Author: Brad Beckett

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales increased 1.1% in May, which they say was a positive variation from the minor sales dip seen in April.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) decreased to 104.3 in April, with the Midwest being the only region to experience growth. In addition, they reported that year-over-year contract signings declined 2%, marking the 16th straight month of annual decreases. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said lower-than-usual mortgage rates have led to the increase in pending sales for May. “Rates of 4% and, in…

A recent article by the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com) points out that the investor share of home purchases has climbed to an all-time high, indicating that rising home prices have not hurt demand for turning them into SFRs or flipping.  Citing data from CoreLogic, they said 11% were purchased by big private-equity firms, real-estate speculators and others that buy properties.  However, when it comes to the bottom third price range, investors purchased one in five homes –  which is up 5 percentage points from the 20-year average of less than 15%. “These are the homes that first-time home…

Next week, on July 4th, America celebrates 243 years of independence!  Today’s infographic takes a look at the 4th of July by the numbers to provide a nice little snapshot about this holiday we Americans hold dear.  Whatever you do to celebrate, do it safely and have fun…..and, as for today, Happy Friday!!! “On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth…

We recently posted about how strong leasing activity has pushed apartment occupancy levels not seen in nearly 20 years.  Now we have additional data coming from the Mortgage Bankers Association showing that the vacancy rate for single-family owner-occupied homes fell to 1.2% in Q1  – the lowest level since 1995. “There has been a great deal of attention paid lately to the mismatch between the supply of, and demand for, housing in the United States. According to Census statistics, the U.S. added 1.5 million households during 2018 but built fewer than 1.2 million new housing units. The result is a…

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 3.5% annual gain in April, down from 3.7% in March.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 2.3% and the 20-City Composite posted a 2.5% 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 U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in May, 2019 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626k, which is 7.8% lower than April’s revised figure.  The median sales price of new houses sold in April 2019 was $308k and the average sales price was $377,200.  There was an estimated 333k new houses for sale at the end of April representing a 6.4 months supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

A Florida investor thought he got a great deal when he was buying a $177k-valued villa for $9,100 at a county property tax auction, but it soon turned into sour grapes.  According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, what he actually purchased was not a villa but a 1-foot by 100-foot strip of land worth about $50 (see arrow in photo below).  Now the buyer wants Broward County to void the deal and claims that the photos were misleading and deceptive.  The land actually contains two mailboxes starting at the curb and then runs under a wall separating the garages…

According to recent data from RealPage.com, strong leasing activity this summer has pushed occupancy levels to their highest level in nearly 20 years.  U.S. apartment occupancy hit 96% in May, up 60 basis points (bps) from April.  In addition, they confirm what we’ve already been seeing with annual rent growth holding solid at 3.1% – marking the 10th consecutive month of annual rent growth at 3% or higher.  In addition, the average rent was $1,394 among the 150 largest apartment markets. “Healthy demand should be reassuring to developers as the number of units under construction nationwide keeps climbing. More than…

If there is a way to cheat short-term rental customers out of their money online you can bet that criminals will find a way to exploit it.  A recent story at the Virginia-Pilot (Virginia Beach area) illustrated the growing problem of scammers using sites like Craigslist to surreptitiously list and then rent short-term rental properties that they do not own or control.  One rental home owner in Virginia Beach says he’s had to turn away people already this year who paid someone else to rent one of his summer rentals – which he only lists on Airbnb and VRBO.  He…

Do you remember the story we posted about the twice-married woman in New York City who was “adopted” at age 58 by an elderly man she befriended so she could stay in his rent-controlled apartment (where he’d been living for at least 85 years, btw)?  Well, as Kathy Fettke reports in a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, things just got a lot worse in New York.  She says New York landlords are gearing up for a court battle over new statewide rent control rules that will have a dramatic impact on rent-regulated apartments in New York City,…