Author: Brad Beckett

We have been following the growing problem of squatters and how it is adversely affecting residential communities across the nation.  Now comes one we can hardly believe and really takes the cake;  A recent storyy in the New York Post says migrant TikToker with a 500k-strong online social media following is offering his fellow migrants tips on how to “invade” unoccupied homes in America and invoke squatter’s rights.  Yeah, you read that right. According to the NY Post, the Venezuelan national Leonel Moreno appears to live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, and said in a recent video that under…

On a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke discusses what the latest inflation reports are telling us, why home sellers might be jumping for joy, and where we’ll be seeing the most single-family construction.  Take a listen…. Click here to listen on Spotify.com.

According to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes climbed three points to 51 in March – the highest level since July 2023 and the fourth consecutive monthly gain for the index. A score of 50 is considered the breakeven point. The NAHB says that a lack of existing inventory continues to drive buyers to new home construction, coupled with strong demand and mortgage rates below last fall’s cycle peak helped push builder sentiment above a key marker in March. “Buyer demand remains brisk…

According to the latest CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), U.S. single-family home rental prices rose by 2.6% year over year in January 2024.  CoreLogic says rent growth slowed in January on both a monthly and yearly basis and has not been in double digits since the fall of 2022. However, they do point out that overall growth since February 2020 is about 28%, reflecting continued demand for rental properties.  Indeed… “While annual U.S. single-family rent growth was a moderate 2.6% in January, that increase built on years of above-trend annual gains…Furthermore, while rent growth is slowing, costs are still increasing…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were up 9.5% in February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million – the largest monthly increase since February 2023. However, they were down 3.3% year over year.  Total housing inventory at the end of February was 1.07 million units, up 5.9% from January and up 10.3% from one year ago.  Unsold inventory sits at a 2.9-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 38 days.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in February was $384,500, up 5.7% from…

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,521,000, which is 10.7% higher than January’s revised number and is 5.9% higher than one year ago.  February’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 377k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,518,000, which is 1.9% higher than January’s revised number and is 2.4% higher than one year ago.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 429k in…

The Visual Capitalist says housing costs vary across U.S. states, as well as the income required to buy a house, and the down payment associated with the purchase.  Today’s graphic (using data from Bankrate.com) illustrates the average down payment for buying a house, by U.S. state.  As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.

Redfin says that in an era where remote work is an option for many people and geographical boundaries are becoming less of a barrier, many places are seizing the opportunity to attract new residents through innovative incentives.  To that end, they’ve put together their list of the top 10 cities & states that will pay someone to move there.   Now, that being said, the devil is always in the details but it’s still an interesting way to capture someone’s attention (via dangling incentives in front of them) who may be open to a whole new location to live & work.  …

ATTOM Data recently released their Q1 2024 Single-Family Rental Market report, which ranks the best U.S. markets for buying single-family rental properties in 2024.  Among the findings;  The report says the average annual gross rental yield on three-bedroom properties, (annualized gross rent income divided by purchase price) among the counties analyzed is projected to be 7.55% in 2024. That is up slightly from an average of 7.39% in those same markets in 2023 and marked the second year of rising projections after three years of declines.  To get their data, ATTOM analyzed single-family rental returns in 341 U.S. counties with…

We have seen a lot about the tiny house phenomenon – which are typically less than 500 square feet in size.  A new report from Realtor.com says that although many Americans embrace a “bigger is better” philosophy, a small yet vibrant counter-movement has been growing with a desire to downsize, simplify, and move into a tiny house.  To that end, Realtor.com has identified the top Tiny House Hot Spots in the nation.  Indeed… “Yet although the tiny-house movement is on fire culturally, the actual number of tiny homes out there is still quite small. Only a fraction of a percent…