Author: Brad Beckett

We see a lot of these “is it better to rent or buy” stories from time to time and we have covered them. However, the bottom line is that it’s all about the local market conditions.   To that end, the folks over at howmuch.net crunched the numbers to provide an intuitive look at the geography of renting vs. owning.  They looked at factors such as student loan debt, financial insecurity, and high housing prices which they say disincentivizes some would-be homeowners.  In fact, howmuch.net concludes it is cheaper to rent than to buy in most states.  Indeed…be sure to…

A recent Wall Street Journal article (posted on Realtor.com) discussed the Trump administration’s plans to overhaul Fannie and Freddie – the two giants that back almost half of all U.S. mortgages. They report that the administration wants to put them on the road toward returning them to private hands.  Currently there is intense debate in Washington about the future of these two behemoths.  Indeed… “Fannie and Freddie make mortgages more readily available and more affordable. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage essentially owes its existence to them. But some argue that the private market could fill this role more efficiently. Right now,…

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in May was $1,074 with two-bedroom units coming in at $1,325.  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. “We saw more volatility in May as near double-digit rent increases and decreases headlined our report. We…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in March was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,282.2 billion, which is 0.9% lower than February’s revised number.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $500.9 billion in March, which was 1.8% lower than February’s revised estimate.Click here to read the full report at Census.gov.

The Kentucky Derby has been called the “most exciting two minutes in sports” and it takes place this Saturday, May 4th, in Louisville, Kentucky.  Today’s infographic from WalletHub reminds us that at this year’s event (the 145th year) over 120k Mint Juleps will be served, 90% of female attendees will be wearing a great big hat, and over $238 million will be wagered while watching this big equine party.  And let’s not forget that about that big moment than when the horses move onto the track, the band strikes up “My Old Kentucky Home” and the crowd starts to sing…..Indeed…..Happy…

A recent essay in Forbes by Roofstock CEO & Co-Founder, Gary Beasley, outlines what he sees as the five trends real estate investors should be watching. “…The increased interest I’ve observed in the single-family rental sector can be attributed in part to the recent volatility in the equity markets and the growing uncertainty around when the economic expansion will finally lose steam.” The five real estate industry trends that Beasley says savvy investors should be watching are: Build-To-Rent Properties In Secondary And Tertiary Markets Large Capital Partners Entering Joint Ventures Retail Investor Interest In Single-Family Rental Homes Renting As A…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for May showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,215 and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,463.  Year to date, one bedroom prices are down 2.5% and two bedroom prices are up 2.9%.  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 National Association of Realtors is reporting that overall pending home sales increased 3.8% in March with three of the four major regions seeing growth.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) increased to 105.8 in March.  In addition, they report that year-over-year contract signings declined 1.2%, marking the 15th straight month of annual decreases. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that pending home sales data has been exceptionally fluid over the past several months but predicted that numbers will begin to climb more consistently. “We are seeing a positive sentiment from consumers about…

According to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, the rate of home price increases reported a 4% annual gain in February, down from 4.2% in January.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 2.6% and the 20-City Composite posted a 3% year-over-year gain.  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 both nationally as well as in 20 metropolitan regions. Click here to read the full report at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The Treasury Department recently released a second set of guidelines for Opportunity Zones that Kathy Fettke says should clear up unanswered questions.  In a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Fettke discusses the recently released guidelines and how they will impact investors.  She says that while there has been strong interest in the tax break program, many Investors have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for details. “…we’ve been very enthused about this program. It allows you to sell an asset, use the capital gains for an Opportunity Zone project, and reduce the amount of tax owed on…