Author: Brad Beckett

Where are all the retirees settling down?  According to a recent article on Realtor.com, the coming “gray-tsunami” is reshaping real estate markets across the nation.  They say that 1.2 million people aged 55+ relocated out of state in 2018 –  a record high.  To that end,  they looked at all metros across America with 1/4 of the population aged 60+, filtered the listings for phrases like “aging in place,” “senior-friendly,” and “ground-floor master bedrooms,” then looked at the numbers of those 55+ moving to the area.  Interestingly, they point out one aspect of this cohort that they say is troubling:…

Which states created the most jobs and which ones lost them?  That question was recently put to the test by the NAHB’s Eye on Housing blog.  Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics total non-farm employment in December, 2018 increased by 2.6 million jobs, compared with a gain of 2.2 million in 2017. It turns out that the South created the most number of jobs by adding 1.2 million total non-farm employment to the area, while the Northeast created the least number of non-farm jobs.  The bottom-line;  just look at the map and follow the money. “Year-over-year, ending in…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix, U.S. multifamily rents held steady in January, coming in at $1,420, while year-over-year growth was 3.3% – with the growth rate exceeding 3% for six months.  Yardi calls this a healthy performance and said market players are largely optimistic about 2019.  Indeed…. “Multifamily continues to run strong in terms of performance and popularity as an investment alternative. Other real estate property types—such as office, retail and hotel—have long-term structural demand issues, while non-real estate sectors including stocks, corporate bonds, emerging markets and housing are showing signs of strain as the cycle lengthens.” Click here…

One of the challenges of posting social media (besides the actual content) is how to size/resize the pictures you want to display or share.  It can be a mystery and best and an exercise in frustration at worst.  To that end the folks over at ConstantContact put together this handy size chart for the main social media platforms.  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Constant Contact.

When you think about California, inexpensive real estate is not something that comes to mind.  In 2018 the median home price for the entire state was $539k, which doesn’t even compare to the prices when you look at cities such as Los Angeles ($795k) or San Francisco ($1,199,000).  To help put things into perspective, if you want to call it that, the folks over at GoBankingRates point out that in most places across America, you can pay less for a house and in many places you could buy several houses for the cost of just one single home in a…

Realty Check’s Diana Olick says that while demand is ticking up for housing, thanks to lower interest rates, there are just too few entry-level homes for sale.  She points out that the homes Homebuilders are building are largely in the move-up and luxury sectors, not entry level.   Indeed…. “Affordability is still an obstacle…The trouble is that while there are more houses coming on the market, and prices are easing slightly, there are still not enough affordable homes for sale.  Supply is increasing largely because homes are sitting on the market longer.” Click here to watch State of the Housing Market…

Have you ever been the victim of a “phishing” attack?  And no, we don’t mean the kind of fish you catch with a line and a pole.  Phishing attacks are electronically disguised emails that try trick you into giving up your personal information by pretending to be someone you know or do business with.  It is actually pretty easy to be fooled as it is one of the most common forms of cyber-attacks taking place today.  To that end, the folks over at Google’s Jigsaw blog created an interesting quiz where you can test your knowledge about what is and…

Existing home sales might be dropping overall but that doesn’t mean it’s happening everywhere.  Realtor.com recently took a look at the nation’s largest 200 markets and identified the top 10 that were skyrocketing.  They say that these strongest housing markets have “so far have eluded the shifting tides, with double-digit annual price growth.”  Be sure to check out the story as it goes into particular detail about each city and why it made their top ten list. “Even with the deceleration in home price increases … we are still seeing strong home buying in smaller metros that have good affordability…

The IRS recently issued final regulations and three related pieces of guidance implementing the new qualified business income (QBI) deduction (section 199A deduction) created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).  According to the IRS, the new QBI deduction, allows many owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, or estates to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income. Eligible taxpayers can also deduct up to 20% of their qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) dividends and publicly traded partnership income.  The QBI deduction is available in tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, meaning eligible taxpayers will…

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in February was $1,040 (up .48%) with two-bedroom units coming in at $1,299 (up 2.04%).  ABODO uses over 1 million listings across the United States to calculate the median 1-bedroom rent price by city, state, and nation and then track the month-over-month percentage change. To avoid small sample sizes, they restrict their analysis to cities meeting minimum population and property count thresholds. Click here to read the full report on ABODO.com.