Author: Brad Beckett

It seems like each year we hear more and more about America’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations – especially with the increased commercialization of Mexican food, beer, culture, etc.  But what is Cinco de Mayo exactly?  Well, for starters, it is not Mexican Independence Day (that’s 9/16), but rather a celebration of Mexico’s underdog victory over the French outside of Mexico City on May 5, 1862.  And, it’s not really celebrated in Mexico.  However, the holiday has been “Americanized” to celebrate Mexican-American heritage and culture….which is part of the unique & rich cultural fabric of America that truly makes “e pluribus…

When you think of Marriott you generally think of the large hotel chain known for their hospitality….but a competitor to Airbnb doesn’t come to mind.  Conde Naste Traveler recently reported that Marriott, in recent announcement, said they have begun a trial program in the U.K. where they will list 200 homes through their partner Hostmaker.  The report also pointed out that in 2017 Hyatt invested in vacation rental company Oasis, adding 2k homes to its portfolio as part of their “Unbound Collection.  Interestingly, Airbnb recently crossed the 4 million listing threshold, which is significantly more than the inventory of the…

The National Association of Realtors recently reported that pending home sales were down 3%, year-over-year, according to their latest Pending Home Sales Index.  They cite “unrelenting inventory constraints” that are keeping overall activity below year ago levels.  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. “What continues to hold back sales is the fact that prospective buyers are increasingly having difficulty finding an affordable home to buy.”  Said Lawrence Yun, Chief Econmist for the NAR. Click here to…

Citing recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the NAHB’s Eye on Housing reports that, year-over-year, 17 states recorded annualized job growth above 1.5% while 31 states (+DC) had job growth between 1.4% and -0.2%.  In addition, non-farm payroll employment increased in 40 states (plus the District of Columbia) and decreased in 10 states.  This data points to strong job grown in the South and Western U.S. with only 2 states actually losing employment, North Dakota and Alaska.  Interestingly, employment gains across these areas track with regional population growth rates. Click here to read the full story on the…

For the 5th year in a row, Gallup is reporting that more Americans prefer real estate over other long-term investment vehicles for growing wealth.  These numbers broken down show that 34% prefer real estate, 26% prefer the stock market, 17% prefer gold and 15% prefer CDs/bank accounts – which currently pay little to nothing in interest. “Real estate is the top-ranking type of investment among most subgroups of Americans, including across gender, age and income categories — with a few notable exceptions.” Click here to read the full story on Gallup.com.

Editor’s note:  Charles Roberts will be one of the featured speakers at the upcoming Out of State Investors Conference in Los Angeles, CA on June 30 – July 1, 2018.  For more information please click here. How Long will the Strong Denver Real Estate Market Last??? by Charles Roberts How’s the Denver market you ask? On fire and our strong housing market is not going away any time soon. I’ll say it again, WE ARE NOWHERE NEAR A DOWNTURN IN THE MARKET! The large pent-up demand for houses continues to gobble up any inventory that makes it onto the…

There is no question that rent control laws actually hinder affordable housing more than they help it.  In fact, we’ve had several posts to that effect on this site.  However, there is a good chance California voters will be voting this fall on whether cities across the state will have more power to enact even stronger rent control laws.  The Sacramento Bee is reporting that rent control advocates across the state have recently gathered and turned in over 588k signatures to repeal a 90’s-era law, known as the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which allows landlords to take a rent-controlled unit…

The U.S. government is reporting that the national vacancy rates in Q1 2018 were 7.0% for rental housing and 1.5% for homeowner housing. The rental vacancy rate of 7.0% was virtually unchanged from the rate in Q4 2017.  The homeowner vacancy rate of 1.5% was 0.2 percentage points lower than the rate in Q1 2017 and 0.1 percentage point lower than Q4 2017.  The homeownership rate of 64.2% was not statistically different from the rate in Q1 2017 and virtually unchanged from Q4 2017. Click here to read the full release on Census.gov.

In a recent release, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson recently unveiled a package of reforms designed to offer Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), property owners and HUD-assisted families a simpler, less invasive and more transparent set of rent structures, and places HUD’s rental assistance programs on a more fiscally sustainable path. SECRETARY CARSON PROPOSES RENT REFORM Reforms to make current rent policies simpler, more transparent and predictable WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today unveiled a package of reforms designed to offer Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), property owners and…

You don’t need a perfect credit score or even a large down payment to buy a house.  Heck, with creative financing the dream of homeownership is within a much closer reach than most people realize.  However, today’s infographic from Keeping Current Matters attempts to slay the myths about buying a home.  They’re dead-on when they say “Arming yourself with information about what’s really going on in the housing market will ensure you become the King or Queen of your castle.”   Well said…..and if you’re a real estate investor there’s no better place to arm yourself with information than your local…