Author: Brad Beckett

The American Automobile Association (aka AAA) is predicting that 42 million Americans will travel over the 2018 Memorial Day weekend.  This is nearly 5% more than last year and the highest in over 12 years.  AAA cites the strong economy and growing consumer confidence as reasons behind the increase. “The highest gas prices since 2014 won’t keep travelers home this Memorial Day weekend,” said Bill Sutherland, senior vice president, AAA Travel and Publishing. “A strong economy and growing consumer confidence are giving Americans all the motivation they need to kick off what we expect to be a busy summer travel…

Using data from the American Community Survey and the FHFA index, the National Association of Realtors Economist Outlook recently analyzed the gains and losses of property value over a period of time.  Their research shows the states with the highest estimated median property values in 2017 were Hawaii ($637,892), District of Columbia ($605,756), California ($522,431), Massachusetts ($396,992), and Colorado ($342,967).  Those states with the lowest estimated median property values in 2017 are Alabama ($141,714), Oklahoma ($137,387), Arkansas ($129,902), West Virginia ($122,791) and Mississippi ($118,019). Be sure to click on the interactive map below. Click here to read the full story…

Where are the smaller cities poised to become powerhouses??  Leave it to Realtor.com who crunched the numbers to discover the small & midsized metros that are “poised to hit it big.”  They looked at data from the 200 largest metros (excluding the 15-largest) and examined population, income, home prices, building permit growth, employment figures; and cultural amenities.  And, they included only one metro per state to ensure geographic diversity.  Interestingly, most of these cities are located south of the Mason-Dixon Line. “We’ll see small cities continue to be growth centers,” says Chris Porter, chief demographer at John Burns Real Estate…

The Wall Street Journal (via Realtor.com) recently reported that mortgage rates have risen to their highest levels since 2011, which they say signals the end of a long period of “ultracheap” loans and has ushered in a new era of higher-rates.  In citing data from Freddie-Mac which showed rates quickly rising to 4.61% (up from 4.55%), they say it marks a clear departure from a long period of declining interest rates that began during the financial crisis.  Interestingly, data show that interest rates were at their lowest in late 2012 at 3.31% and were even as low as 3.99% last…

The latest HouseCanary quarterly Canary Rental Index (CRI), reports that the nationwide effective gross yield (EGY) is remaining steady at 7.7%  – which HouseCanary says effectively means that investors can expect a return on their investment of around 7.7%.  The CRI measures Effective Gross Yield, defined as the current fair market annualized rent minus estimated property tax, divided by the current fair market home value for all non-owner occupied single-family properties in the U.S.  They examine how rental yield varies from state to state by pinpointing the effective gross yield (EGY) that investors can expect on average in any given…

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their National Economic Outlook for May, 2018 where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy.  Interestingly, Mr. Winzer warns of “a risk we haven’t seen before” resulting from a “greater concentration of jobs and real estate value in a smaller number of big markets.” National Economic Outlook – May 2018 May 17, 2018 By: Ingo Winzer Like most people, I’m most confident talking about an economy that produces physical things like airplanes or soybeans or TV shows, or even data. I’m less sure when it comes…

Understanding the foreclosure process is a must for real estate investors who hope to pursue this profitable & tricky investing opportunity. The folks over at FortuneBuilders put together this handy infographic outlining the 10-step foreclosure buying process in order help develop a strategy that works for you.  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to FortuneBuilders.

According to Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance poll, 45% of non-homeowners say they plan to buy within the next 5 years, however only 22% of current homeowners plan to sell during that same time frame.  Gallup says that a favorable market for sellers will continue in the near future….Indeed! “One reason homeownership rates have not increased is that the supply of available homes has not kept up with demand. This has led to higher home prices, which — along with higher interest rates — are making homes less affordable overall…” Click here to read the full story on Gallup.com.

The U.S. Government is reporting that privately owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,287,000.  This figure is 3.7% below March revised estimate but is 10.5% higher than April, 2017. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 894k, which is 0.1% higher than March’s revised figure of 893k. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 374k.  Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,352,000. This is figure is 1.8% belowMarch’s revised rate but is 7.7%…

According to the latest Housing Trends Report (HTR) from the National Association of Home Builders, current home buyers are not showing any signs of giving up, despite the tight housing market.  Interestingly, 42% of those planning to buy a home this year said their search was in “full throttle.”  Indeed…..real estate investors are in a great position to help meet that need.  The HTR is a new quarterly research product by the NAHB’s economics team to track prospective home buyers’ perceptions about the availability and affordability of homes for-sale in their markets. According to the graph below:  These are the…