Author: Brad Beckett

While not exactly sexy, this is an interesting item from a data and public health perspective.  According to research from the NAHB’s Economics analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC), about 9% of new single-family homes started in 2017 were served by individual wells and more than 16% have private septic systems.  Interestingly, New England has the highest occurrence of septic systems and wells in the nation.  The SOC classifies community or shared water supply/wells as public water rather than individual wells. Nationally, more than 9% of new single-family homes started in 2017 are served by individual wells, and the…

According to a new report from Freddie Mac, over three-quarters of Americans now see renting as more affordable than owning a home.  The data, as reported by the Wall Street Journal (reposted on Realtor.com), also says demand for “for-sale” housing could remain soft in the coming months with 58% of renters saying they don’t currently have plans to buy a home. “Demand for rentals swelled after the recession, as millions of families lost their homes to foreclosure and tight credit made it difficult for young people to buy homes. Rents rose by double-digit percentages in many cities and the share…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing-home sales fell 3.4% in September and down 4.1% from one year ago.  According to data, there were 5.15 million completed transactions in September with a median price (for all housing types) of $258,100.  In addition there were 1.88 million existing homes for sale at the end of September with properties typically staying on the market for 32 days. “There is a clear shift in the market with another month of rising inventory on a year over year basis, though seasonal factors are leading to a third straight month of declining inventory…Homes…

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,201,000. This figure is 5.3% lower than August’s revised estimate but is 3.7% higher than one year ago.  Single‐family housing starts in September were at a rate of 871k, which is  0.9% (±8.9 percent)* below August’s revised number.  September’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 324k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,241,000. This figure is 0.6% lower than August’s revised rate and is 1%…

A few weeks ago we shared the interactive American Community Survey Data Wheel with information about America’s changing population, housing and workforce.  Today we’ve got another one from the folks at the U.S. Census Bureau only this time showing the number of breweries per state, juxtaposed with important demographic data.  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the U.S. Census Bureau.

We have had several posts about this issue and the evidence keeps on coming in;  people are moving out of high-tax states into lower-taxed ones.  CNBC’s Robert Frank says that the “tax migration has begun” and that real estate sales are falling in high-tax states and surging in those with better tax-climates.  In particular he talks about massive growth in Florida and a drain taking place in in the Northeast.  Recall that last year’s tax reform drastically limited the amount of state and local taxes (so-called SALT) that can be deducted off of their federal returns.  So, the results are…

According to BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector increased in August and reached another post-Great Recession level high.  Data reveal that the he number of open construction sector jobs increased to 298k in August, which is consistent with survey data indicating that access to labor remains a top business challenge for builders. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye On Housing.

Caveat emptor…and of course, the devil is always in the details.  That being said, HousingWire is reporting that online property purchasing platform Roofstock is “offering a unique carrot” to entice investors to use its platform –  guaranteed rent.  Yes, you read that right.  The report says that Roofstock recently announced that it is offering an “industry-leading” guarantee that provides up to 12 months of rent on a vacant property purchased through the company’s platform.  The company says its “Roofstock Guarantee” begins providing rent payments to investors if the vacant property is not leased within 45 days of the property’s closing. …

PwC recently released their 40th annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate, one of the most highly regarded forecast reports for the real estate and land use industry.  The report contains extensive insight & analysis on industry trends and developments based on an extensive survey, multiple interviews and individual market focus groups.  Their publication is highlighted by its closely watched list of top emerging cities nationwide which includes their top 10 markets for real estate investors in 2019.  Bottom-line: this report is chock full of information affecting all areas of real estate across the nation. “…2019 could be an exciting year for…

In a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke discusses the recent United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade to see if this is a good or bad deal for real estate.  This “NAFTA 2018” deal will not go into effect for another year but when it does it could bolster demand for commercial real estate, inparticular.  She reports that while there are plenty of critics, a few big names in U.S. real estate are giving it a “thumbs up.” CBRE says the USMCA could fire up demand for real estate that supports distributors, automotive suppliers, and retailers.…