Author: Brad Beckett

For the most part, every state capital has a beautiful statehouse and a requisite garden of government growing nearby (which one could argue requires constant pruning).  However, not all state capitals are places that draw residents or are places, for that matter, where you’d want to live.  With that in mind, the folks over at smartasset recently put pen to paper and came up with the best state capitals in which to live.  To get their list, they looked at five “livability factors” in order to come up with their list;  disposable income, unemployment rate, the rate of dining &…

What kind of return can you expect from various remodeling projects?  The National Association of Realtors recently released their 2017 Remodeling Impact Report where they explore this as well as the reasons people undertake remodeling projects, the success of these remodels and, interestingly, how much happiness it brings them.  The return on the bottom-line, whether it’s a fix-n-flip or a rental property that you’d like to squeeze more income from, the ROI paramount for most investors.  That being said, this report contains some good data and insight into current trends and ROI from various projects. “Realtors understand which remodeling projects…

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently reported that sales of new single-family houses in August, 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560k.  This number is 3.4%  below July’s revised rate and is 1.2%  lower than one year ago.  The median sales price in August was $300,200 and the average sales price was $368,100.  There was an estimated 284k new houses for sale representing a 6.1 months supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report.

According to the NAR’s 2017 Student Loan Debt and Housing Report, the U.S. currently has a student debt load of $1.4 trillion, which accounts for 10% of all outstanding debt and 35% of non-housing debt. As this debt rises, homeownership has fallen among the younger generations.  However you want to look at it, they will still need a place to live…Happy Friday This infographic contains highlights from the 2017 Student Loan Debt and Housing report.

Rental market site Zumper recently released their Annual Renter Survey where they report that over one third of Americans are renters – the highest percentage over 50 years!  Zumper surveyed 14,284 people from every U.S. state and D.C.  This is the 2nd edition of their annual survey where they hope to better understand the characteristics, perspectives and behaviors of renters in the United States. Some takeaways: Over 100 million Americans are renters One in three do not believe the American Dream includes home ownership One in five have no plans to ever buy a home Nearly half revealed they are…

According to recent reports (including posts on this site), low housing inventory is driving up prices, but also demand for rental units all across the nation.  In a recent Real Estate News for Investors podcast, Kathy Fettke discusses these reports and other analyses showing how there will probably be enough renters to fill whatever developers can put on the market over the next decade – creating a huge challenge for the industry going forward…..and an opportunity for investors. Click here to read more on RealWealthNetwork.com.

A while back we told you about WavStay, an Airbnb-like service for boats (although we’re not sure if they’re still in business), now comes a new startup in Seattle called Loftium that will help potential homebuyers with a down-payment (up to $50k) for that dream home.  Oh, the catch???  You’ll have to list one of the spare bedrooms on Airbnb for 12-36 months and share the proceeds with Loftium.  The service is currently only available in Seattle and is for primary residences only (no investment properties) and there are no income limits or home price restrictions.  It’s an interesting concept…

Black Knight Financial Services recently released their July, 2017 Home Price Index (HPI) report that says that U.S. home prices were up 6.2% year over year in July and up 0.5% for the month.  The HPI value for July was $281k – same as June and the first time all year it hasn’t increased.  In addition, home prices in eleven of the nation’s 20 largest states reached new highs;  Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.  The Black Knight HPI utilizes repeat sales data from the nation’s largest public records data set, as well…

What’s the best path to building wealth in real estate?  Should you flip, rent or hold?  With all the quick-buck, get rich by flipping reality tv shows out there it can get downright confusing and often misleading.   One thing we know to be true;  It’s not easy…..However, hard work, sound advice and due diligence will always pay off.  Recently, Realtor.com looked at five big real estate investments that everyday folks may want to consider. Then they broke down the typical returns of each one along with the pros and cons of each type of investment.  National REIA’s Charles Tassell, a…

The National Association of Realtors recently reported that existing home sales were down 1.7% in August, which is still 0.2% higher than one year ago.  First-time buyers represented 31% of sales in August, down from July but unchanged from a year ago.  All-cash sales made up 20% of transactions with individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchasing 15% of homes in August.  Distressed sales (foreclosures & short sales) represented just 4% of sales.  Inventory at the end of August dropped 2.1% to 1.88 million existing homes and is now 6.5% lower than one year ago.  Unsold inventory is…