Author: Brad Beckett

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reporting that the shortage of labor and subcontractors reached a critical point in July with the shortage of rough carpentry contractors being experienced by 90% of builders surveyed.  According to the results, “shortages of labor directly employed by builders were at least fairly widespread for each of the 15 occupations, ranging from a low of 47 percent for building maintenance managers to a high of 83 percent for rough carpenters.”  The survey was conducted in July for the NAHB/Well Fargo Housing Market Index. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye…

FortuneBuilders nailed it when they said that distressed properties serve as the source of some of the best deals to be had on the market, and can be found in many different forms.  Indeed….Today’s infographic from FB illustrates eight unique ways to find distressed properties….Happy Friday!!! Hat Tip to FortuneBuilders.

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in July was estimated at $1,315.4 billion, which is 0.1% higher than June’s revised estimate and 5.8% higher than July, 2017.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $560.1 billion in July, 0.6% higher than June’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report on Census.gov.

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in September slightly rose 0.86% to $1,022 (still down year to date) with two-bedroom units coming in at $1,294 (up 3.19% year to date).  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. “…As the Fed continues to raise interest rates, however, and the economy continues…

We’ve had a lot of posts about the lucrative student housing market and its “evergreen” potential. To that end,  a recent report from Homes.com looked at 150 college towns from across the nation to come up with their “2018’s Best College Towns & Cities in America.”  In it, they examined data about the average purchase price and monthly rent of a 3-bedroom home in each location, sourced from listings on Homes.com.  Then, they revealed the college towns and cities they think you should consider as a landlord to ensure the highest yield and return on your investment.  If you already own…

According to the latest CoreLogic MarketPulse Report;  The foreclosure rate is back to its “pre-crisis” Level with judicial states continuing to have higher foreclosure & serious delinquency rates, refinancing among rising rates shows homeowners are more likely to choose cash-out and longer term and highlights from their Home Price Index.  CoreLogic’s MarketPulse provides monthly insight into the current and future health of the U.S. economic climate with particular focus on housing and mortgage metrics. Click here to read the full report at CoreLogic.com.

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for September showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment came in at $1,209 and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,447.  Year over year, both one and two bedroom prices are up 2.2% and 3.2%, respectively.  Zumper analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the United States. Data is aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population, providing a comprehensive view of the current state of the market. The report is based on all data available…

New data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis report that personal income increased 0.3% in July.  In addition, wages & salaries, the largest component of personal income, increased 0.4% in July, the same increase as in June. “The increase in personal income in July primarily reflected increases in wages and salaries, personal dividend income, and rental income” Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that overall pending home sales declined 0.7% in July and have now fallen on an annual basis for seven consecutive months.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) declined to 106.2 in July as well as reporting that contract signings are now down 2.3% year-over-year.  The Realtors say that once again “inadequate supply” is to blame: “The reason sales are falling off last year’s pace is that multiple years of inadequate supply in markets with strong job growth have finally driven up home prices to a point…

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of Summer so here’s a quick infographic with some interesting statistics about the U.S. labor force, courtesy of MoneyTips.  Of note; Over the past year the number of employed Americans has increased by 1.8 million and the unemployment rate dropped from 4.3% to 3.9%……On that terrific note, be safe and have a Happy Labor Day Weekend!!! Hat Tip to moneytips.com.