On a recent episode of the Rent Perfect podcast David Pickron sheds light on the reality behind rising credit scores and why, as a landlord, you may need to dig a little deeper to understand your tenants’ ability to make rental payments. “Is a credit score really a good indicator of a tenant applicant’s ability to pay their rent?” – David Pickron Click here to listen on Spotify.
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
In response to the National Association of Realtors reaching a settlement in a class-action lawsuit requiring them to change its brokerage fee rules, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced an update to help ensure that Veterans using the VA-guaranteed home loan benefit remain competitive buyers. Specifically, the VA says eligible Veterans, active duty service members and surviving spouses who use their VA home loan benefits can pay for certain real estate buyer-broker fees when purchasing a home beginning Aug. 10, 2024. The update was intended to ensure VA’s programs continue to promote access to homeownership for Veterans. Previously,…
According to ATTOM Data’s May 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, there were a total of 32,621 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions) – up 3% from a month ago but down 7% from a year ago. Their data show that one in every 4,320 housing units nationally had a foreclosure filing in May. States with the highest foreclosure rates were New Jersey (one in every 1,939 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Illinois (one in every 2,362 housing units); Delaware (one in every 2,595 housing units); Connecticut (one in every 2,600 housing units); and…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently proposed a rule that would remove medical bills from most credit reports. In addition, the new rule would prevent debt collectors from using the credit reporting system to collect debt. The CFPB says the new rule would remove as much as $49 billion of medical debts that they say unjustly lowers credit scores for 15 million people. “The CFPB is seeking to end the senseless practice of weaponizing the credit reporting system to coerce patients into paying medical bills that they do not owe,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Medical bills on credit…
The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 0.7% in May to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.11 million – down 2.8% year over year. Total housing inventory at the end of May was 1.28 million units, up 6.7% from April and up 18.5% from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.7-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 24 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $419,300 – the highest price ever recorded and up 5.7% from one year ago.…
The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in May, 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,277,000, which is 5.5% lower than April’s revised number and is 19.3% lower than one year ago. May’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 278k. Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,386,000, which is 3.8% below April’s revised number and is 9.5% lower than one year ago. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 382 in…
Today’s graphic from Statista illustrates that the number of job openings in the United States dropped to their lowest level in more than three years in April, which they say further indicates that the U.S. labor market is cooling off. They say 8.06 million positions remained unfilled on the last business day of April – the lowest reading since February 2021. Indeed…..Stay safe and have a Happy Friday! Hat tip to Statista.
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that large cities in the Northeast & Midwest grew in 2023, reversing earlier population declines. According to the report, cities with populations of 50k or more grew by an average of 0.2% in the Northeast and 0.1% in the Midwest after declining an average of 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, in 2022. Those in the West went up by an average of 0.2% from 2022 to 2023. Cities in the South grew the fastest – by an average 1.0%. Indeed… “The population growth across the South in 2023 was driven by significant numeric…
WalletHub says the average American can expect to move an estimated 12 times in a lifetime. They say moving can be a sign of opportunity, prompted by a new job or long-term wealth accumulation, but people may also move because of instability such as foreclosure or job loss. With that in mind, they compared over 180 U.S. cities on 45 key family-friendly metrics (such as the cost of housing, the quality of local school and health-care systems, and the opportunities for fun and recreation) to come up with their list of the best & worst places to raise a family.…
According to the latest ICE Mortgage Monitor (formerly Black Knight), the national delinquency rate eased to 3.09% in April, a 22 basis point improvement over last year. In addition, they report that delinquencies fell to their lowest level since the record low of March 2023. The ICE Mortgage Monitor provides a view of the current mortgage market, including loan-level performance, home price trends data, secondary market metrics and public records. “Continued improvement in April led to the fewest serious delinquencies in more than 18 years, while the number of loans in active foreclosure fell to its lowest level in more…
