Author: Brad Beckett

Which cities are best positioned for price growth for houses, condos and apartment units this summer?  Recently, HouseCanary analyzed the top-100 MSAs to see which ones had the highest year-over-year price growth for those three investments.  They found that price growth is strongest in cities out West and in Florida, and less robust in the Southeast, while parts of the Northeast may require even more digging to find a good investment deal. In addition they suggest paying attention to where people are moving and try to secure investment properties in those markets. “If you’re looking for strong investment opportunities across…

We’ve posted about this before…people are fleeing California in large numbers.  The reasons are numerous (high taxes, onerous regulations, lack of job growth, etc) but in this study’s case it’s the high cost of housing (especially in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego) that is being examined.  Along that vein, Trulia has this to say about the Golden State;  “you need a lot of gold to live there.”  However they also add (somewhat apologetically) that “Tales of an impending mass exodus from expensive California markets are unsubstantiated from Trulia’s search data since there doesn’t seem to a…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for June showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment rose slightly to $1,198 (up 1.1%) while the two-bedroom average grew 1% to $1,436.  However, Zumper says “there were lots of cities spread throughout the country with year over year growth rates that are over 10%, an upswing that will most likely continue into the hot moving season.”  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…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales declined 1.3% in April, marking their lowest level over the past year.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index declined 1.3% to 106.4 in April, down from March’s revised number.  A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction hasn’t closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing. “Pending sales slipped in April and continued to stay within the same narrow range with little signs of breaking out,” he said. “Feedback from Realtors®, as well as the underlying…

The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that total construction spending in April was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.3 trillion, which is 1.8% above March’s revised estimate.  During the first four months of 2018, construction spending amounted to $387 billion, which was 6.6% higher than the same period in 2017.  In addition, residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $556.3 billion in April (4.5% higher than March) and nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $458.0 billion in April (0.8% higher than March). Click here to read the full release at…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix, U.S. multifamily rents rose $4 in May to $1,381.  However, year-over-year, the increase fell to 2% (down from 2.5% in April) which was the largest one-month drop in basis points in over 6 years.  They report that rents continue to grow moderately in most metros and are weaker than last year’s increase for the same period. “May’s performance continued a two-year pattern of rent deceleration primarily attributable to pressure from deliveries in most metros. That has taken a toll on occupancy rates and growth, even in markets with strong demand. With more than 600,000…

The National Association of Realtors recently released their 2018 Veterans & Active Military Home Buyers Profile, which evaluated the differences between recent active-service and veteran home buyers & sellers to those who have never served.  Among their findings, out of all home buyers, 2% are active-duty military, 17% are veterans, and the remaining 81% are non-military.  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip/salute to the NAR.

Black Knight is reporting that mortgage delinquencies have fallen to their second lowest point in 12 years.  According to their “first look” report for April, delinquencies declined 1.6%, which they say ended a 7-month trend of annual increases.  In addition, foreclosure starts declined 5.4% overall with the number of mortgages in active foreclosure at their lowest point since August 2006.   Click here to read the full report at Black Knight.

According to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, home prices are showing no signs of slowing down as prices continued to rise across the country over the last 12 months.  The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 6.5% annual gain in March.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 6.5% and the ir 20-City Composite posted a 6.8% year-over-year increase.  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…

Last year we posted about property owners in Miami Beach, FL  facing huge fines resulting from tenants illegally listing their units on short-term rental site Airbnb.  Fast forward to now and CNBC is revisiting the issue with an exclusive investigative report about the clash between short-term rentals and Miami Beach.  They rode along with late-night code enforcers (who’ve issue pretty hefty fines, as we’ve seen) and interviewed stunned guests & defensive property owners as well as some local officials who say they’re worried about the commercialization of their residential communities. While there is understandable tension resulting from the growing pains…