strong among older groups, “even the relatively small renter share of the overall growth among older populations can mean significant demand for the apartment market.”  Indeed… “Housing demand in the U.S. is expected to grow considerably over the next decade, as the large Baby Boomer cohort grows into age groups formerly held by the Silent Generation, and Millennials…

According to the NAR’s 2018 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, the share of first-time buyers remained at 33% for 2019, which they say is a historic low.  In addition they report that a third of first-time home buyers used down payment help from family and friends.  The NAR also reports that that while tight inventory has caused steeper housing prices, home sellers in many parts of the country have been able to take advantage of the situation and have received a median of 99% of their asking price and sold their within about three weeks. “Low inventory conditions hurt…

Wireless fidelity, aka WiFi…We practically take it for granted nowadays.  Whether we’re looking up property records while sitting at a local Starbucks or crunching data at the office most of us use Wifi at some point during the day.   It’s practically ubiquitous.  However, this technology only started taking off about 15 years ago.  So, what is the history & future of wifi?  Today’s infographic from none other than Netgear sheds some light on the subject…Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Netgear.com.

What does $1 million get you for a home in different cities across the county?   Well, Zillow says what that home looks like depends heavily on a town’s character, its building history, market pressures, legal guidelines and demographics.  They remind us that the house your money could buy in your town might look nothing like one you’d get across the country, or maybe even in the city next door. “In some cities…a million-dollar home is likely not to be a standalone house. In these places, it’s normal for owners of million-dollar properties to share walls with their neighbors…” Click here…

We first posted about this last summer when Airbnb announced that they were fighting back against Jersey City (a NJ suburb of New York City) over new laws that severely limit short-term rentals.  So, Airbnb gathered the requisite number of signatures to get it placed on November 5th ballot and then spent over $4 million on a campaign to repeal the legislation.  Now, fast forward to this past election day in which the measure was soundly upheld by voters with over 69% of the vote.  According to reports, Airbnb’s opponents, a coalition of  hotel industry and union workers, spent around…

What are the best “small cities” in America?  Well, of course WalletHub put pen to paper to find out!  They say “no two small cities are made equal” but which ones stand out among the rest?  To get their list they compared more than 1,200 cities with populations between 25k and 100k using 42 key metrics of livability – ranging from housing costs and school quality to restaurants per capita.  Indeed… “Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room, fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes, to name just a few of its advantages.” Here are…

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in November was $1,071.  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. Be sure to check out their extensive city list. Click here to read the full report at ABODO.com.

According to the latest Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, ATTOM Data is reporting that there were over 1.5 million (1,527,142) vacant single-family homes and condos in Q4 of 2019.  In addition, the report says there were about 288,300 homes were in the process of foreclosure, with 8,535, or 2.96% sitting empty as “zombie” foreclosures.  “While pockets of zombie foreclosures remain, neighborhoods throughout the country are confronting fewer and fewer of the empty, decaying properties that were symbolic of the fallout from the housing market crash during the recession.”  Said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. Click…