Author: Brad Beckett

Is it cheaper to rent or buy?  That’s an ongoing question that really varies by location.  However, a recent report from howmuch.net took a look a look data from several sources to determine the annual salary it takes to buy a home (including principal, interest, property tax, homeowner’s insurance and a 20% down payment) in the nation’s 50 largest metros. “In general, metro areas in the Midwest and the South require lower salaries than metro areas on the West Coast and the East Coast. The most expensive metros are located in California, especially near Silicon Valley…” Click here to…

A recent article by the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) says that Fannie & Freddie are increasingly backing loans to borrowers who have heavy debt loads, bringing up concerns about mortgage risk as to policy makers debate ways to make changes to the system.  According to the WSJ, nearly 30% of loans packaged into bonds last year by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were from home buyers whose total debt payments amounted to more than 43% of their income. “The backing of these loans opens up a debate about the government’s role in the housing market. Some say cheap,…

If you own rentals you may have received at some point a ticket from your city about high weeds or grass.  More often than not, the tenant that was supposed to mow the lawn failed to do so, but since you’re the property owner you get the ticket.  That being said, Realtor.com is reporting that a Florida retiree has racked up nearly $30k in fines for not keeping his home’s lawn under 10 inches.  The fines, going back to 2007, have also been compounded by a $500/day penalty!  He was classified as a repeat offender (and wasn’t given any time…

In their latest U.S. Home Flipping Report, ATTOM Data is reporting that 49,059 homes were flipped in the first quarter of 2019 representing 7.2% of all home sales – which is the highest home flipping rate since Q1 of 2010. Homes during Q1 2019 sold at an average gross profit of $60k, which translates into an average 38.7% return on investment compared to the original acquisition price.  Flipped homes took an average of 180 days to complete in Q1. “…While the home flipping rate is increasing, gross profits and ROI are starting to weaken and the number of investors that…

Let’s face it…cybercrime is a real concern of everyday life here in America.  Whether it’s a thief putting a skimmer on a gas pump, someone hacking  your email (because your password was 12345) or ransomware attacks, we all need to be aware and prepared.  Today’s infographic from Hostnoc takes a look at the growing problem of ransomware attacks and how to protect your business against them.  Stay safe….and Happy Friday!! …[ransomeware]  paralyzes your file system and encrypt all your data, making it inaccessible but will also ask you for a ransom to retrieve your data. Even worse is the fact…

A recent survey by Redfin revealed that less than half of home buyers said 2017’s Tax Reform affected their home searches.  The survey was conducted in March of over 2k U.S. residents who planned to buy or sell a primary residence in the next year. “Last year more homebuyers were worried that tax reform would hurt their homebuying budgets, but it turns out tax reform wasn’t all bad or all good for homebuyers,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Some homebuyers, especially in low-tax states, are now paying less in taxes overall, which has left them with more cash for…

A recent report from CoreLogic shows that, over the past 10 years, there’s been a shift in homes that normally would be for sale, into the rental market. They suggest this shift has resulted in an actual “under supply” of available housing for sale.  They point out that as recent as March, inventory has been at an historical low.  Indeed… “During the Great Recession and 2006-2011 home-price drop, many homes were foreclosed upon or traded as short sales and ended up being purchased by investors, with a number of these houses eventually becoming rental properties.” Click here to read the…

“I don’t want to make more money — said no one, ever”…That’s the gist of a recent Realtor.com article that took a close look at eight common investments (three are related to housing) and how well they’ve been doing over the last five years.  They zeroed-in on the highest and lowest one-year, three-year, and five-year returns to provide a snapshot of how various money-making opportunities are performing. The eight common investments are: Home Price Appreciation REITs Bitcoin Stocks Mutual Funds Bonds Home Flipping Single-Family Rentals “Make sure you have reserves for repairs beyond what you plan and expect for,” says…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for June showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,216 and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,471.  Year to date, one bedroom prices are up 1.5% and two bedroom prices are up 2.4%.  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 U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in April was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,298.5 billion, which was nearly the same as March’s revised rate.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $499.3 billion in April, 0.6% below March’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at Census.gov.