Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are reporting that sales of new single-family houses in June, 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610k.  This is 0.8% higher than May’s rate and is 9.1% than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in June 2017 was $310,800. The average sales price was $379,500.  There was a 5.4 months supply at the end of June. Click here to read the full release.

Recently we posted an article about Zillow’s new Instant Offers program that seemingly gives sellers a way to quickly sell their property to investors via their platform.  Well, since then over 32k real estate agents from around the country have signed an online petition opposing programs like Zillow’s.  The program is currently in a pilot mode and only offered in Orlando and Las Vegas and Zillow wouldn’t say if it plans to expand it. The Orlando Sentinel recently reported on the matter and spoke with the petition organizer as well as reaching out to the NAR and Zillow. “This is…

Is “Wall Street” the new big landlord on the block?  The Wall Street Journal recently reported (via Realtor.com) about large investors transforming suburban neighborhoods by buying up single-family homes to become rental properties.  The appearance of these large companies in neighborhoods has upended local sales & rental markets and caused spikes in rental rates.  They point out that the rental-home business has traditionally been dominated by small investors and mom & pops with the big firms focusing on commercial properties, large multi-families, offices, etc.  However, that appears to have changed in the wake of the housing crisis. The buying spree…

What does a $12,000 toilet look and function like?  We had no idea until Builder Magazine recently reported about a luxury toilet by Toto that had hit the market for $12k.  The upscale commode features heated seats, uv light, warm water spray along with warm air drying.  Toto says their ultra-modern design helps “reduce the need for frequent cleaning.”  Indeed…..but does it come with real dollar-bill toilet paper??? Click here to read the full story on Builder.com.

We’ve seen a lot lately about renting and whether/where it’s better to own or rent, etc.  Using data from Zillow, the folks over at GOBankingRates put together a list of the top 15 cities where rents increased the most and least.  The number one city where the rents as gone up the most?  Marina del Ray, CA….and the one that increased the least?  Bronxville, NY.  Be sure to check out their whole list. Click here to read the full report on GoBankingRates.com.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales dropped 1.8% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.52 million.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $263,800.  Total housing inventory at the end of May declined 0.5% to 1.96 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 7.1% lower than one year ago and has fallen year-over-year for the past 25 consecutive months. Unsold inventory is sitting at a 4.3-month supply. Click here to the full release.

Data powerhouse ATTOM Data Solutions (parent company of RealtyTrac) recently released their Midyear 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report revealing that there were 428,400 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions) over the first half of 2017.  This figure is 20% lower that one year ago.  Banks foreclosed (REO) on 169,124 properties over this period, which is down 14% from one year ago. “With a few local market exceptions, foreclosures have become the unicorns of the housing market: hard to find but highly sought after,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. “More…

Crowdfund Insider recently reported about SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar’s (former acting chairman) remarks at a recent Heritage Foundation event where he provided a “unique glimpse into the world of the SEC.”   He spoke with Heritage’s Dave Burton, who had this to say: “Commissioner Piwowar’s remarks were cause for optimism,” said Burton. “The SEC appears poised to take steps to improve the regulatory environment for entrepreneurs, to democratize access to high return investments and to enable Fintech innovation. I am glad to see that the SEC is thinking seriously about how it can remove regulatory impediments to financial innovation, entrepreneurial capital formation…

Who doesn’t love a good home flip?  The folks over at ATTOM Data Solutions recently took a hard look at the first quarter numbers for 2017 and came up with an interesting chart that shows (among other things) that 69% of all flips in Q1 were done by “mom & pops” – meaning those that only did one flip.  Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to ATTOM Data Solutions.

The U.S. Government is reporting that privately owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,215,000.  This is 8.3% above the May’s estimate of 1,122,000 and is 2.1% higher than June 2016. Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 849k, which is 6.3% higher than May’s number.  June’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 359k.  Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,254,000. This is 7.4% above May’s rate of 1,168,000 and is 5.1% higher than June.…