Author: Brad Beckett

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that a recent surge in homicides & shootings in parts of Chicago’s South and West sides has not hurt real estate investor interest in those neighborhoods.  The data was from an analysis presented at a recent forum where it was revealed that apartment buildings (in particular) remain in demand. “…one reason investors generally are drawn to low-income neighborhoods is that about a third of the apartment residents in those areas are using vouchers funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to pay a portion of their rent. For investors, those vouchers guarantee…

In a recent report, Redfin discovered that one in three recent home buyers made an offer sight-unseen.  The report surveyed over 3k people in 11 metropolitan areas (over the past year) who bought or sold a home, attempted to do so or plan to do so soon.  They sought to better understand the perspectives and experiences of people who were recently in the market to buy/sell a home, and to reveal potential market trends.  Once again we see millennials popping up as an important element of the data. Their key findings: 33% of people who bought a home in the…

Who doesn’t love a good backyard bbq?  It’s the one space where we can cut loose, have friends over, turn up the music and fire up the grill!  Of course, leave it to the good folks over at Realtor.com to find out where you’re likely to attend (and possibly throw) the best backyard parties.  Their team crunched the numbers on over 350 metropolitan areas across the country to find the ones with roomy lot sizes, cool outdoor features, high sales of outdoor summer goods (grills, smokers, pool supplies, outdoor furniture, games, etc.) and, of course, lots of sun-filled days. “We are…

We’re starting to hear more & more not only about the wave of retiring baby boomers but meeting the needs of those seniors living at home.  The folks at howmuch.net recently ran the numbers to show that while costs continue to climb, they are becoming more manageable AND moving toward stay at home care (away from facilities).  These numbers speak loudly as do investors when when they help meet the needs of an aging population choosing to live independently, as long as they can. “While senior care is expensive, there are several choices that provide flexibility. The trend is toward…

In a recent Rental Property Owner Association podcast, Brian Hamrick interviewed Marty Green, who made millions of dollars Rehabbing and Flipping Houses, and then lost it all during the Great Recession.  “After licking his wounds for about a week,” he started his own property management company and in the process flipped the traditional property management style upside down.  He discusses how he took everything he dislikes about traditional property management and created a company that does things very differently. Marty also shares colorful stories about managing rough properties and confrontations he’s had with past tenants – including a story of…

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released their latest population estimates that show that America’s median age continues to rise.  In fact, their estimates show the nation’s median age (the age where half of the population is younger and the other half older) rose from 35.3 years on 4/1, 2000, to 37.9 years on 7/1 , 2016.  Residents age 65 and over grew from 35 million (12.4%) in 2000, to 49.2 million (15.2%) people. “The baby-boom generation is largely responsible for this trend,” said Peter Borsella, a demographer in the Population Division. “Baby boomers began turning 65 in 2011 and will…

Countless news stories have been written about the U.S. federal government’s debt and continued deficit spending….but what about the states?  The folks over at howmuch.net recently pull together data from the Tax Foundation to illustrate how much debt each state caries, per capita.  For comparison, each citizen already has $42,500 on their shoulders from the federal government.  Yikes!  Happy Friday, I think. Hat tip to howmuch.net.

Where do you get the “biggest bang for your buck” in the nation’s largest housing markets?  Trulia recently put that to the test by examining the nation’s 100 biggest metros to find the neighborhoods that offered the best value for first-time buyers.  They generated a neighborhood value score that takes into account the cost to live in a neighborhood and the level of amenities.  Trulia used listing prices and measured entry-level affordability, then added school information, crime statistics, commuting times and other neighborhood amenities such as restaurants.  Their findings?  They found reasonably priced neighborhoods that offered the best combination of…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales rose 1.1% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.62 million.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $252,800.  Total housing inventory at the end of May increased 2.1% to 1.96 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 8.4% lower than one year ago and has fallen year-over-year for the past 24 consecutive months. Unsold inventory is sitting at a 4.2-month supply. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said “the job market in most of the country is healthy and the…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is calling for action to reduce injuries to seniors living at home.  In a new wide-ranging report, they hope to focus attention on the rapidly growing problems of senior falls and fall prevention.  The report found that while extensive research on specific fall prevention and strategies and their effectiveness exists, there was a significant gap on how to overcome obstacles to improve policies and programs designed to reduce senior falls.  This is definitely a need that real estate investors can help meet in the marketplace. “Approximately one-third of adults age 65 years…