Author: Brad Beckett

Housing insight chronicler Curbed has an interesting piece about how the changing demographics of mobile homes, coupled with a growing Latino population, are shining a light on larger demographic changes taking place across the U.S.  The point out that as the lack of affordable housing affects cities across the country, mobile and manufactured homes have become a way to achieve this goal- as they point out, half of the American dream since the land belongs to someone else.  If you’re invested in mobile homes, this is worth a read. “…Often these parks are looked down upon by city officials, sometimes…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded $5 billion to help hard-hit areas in Texas recover from Hurricane Harvey. The grant is provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program and will support the repair of damaged homes, businesses and critical infrastructure in the State of Texas. “As President Trump has said from the beginning, the whole federal family is with the people of Texas to help them recover from this devastating storm as quickly as possible,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “HUD will work with Governor Abbott and his staff to…

A new startup is encouraging wannabe tiny house enthusiasts to “try it tiny” by renting a property for a month, week or even a few days.  In addition, they’re working to connect landowners with land for rent to host/share their land and become part of a growing movement.  Their mantra? Give it a try before you buy……Indeed. Try It Tiny connects people to give them the opportunity to rent a tiny house or share their land with tiny house enthusiasts nationwide. Become part of a growing community by renting a tiny house or parking your tiny house on hosts’ properties.…

Where exactly do renters most enjoy renting?  That’s the question that apartment rental site ABODO recently pondered as it sifted through reams of data form the 2015 American Housing Survey. In essence, they wanted to discover the cities where renters are the most satisfied (or not) with their homes.  There are some interesting data in here as well as some subjective findings open to debate.  Overall, it’s good insight into what’s driving renters’ decisions. “…if our data has shown us anything, it’s that certain cities are more favorable renting environments than others. And it turns out that price isn’t the…

The U.S. Government is reporting that privately owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,290,000.  This is 13.7% above the revised September estimate of 1,135,000, but is still 2.9% below the October 2016.  Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 877k, 5.3% higher than September’s figure. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 393k.  Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,297,000. This is 5.9% higher than September’s revised rate and 0.9% above October 2016. …

Water….we all drink it, we all must have it and if you’re a landlord it might be included with the rent.  The NAHB’s Eye on Housing, using data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), recently crunched the numbers to show that the residential sector accounts for less than 8 percent of all water used in the U.S.  Interestingly, the USGS release shows that, in 2010, residential water use totaled 27,400 million gallons per day (Mgal/d). Click here to read the full story at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

MarketWatch is reporting that household debt rose $116 billion (0.9%) in Q3 of 2017 to $12.96 trillion.  Citing data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, they also reported that credit card debt rose 3.1% and HELOC’s (home equity lines of credit) fell 0.9%. Click here to read the full story on MarketWatch.com.

AAA says over 50 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this Thanksgiving – this is 3.3% higher than last year and the highest number in 12 years!  We at National REIA hope you & your family have a safe & happy Thanksgiving Day weekend.  And, of course….Happy Friday! Click here to read the full travel forecast on AAA.com.

In their latest Loan Performance Insights Report, CoreLogic is reporting that August’s foreclosure inventory rate was 0.6%, the lowest monthly rate since August 2016 when it was 5.2%.  They also reported that in August, 4.6% of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency representing a 0.6 percentage point year-over-year decline in the overall delinquency rate compared with August 2016 when it was 5.2%. “Serious delinquency and foreclosure rates are at their lowest levels in more than a decade, signaling the final stages of recovery in the U.S. housing market,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “As the construction…

In her latest Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke reminds us that winter season is fast approaching which means property owners and managers should make sure their rentals are ready for bad weather. Freezing temperatures along with cold rain and snow can create a lot of trouble if you’re not prepared. It’s also a great time to check in with your tenants.  Now is a great time to do some seasonal maintenance before the worst of the weather hits us. If you live in states with freezing temperatures and snow, it’s especially important to prevent the freezing of pipes,…