Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in September was estimated at $1,329.5 billion, which is nearly identical to August’s revised estimate and 7.2% higher than September, 2017.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $556.4 billion in September, 0.6% above August’s revised estimate. a

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in November dropped slightly to $1,019 (down 0.8%) with two-bedroom units coming in again at $1,266 (down .24%).  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.

According to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, home prices continued their ascent, with a 5.8% annual gain in August.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 5.1% and their 20-City Composite posted a 5.5% 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 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 the national vacancy rates in Q3 2018 were 7.1% for rental housing and 1.6% for homeowner housing.  The rental vacancy rate was virtually the same as Q2 and 0.4% lower than the third quarter of 2017.  The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%, which is 0.1 percentage points higher than the the second quarter 2018, but is the same as one year ago.  The U.S. homeownership rate was 64.4%, which was not statistically different from the second quarter 2018 or one year ago. Click here to read the full report at Census.gov.

According to the NAR’s 2018 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, single female buyers continue to be a powerful force in the market, while low inventory, rising interest rates and increasing home prices remain, holding back first-time buyers despite notable interest in buying a home.  That being said, the typical buyer was 46 years old with a median household of $91,600.  The typical home seller was 55 years old, with a median household income of $98,800.  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the NAR.

A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis notes that September marked the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, marking the critical stage of the financial crisis.  They say that many economists argue that one of the main reasons why the subsequent recession was “great” was due to high levels of leverage and debt, particularly in the financial and household sectors.  To that end,  they’ve tracked the evolution & composition of domestic debt in the U.S. going back to 1990. “While total domestic debt has not fallen substantially in the last 10 years, there have…

Owning a 2nd home or a vacation rental can be very lucrative as well as having a great place to get away.  A recent report from Realtor.com points out that not only do many second-home markets have solid returns, but some even post profits that rival or surpass those in the nation’s hottest markets.  So, of course they put pen to paper to find the country’s most profitable vacation-home markets.  They looked at the 500 largest metropolitan areas (limited to two per state) where second homes made up at least 12% of all of the properties and focused on all…

We have had several posts about how blockchain technology could revolutionize real estate transactions while at the same time being more secure and saving an incredible amount of money in the process.  A recent article on Bloomberg talks about one county in Ohio that plans to move all 438k of its parcels onto a digital ledger in the next two to three years.  They report the move will cut the time to transfer a title to hours or even seconds and reduce closing costs that typically run thousands of dollars.   In addition, they say sellers, real-estate agents, title companies, lenders…

When you’re researching a property, have you ever wondered, “did someone ever die or get killed here???”  An eerie online site called DiedInHouse.com will, for a small fee, generate a report using millions of records to determine if a death occurred at any valid US address.  Their reports can also contain information about that death as well as any meth lab activity, fires or other data that might be available but unknown to potential buyers (or even the seller). According to an article on Forbes, the service was founded several years ago when its founder went searching for information after…

Bank of America recently released their Fall Homebuyers Insights Report that explores the attitudes, preferences and behaviors of the modern homebuyer. For the first time, their survey also took a closer look at current renters who plan to someday own a home. The report also finds that, among millennials 72% say owning a home is a top priority.  Once again, we’re talking about millennials. Key findings include: Current renters are torn when it comes to the “own vs. rent” debate, with 49% believing renting long-term will be more expensive than buying a home. But, 51% say renting will be just…