Author: Brad Beckett

We’ve had several posts about Zillow’s Zestimates over the years so this latest development piqued our curiosity. However, a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors reports that Zillow unveiled a new version of its Zestimate home valuation tool that’s supposed to be much more accurate than previous versions. In fact they claim that the error rate is now less than 2% thanks to the ideas it collected in its recent million dollar contest to make the platform smarter. “Among the improvements that Zillow made to the Zestimate is the use artificial intelligence to analyze photos and automatically…

Short-term rental king Airbnb is fighting back against a New Jersey suburb of New York City over a recent ordinance severely limiting the ability rent out units.  According to the Hudson Reporter, Jersey City, NJ adopted in ordinance in June that city officials say doesn’t ban short-term rentals, but imposes regulations and restrictions on they say is “an out-of-control” rental market that has allegedly created a shortage in long-term rentals and has caused long-term rental rates to rise.  Indeed, Airbnb has deployed canvassers to collect 10k voter signatures to put the issues before voters this November.  Stay tuned. “Local governments…

The U.S. government is reporting that Privately‐owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,253,000, which as 0.9% lower than May’s revised estimate and 6.2% higher than June, 2018.  Single‐family housing starts in June were at a rate of 847k, which is 3.5% higher than May’s revised figure.  June’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 396k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,220,000. This figure is 6.1% below May’s revised rate and is 6.6% lower than June, 2018.  Single‐family…

Beginning in June and going through November, this year’s hurricane season is well underway.  In fact, Hurricane Barry recently crawled up the Mississippi Valley – a storm that seemingly popped up overnight.  That being said, the folks over at Restoration 1 put together this handy chart about the types of hurricanes and their potential for damage.  While most of the country is spared from a direct hit, the rest of us still feel the effects in one way or another – especially if you live in the Midwest.  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Restoration 1.

According to NAR publication Realtor Magazine, a recent survey by blockchain provider Shelterzoom, Realtor commissions are the top reason for consumer dissatisfaction in real estate transactions.  The perhaps “obvious” finding was part of a survey of over 1k consumers to find out their top complaints and concerns in the homebuying process.  In addition, they report that almost 43% of consumers say the agent’s commission is too high along with other cited issues including lack of transparency, conflict of interest, and lack of communication.  Indeed… “I’m not that surprised by these findings, as they have been concerns for as long as…

Who are buying properties to rent out as a vacation homes?  A recent report from rental site Vacasa says the best way to sell a vacation home is to know who’s in the market to buy one so they commissioned a survey to find out.  Interestingly, they show that more mature millennials and young Gen Xers (30s to early 40s) are more likely to evaluate vacation rentals for investment potential, while those buyers 55+ tends to personal use a priority.  Indeed… Click here to read the full report at Vacasa.com. Click here to read the “Percent of Vacation Homes in…

What is the percentage of vacation homes in each U.S. state?  Investment property exchange site IPX1031 sifted through census data (which defines a vacation home as a housing unit that is “vacant for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use”) to come up with 50-state list of the hottest spots.  They looked through 29k different census designated places across all 50 states and then ranked the top three locations in each state with the most vacation homes.  Be sure to look at the entire list on their website. “When you think of a popular vacation home hot spot, images of sandy beaches…

America’s suburbs are experiencing growing pains from a large flow of new residents, which is straining schools, traffic and other resources.  A recent story in  the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) highlights these struggles as well focusing on area outside of Raleigh, NC where this phenomenon is taking place.  We also had a recent post here featuring an interview with the article’s author. “In the early 2010s, after the financial crisis walloped the housing market, average growth rates in cities with populations greater than 250,000 outpaced the suburbs. But over the past five years, the average annual growth in…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix, U.S. multifamily rents rose slightly in June, coming in at $1,465 with year-over-year growth increasing slightly to 3.3%.  Yardi says rents “rose robustly” in Q2 with the market’s consistent growth once again showing no signs of waning.  Indeed… “Absent an unforeseen exogenous event, demand for multifamily shows no signs of abating. That doesn’t address whether rent growth can remain elevated, but rents have stayed at above-trend levels during several years of robust supply increases and ongoing issues with affordability, so it seems foolish to discount the market’s potential to maintain its performance over the…

You could say that sales taxes are the one tax that truly affects every person – it’s the classic consumption tax.  It is also the one politicians often reach for to ratchet-up for their favorite pet project. That being said, the folks over at the Tax Foundation recently put together some numbers showing combined sales tax rates (state & local where applicable) for each state.  Interestingly, there are five states that do not have a state sales tax and there are some with a sales tax but no income tax.  It all adds up and it certainly helps determine an…