Author: Brad Beckett

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…

Have American’s views about renting changed how we should be viewing homeownership?  A recent article in the Washington Post by the President of the National Apartment Association suggests that it has – at least for Baby Boomers and Millennials.  In fact, he says that attitudes are changing and renting is no longer seen as a “rung on the housing ladder” but rather as a lifestyle decision that, in many cases, is more flexible than traditional homeownership.  Obviously, renting is not the best choice for everyone and there certainly is no one-size-fits-all rule for housing.  However, we are living in the…

What are the biggest exports from each U.S. state?  That question was recently settled by howmuch.net when they took data from the Census Bureau and then generated an economic snapshot of each state’s exports.  Interestingly they found that the airplane manufacturing supply chain stretched completely across the nation….the Wright Brothers would be proud. “…Building and manufacturing airplanes for the global market is deeply important in 17 states, totaling just under $100 billion in exports, and that’s not even the entire value of national airplane exports—that’s just for those states in which it is the leading export….” Click here to read…

By now we’re all used to seeing reality TV shows with half a million dollar, 2-bedroom ranch on a slab house somewhere out west (usually California).  Now we’ve come across a list from Redfin with the top 10 most desired tiny homes on the market right now….and guess what, they’re all out west and they’re not cheap – especially when you consider how much square footage you get!  To get their list, Redfin looked at actively listed single-family homes under 600 sq. feet in more than 80 markets.  Six of their top 10 tiny houses are in California and the…

What are the best and worst states for flipping a house?  That could be a loaded question depending on what criteria you’re using.  With that in mind, the folks over at GOBankingRates, using data from Zillow and ATTOM, evaluated all 50 states by looking at a combination of metrics including medium listing price, average number of days to flip, and average gross return.  They found the best states for flipping houses were mostly in the East and the worst states for flipping were predominantly landlocked states west of the Mississippi. “Flipping houses often sounds like easy money: Buy an older…

It might be hard to be sympathetic about this one.  For years, many Congressmen have slept in their offices during their time in D.C. conducting the “people’s business.”  Most cite austerity & conservatism as their reason and many actually wear it as a badge of honor.  However, a recent article on Realtor.com points out that several Congressmen are crying poverty, saying the high costs of D.C. housing is forcing them to sleep in their offices.   Perhaps if they spent less time in Washington and more time reducing the size of government this wouldn’t be an issue.  Keep in mind that…

We suppose it’s only fair….we’ve all heard about “man caves” but now we’re hearing more and more about these cool “she sheds.”  Well, With Mother’s Day quickly approaching (did you get her a card?) what better way to help mom celebrate than by building her a “she shed.”  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Outdoor Living today.

Where are the best & worst smaller cities to start a business?  For what it’s worth, WalletHub recently took a look at over 1,200 cities across the fruited-plain and looked at their business-friendliness across 18 metrics such as labor costs, growth, access to resources and more.  Be sure to see the entire list and click on the interactive map below. “…entrepreneurs who want to build a large professional network aren’t likely to make as many connections in a town with fewer residents. Other restrictions might include limited industry options, a less diverse customer base, and difficulty attracting and keeping top…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix, U.S. multifamily rents rose $4 to $1,377 in April to a level, which they point out, is the market’s best performance since last spring.  Year over year, rents are up 2.4% through April and is within the 2.5% growth range that the market has averaged since early ’17. “The big picture is that even though the occupancy rate is dropping slowly closer to the historical average, the market is in a healthy position for the long term. Demand is expected to remain high, while overall housing stock is growing at roughly the same number…