Author: Brad Beckett

Today is April 15th….aka tax day.  With that in mind the folks over at Keeping Current Matters put together this map of the last tax filing season’s average tax refund by state.  They also reported that the IRS said Americans can expect an estimated average refund of $3,143 this year when filing their taxes, which is down slightly from the average refund of $3,436 last year. We shall see….CBS News is already reporting that refund sizes are significantly down. “Tax refunds are often thought of as ‘extra money’ that can be used toward larger goals. For anyone looking to buy…

The folks over at WalletHub remind us that no one likes Tax Day, except for maybe accountants and Uncle Sam.  Well, they’re probably right…..And with Tax day coming up on Monday, April 15th, today’s infographic has a nice little breakdown of the red, white, blue and green. Happy Friday!!! Source: WalletHub

Spring is here and Habitat for Humanity is reminding us that disasters can strike at any moment and with little notice.  They say in order to protect your home and family, it is important to be prepared – especially when it comes to a tornado.  In order to be prepared & survive a tornado, advanced planning and being able to respond quickly are essential.  That’s why they’ve put together a handy reminder list of what to do Before, During and After a tornado as well as a list of important resources. “Tornadoes are earth’s most violent storms and often form…

How much is the land under a house worth?  That’s the question a new working paper from the Federal Housing Finance Agency seeks to answer.   The document, entitled “The Price of Residential Land for Counties, ZIP codes, and Census Tracts in the United States,” measures the land price per acre by year for counties, ZIP codes, and census tracts in the U.S. by using over 16 million appraisals of single-family homes submitted to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between 2012 and 2018.  According to the release, the report will be updated later this year to include a property’s “land share”…

RENTCafe is reporting that, while rent prices are in fact growing across the country (up 3.2% year-over-year), it’s the lowest annual growth they’ve seen in more than 6 months.  The average apartment rent for March came in at $1,430, which they say is consistent to last spring’s growth levels and signals the end of the “sluggish winter season.”  They also point out that 92% of the country’s largest 253 cities saw rents grow year-over-year.  RENTcafe gathers their data from the Yardi Matrix, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development…

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, was recently on the FOX Business channel to talk about the more than $25 billion (yes, billion) that has been committed to opportunity zones so far across the nation.  As you may know, Opportunity Zones are hot right now and we’ve had several posts about their game-changing potential! Click here to watch the full clip on FOXBusiness.com. Click here to learn more about Opportunity Zones.

Congress has recently started to undertake a major overhaul of the National Flood Insurance Program.  Real Estate News’ Kathy Fettke says it’s been in desperate need of reform for years as storms grow more severe and the program falls into more debt.   She says the while new plan is expected to increase insurance rates in flood-prone areas, it could also impact home values in those areas as well.  However, the cost to insure individual homes in these flood-prone areas will more accurately reflect the ongoing risks. “The government created the flood insurance program decades ago, after private insurers stopped offering…

Where are all the new homes being built?  Realtor.com points out that while home construction across the country is slowing down there are areas where foundations are being poured, frames are being erected, and contractors are contracting!  To come up with their list they list they analyzed census data to find the most residential construction permits for single-family homes, condos and co-ops, apartments, townhouses, and duplexes. Despite the fact that new homes tend to be more expensive than existing ones—about 26% pricier, thanks to high labor, materials and land costs—they help to keep runaway home prices at least somewhat in…

So, just when mortgage rates started to climb back towards 5% they’ve now retreated down into the low fours.  A recent Wall Street Journal article (reposted on Realtor.com) says the four percent mortgage is back after experiencing its biggest drop in over a decade.  They report that mortgage rates have been declining along with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note that was  spurred on by the Federal Reserve’s decision to pause interest rate increases.  Interestingly they say that roughly half of current mortgages are originated by nonbank firms, which, unlike banks, don’t have other lines of business or…

Zillow is now firmly in the home mortgage business with their recent launch of Zillow Home Loans.  Late last year, HousingWire reported that Zillow had acquired Mortgage Lenders of America.  Now they’re reporting that they’ve rebranded the operation and will finance home buying & selling through their just announced Zillow Home Loans.  HousingWire says it is the latest move in a two-year effort to reshape how Zillow conducts its business. Recall that last year Zillow also got into the home-flipping business with its Instant Offers platform.  Indeed… “…Since our inception, Zillow has been empowering people with information and resources to…