Author: Brad Beckett

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that nationwide rent prices stayed steady over the past month with the current median 1-bedroom rent coming in at $1,003.  New Orleans lead the list of the biggest increases, with a 9.1% climb.  Philadelphia, PA topped the list of the biggest decreases with a -9.7% drop in their median one-bedroom rent.  ABODO uses over 1 million listings across the United States to calculate the median 1-bedroom rent price by city, state, and nation and then track the month-over-month percentage change. To avoid small sample sizes, they restrict their analysis to cities meeting minimum…

The U.S. Department of Commerce is reporting that total construction spending in January was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,18 trillion, which is 3.1% higher than January, 2016’s number.  Private residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $476.4 billion in January, 0.5% higher than December’s number. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $435.3 billion in January, nearly the same as December estimate of $435.4 billion.  Public construction spending was $268.7 billion in January. Click here to read the full release.

During the first week of March Dr. Ben Carson became the 17th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – a federal agency with over 8k employees and a $40 billion annual budget. DR. BEN CARSON SWORN IN AS HUD SECRETARY WASHINGTON – Dr. Ben S. Carson, Sr. was sworn in today as the 17th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office with Secretary Carson’s wife Candy and granddaughter Tesora holding the bible. Secretary Carson will now lead a cabinet agency with approximately 8,000…

We covered a lot of Crowdfunding stories over the past year and are excited about the prospects for this & exciting way of real estate investing. Recently on Forbes, Nav Athwal, Founder and CEO of RealtyShares, identified three trends to watch in Crowdfunding over 2017. “Real estate crowdfunding continues to be a dynamic and ever-evolving industry, growing to an estimated $3.5 billion in 2016. By 2025, the crowdfunding industry as a whole is anticipated to be valued at more than $300 billion and online real estate marketplaces are primed to capitalize on that explosive growth.” The three trends to watch…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales got off to their fastest pace in nearly 10 years.  They report that total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, expanded 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million in January – which is 3.8% higher than a year ago and the highest since February 2007.  The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $228,900, up 7.1% from January 2016 and marks the 59th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.  Total housing inventory at the end of…

Does the idea of being your own boss sound appealing?  Want to know how to get started?  The folks over at FortuneBuilders put together this handy infographic showing how you can launch a real estate business & become your own boss in 7 days.  And, while you’re at, a great place to help in that journey is by teaming up with  your local real estate investors association (REIA) – where you’ll meet like-mind folks who’ve been there, done that and can help you get started.  Happy Friday! Click here to read more on Fortunebuilders.

A recent study from the Mortgage Banker Association’s Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA) examined the shift of existing housing stock between owner-occupied and rental-occupied over time.  It found that between 2000 and 2014, roughly 6.5% of homes built prior to 2000 and 10.3% of homes built in the 1990s, shifted from owner-occupied to rental status.  The study also revealed that housing stock is more likely to move from owner-occupied to renter-occupied when the current occupant of a home is under water.  The RIHA study used data from the 2000-2014 Census and American Community Surveys and the 1985-2013 American Housing…

What are America’s cleanest and most polluted cities?  Who has the cleanest water, the most breathable air?  The folks over at Realtor.com looked at 150 metros using a range of criteria which included toxic chemicals released from factories, Superfund sites, and air & water quality to come up with their Top 10 Clean and Polluted Cities.  According to their findings, a pattern emerged: The cleanest cities are typically set amid agricultural communities, with a national forest and/or natural preserve and the most polluted cities are former industrial hubs in the Rust Belt and along the Gulf of Mexico.  Go figure….…

New research from GOBankingRates.com has found that the median cost of homeowners insurance directly corresponds with the median home values in that particular state.  In essence, if you live in Hawaii (median value $578,400) you’ll have the highest rates averaging just over $2k, however if you live in West Virginia (median value $99,700) you’ll experience the lowest with a median rate just under  $350.  Their entire 50-state list is interesting and worth a look. “Many factors determine the cost of homeowners insurance, such as the size of the specific property, its condition, age and composition, the cost to replace it…

Sometimes it just happens….the land itself is worth more than the structure that’s on it.  We’ve all driven through neighborhoods where “tear-downs” are in full season where the value of the land has appreciated but the homes have not.  In that context, the folks over at Realtor.com took data from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to put together a list of the top 10 cities where land value exceeds property value. “In San Francisco, you see some smaller investors who buy old, poorly maintained homes simply for what can be done to the lot, not the existing homes,” says…