Author: Brad Beckett

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for August showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment decreased ever so slightly to $1,208 (down 0.1%) while the two-bedroom average grew, coming in at $1,446 (up 0.3%).  Year-over-year, both bedroom types are up around 3%.  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…

The U.S. government is reporting that the national vacancy rates in Q2 2018 were 6.8% for rental housing and 1.5% for homeowner housing.  The rental vacancy rate was 0.5 percentage points lower than the rate in Q2 2017  and not statistically different from the rate in Q1 2018. The homeowner vacancy rate was virtually unchanged from the rate in Q2 2017 and Q1 2018.  The homeownership rate of 64.3% was not statistically different from Q2 2017 nor from Q1 2018.  In addition, approximately 87.7% of the housing units in the United States in Q2 2018 were occupied and 12.3% were…

Back in January, 2016 we reported about the federal government requiring real estate companies in New York and Miami to disclose the names behind all-cash real estate transactions.  The measure was supposedly “temporary” and targeted properties purchased with cash in New York City and Miami-Dade County that met certain thresholds.  Now, flash-forward to the present; a recent article in the Miami Herald discusses some recent all-cash real estate deals (where the buyers are anonymous) that are being snagged by that very same Treasury Department rule.  However, in May of this year the thresholds for triggering those reporting requirements were quietly…

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their National Economic Outlook for July, 2018 where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy.  Interestingly, they report that “…the new manufacturing jobs have a special impact on real estate markets because they provide fairly high pay….[AND]…..Real estate investors might want to assemble a list of such markets and keep track of new plant announcements..” National Economic Outlook – July 2018 July 24, 2018 By: Ingo Winzer Manufacturing is no longer the engine of the US economy, like it was 50 years ago, but it’s had…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that overall pending home sales in June increased in all four major regions but overall year-over-year activity lagged for the 6th straight month.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index rose 0.9% to 106.9 in June, up from May.  However, the NAR says demand is still exceeding supply.  A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction hasn’t closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing. “Home price growth remains swift and listings are still going under contract at a robust pace…

The U.S. government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in June, 2018, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 631k, which is 5.3% lower than May’s revised rate but is 2.4% higher than June, 2017.  The median sales price of new houses sold in June 2018 was $302,100 and the average sales price was $363,300.  There were an estimated 301k new houses for sale at the end of June representing a 5.7 months supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full release on census.gov.

A recent article on Curbed.com discusses how online platforms such as Roofstock and OwnAmerica have made it much easier for investors to purchase Single Family Residences (SFRs).  In particular they cite Roofstock as one of many SFR investment platforms that have popped up since the housing crisis.  Curbed says these new platforms make it easy & convenient as well as allowing investors to buy and own rental homes in multiple parts of the country at the same time.  However, they do point out that while institutional SFR companies own around 250k SFRs most SFR landlords are “mom and pop” investors…

Buying a good rental property has the potential for some incredible passive income opportunities.  However, in order to be successful you have to do your due diligence and make sure you do it the right way.  Our friends over at FortuneBuilders put together the following infographic that will not only prepare you with what you need to know before buying a rental property, it also outlines the steps of buying a rental property, and provides some questions to ask when making the purchase. Their 10 steps to success are: Evaluate your personal and financial goals. Ask yourself if you’re ready…

What are the best- and worst-run cities in America?  That might vary upon who you’re talking to and what their most recent experience was with the local building department.  However, WalletHub recently compared the operating efficiency of 150 of the largest cities in America to find which among them are managed the best.  To get their list, they looked at 35 metrics that were grouped into six service categories, which were then measured against the city’s per-capita budget.  Their list is pretty interesting and when you look at the chart it is a little surprising – especially when a city…

We’ve seen several “Airbnb-like” start-ups in the last few years but none like this one.  Recently we came across a pretty cool short-term rental platform that is geared for hunters & fishermen called Private Acre.  Basically, they facilitate the renting of private land for outdoor pursuits.  Land owners can connect their property to a community of outdoor enthusiasts that will pay to use it, based on the owner’s terms.  In addition, it’s all covered under Private Acre’s $1 million liability insurance. “With PrivateAcre, you no longer need to know someone who owns land. Now you have access to your own…