Author: Brad Beckett

According to recent data from the Joint Center on Housing Studies (reported by Mortgage News Daily), $425 billion was spent nationally in 2017 on home maintenance & improvement – representing a 10% increase from 2015 and more than 50% from the 2010.  In addition they report that nearly 80% of America’s housing stock is at least 20 years old with twice that share of homes having been built 50 or more years ago.  They say that since new construction is still well behind its pre-recession levels older home have been remodeled in greater numbers. “The foreclosure crisis left many homes…

According to recent analysis from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the digital economy accounted for 6.9% of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, amounting to $1.35 trillion.  Interestingly, as noted in the chart below, “real estate and rental & leasing” had the largest share of the nation’s GDP.  The GDP is the value of the goods and services produced by a nation’s economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production.  The GDP by industry, or value added, is a measure of an industry’s contribution to overall GDP. According to the BEA’s initial…

We recently posted that there are 34 states (and D.C.) ithat allow medical marijuana usage with at least 10 states (and D.C.) having some form of legal recreational use.  Now we’ve come across a recent post from data-wrangler Statista where they report that, in 2018, the U.S. added over 64k full-time jobs (a 44% over 2017) into a growing $10 billion per year marijuana industry.  In addition, they cite a study by cannabis website Leafy that says there are an estimated 211k people full-time employees in the industry with another 100k jobs indirectly depending on it.  Is this America’s “hidden…

According to new research from Zillow, real estate investors appear to be flocking to Opportunity Zones.  Their data show that areas designated as Opportunity Zones saw a surge in sale prices since that designation was made, which they say is an early sign that investors are eager for the tax breaks. Interestingly, they said that Census tracts that were eligible but were not chosen as Opportunity Zones saw a slowdown in sale price appreciation, while prices in designated Opportunity Zones grew by more than 20% annually.  Indeed… “It’s still early, but we’re already seeing some signals that folks have begun…

According to the latest CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report, as of January 4% of home mortgages were in some stage of delinquency – the lowest level in 20 years.   This rate includes all home loans 30 days or more past due and includes those in foreclosure.   In addition, CoreLogic points out that no state logged an annual gain in its serious delinquency or foreclosure rate, however North Dakota posted a gain in the overall delinquency rate. Click here to read the full report at CoreLogic.com.

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…