Author: Brad Beckett

How did the rental market fair in 2017?  ABODO’s recently released Annual Rent Report breaks the market down and shows where prices increased, decreased and what trends emerged.  They also drill down into the most and least expensive markets and what to expect in 2018.  Overall, rents rose in 2017 with the national median rent for one-bedrooms ending the year at $1,040 and $1,252 for two-bedroom apartments. Politically, culturally, and ecologically, 2017 was a year of anxiety. Hurricanes and flooding ravaged the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Texas. Political controversies dominated headlines and push-notifications. Relations with North Korea reached their…

HousingWire is reporting that HUD will be reinterpreting a controversial fair housing rule promulgated by the Obama administration in 2015 that requires cities & towns receiving federal funding to research local housing patterns for racial bias and design a plan to address any measurable biases.  The report surfaced after HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in an interview with the Washington Examiner that HUD will “reinterpret” the rule. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Carson said this week that HUD will “reinterpret” the rule and how it is used.  From the Washington Examiner: “Do I believe in fair…

Real estate investors know that the old axiom of buying low and selling high is the name of the game, so to speak.  And, if you’re in the home flipping business it’s gotten a lot more tough recently with the tight housing market we’re experiencing.  Today’s infographic from ATTOM Data Solutions talks about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Flippers.  Happy flipping……and Happy Friday!!! Click here to read full story.

Using historical data from the NAR, Keeping Current Matters recently put together an interesting chart illustrating the the median weeks on the market from 1987 through 2017.  Speaking of last year, the Realtors reported that in 2017 the median amount of time a home spent on the market hit an all-time low of three weeks! “Strong buyer demand, a good economy, and a low inventory of new and existing homes for sale created the perfect storm to accelerate the time between listing and signing a contract. The time needed to sell a home has dropped substantially since its highest mark…

After a remodeling contractor in Virginia did some work and then stopped showing up, the homeowner did what was expected and had him charged with construction fraud.  However, what happened next was very unexpected, to say the least;  the contractor hired a hitman to kill the homeowner!  According to the Washington Post, the remodeling contractor agreed to pay the hitman $10k for the murder and an additional $500 for the weapon.  He also told the hitman that the homeowner had “stacks of cash and Rolex watches” on the premisis.  But, as it turns, out that the would-be hitman was actually…

According to their annual Migration Patterns report, Atlas Van Lines said that, in 2017, 11 U.S. states reported a change in migration status over their 2016 numbers.  In addition, 23 states were balanced (moves in and out of the states were roughly equal).  However, an perhaps interestingly, their data showed an overall decrease in the number of moves in 2017.  Atlas has annually conducted the Migration Patterns study since 1993 which tracks the nation’s interstate and cross-border (U.S. to Canada) moving patterns as reflected in moves handled by Atlas Van Lines.  Next week we’ll see what United Van Lines says…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for January showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,255 (up 2.1% from last month) and $1,388 (almost no change) for a 2-bedroom apartment.  San Francisco continues to dominate their National Rent Index of 100 cities at $3,400/$4380 with Ft. Wayne, Indiana rounding out the bottom at $500/$580. 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 U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that total construction spending in November was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of$1.25 trillion, which is 0.8% higher than October and 2.4% above the November 2016 number.  Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $964.3 billion, which is 1% higher than October. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $530.8 billion in November, which was also 1% higher than October’s figure. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $433.5 billion in November. Click here to read the full report.

As reported by HousingWire, the American Enterprise Institute’s Center on Housing Markets and Finance’s Edward Pinto gave four points he expects to see in the U.S. housing market in 2018. They are: The historically tight supply of single-family homes will tighten further in 2018 after hitting a record low in November 2017 The national home price boom that began in mid-2012, will continue, and given the unprecedented low levels of inventory, will even accelerate further First-time buyers will face even higher home price gains for entry level homes First-time buyers will continue take on even more leverage in an effort…

The January issue of the Scotsman Guide features a Q&A interview of incoming National REIA President Doug DeShields, who shares his insight & wisdom on the vital role real estate investors play in the housing industry.  In particular, Residential Edition editor Will McDermott asked Doug about the issues facing real estate investors, what areas are hot, the status of flipping, doing rehabs and more.  It’s a good read and a great way to start the new year! What is the biggest issue facing real estate investors today? One of the biggest problems is finding houses to buy to fix up…