Author: Brad Beckett

With homes moving off the market in October up to 2% faster than this time last year the folks over at Realtor.com decided to it would be a good time to put together a list of America’s Top 20 Real Estate Markets.   Using data from where homes are in highest demand (listing views by market) and selling the fastest (measured by days on market).  They also report that the median list price of $250k – which is 8% higher than a year ago and a new record for the month of October. “We are seeing evidence of stronger-than-normal demand this…

Halloween is almost here!  The spooky folks over at Zillow crunched the candy, err numbers to come up with the top 20 best cities to go “trick-or-treating.”   For their list, Zillow looks at home values, proximity to each other, the crime rate and share of the population under 10 years old. Click here to read the full report on Zillow.com.

According to the National Association of Realtors existing-home sales in September rose 3.2% to an adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million homes.  A lot of the momentum was attributed to sales from first-time buyers who represented 34% of all buyers – a four-year high.  Distressed sales accounted for 4% of sales – a new low.  The following infographic gives a nice snapshot of the situation….Happy Friday…. Click here to read the full report on Realtor.org.

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index says that for August, 2016 home prices continued to rise across the country.  The report showed a 5.3% annual gain in August, up from 5.0% last month.  In addition, their 10-City Composite posted a 4.3% annual increase, up from 4.1% the previous month and their 20-City Composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.1%, up from 5.0% in July. “…While the stock market recovery has been greater than the rebound in home prices, the value of Americans’ homes at about $22.3 trillion is slightly larger than the value of stocks…

In the spirit of all things spooky we discovered an interesting list this week; Popular Mechanics has enlightened us with ten power tools that could kill you.  Along with the list, and a cool explanation of the destructive power of each item, PM wisely reminds us to always respect your tools, keep the guards in place, and always wear proper protective equipment at all times. The ten tools that could kill you: Radial Arm Saw Chop Saw Angle Grinder Table Saw Lathe Nailers Chainsaws Snow Thrower Circular Saw Riding Mower Indeed…… Read the full article on PopularMechanics.com.

Black Knight Financial Services released their “First Look” at September’s mortgage data that found that the rate of all mortgages in active foreclosure fell to 1% – its lowest point in nine years.  In addition, they also report that September had the 3rd highest repayment rate in three years.  Black Knight derives their mortgage performance statistics from its loan-level database representing the majority of the national mortgage market. Click here to read the full report at Black Knight Financial Services.

When you’re researching a property, have you ever wondered if someone died at that address?  An online site called DiedInHouse.com will, for a small fee, generate a report using millions of records to determine if a death occurred at any valid US address.  Their reports can also contain information about that death as well as meth lab activity, fires and other data that may be available but unknown to potential buyers. According to an article on Forbes.com, the service was founded three years ago when its founder went searching for information after one of his tenants asked him if he…

Data powerhouse RealtyTrac recently released their Q3 2016 Single Family Rental Market Report which found that for homes purchased in 2016 the average single-family rental returns dropped to a nine-year low.  Analyzing data from 473 counties, the report says the average annual gross rental yield (monthly rent, annualized, divided by median the home price) was 8.7% for properties purchased in the first seven months of 2016, down from an average of 8.8% from 2015 and the lowest level since 2007 – when it was 7.3%. “While average rental returns on properties purchased so far in 2016 are at a nine-year…

The pest control and rodent removers over at Orkin recently reminded folks that Fall marks the start of rodent season (who knew?) when these unwanted pests seek food & shelter to survive the winter – that means coming in your properties!  In honor of the occasion they’ve put together their list of the “Top 50 Rattiest Cities” in America.  The cities were ranked by the number of rodent treatments (residential & commercial) that Orkin performed from October 2015 through the end of September this year. The top 10 rattiest cities: Chicago New York Washington D.C. Los Angeles San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose…

Sometimes, conventional wisdom just goes without saying.  However it is good to step back and look at the data. This week’s infographic (courtesy of the National Association of Realtors) reveals that nearly half (44%) of home buyers found their home on the internet with barely 1% doing so using a newspaper.  Keep that in mind when you’re ready to move your next flip….Happy Friday. The above infographic was sourced from NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.