Author: Brad Beckett

Everyone loves to find that proverbial hidden gem.  Recently, data powerhouse RealtyTrac took a look at high-yield single-family rental markets that it believes are “hidden gems” – that is, undiscovered by the the big guys.  Drawing from the 473 analyzed counties in their 2016 Single Family Rental Market Report they pared the list down to 28 counties where institutional investors (purchasers of 10+ properties per year) account for less than 3% of all single-family purchases and where the potential gross annual rental yields for properties purchased in 2016 is at least 10%. Click here to read the full report on…

What are the best small cities in America?  The number-crunchers over at WalletHub recently compared 1,268 cities (between 25k and 100k people) using 30 key indicators of livability – such as housing costs, the quality of their schools, number of restaurants, coffee shops and more.  People who live in smaller cities have many advantages over their big city cousins but the one that stands out the most might be a cheaper cost of living.   Be sure to look at their entire list to get a better picture. WalletHub grouped cities in percentiles, with a 99th percentile representing the top 1…

This week data powerhouse CoreLogic released their National Foreclosure Report showing that there were 36k completed foreclosures in September, down 69.7% from one year ago.  Nationwide there were approximately 340k homes in foreclosure (down 31.1% year over year) representing 0.9% of all homes with a mortgage.  The five states (representing 36% of all foreclosures) with the largest number of foreclosed homes were;  Florida (53k), Texas (27k), Michigan (27k), Ohio (23k) and Georgia (21k). “Completed foreclosures have fallen by a total of more than 100,000 homes during the 12 months prior to September 2016,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of…

The National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing recently reported that the 55+ housing market strengthened in 3Q 2016, according to their Housing Market Index.  The third quarter results show single-family 55+ housing at 59 points, up 2 points from the previous quarter.  This marks the 10th consecutive quarter that the number has remained above 50 on the single-family HMI.  The NAHB produces two separate 55+ HMI’s, one for the single-family market, and another tracking the condominium market. The condo HMI was up 1 point at 48. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on…

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, in 2014 there were 9,338 meth incidents in the U.S. – that includes laboratories, dumpsites, and seizures of chemicals and glassware.   Alarmingly, most meth is illegally manufactured in neighborhoods all over the country using hazardous chemicals (most commonly available) that can cause toxic fumes, fires & explosions.   There is no doubt you’ve seen or read about first responders and hazmat crews dealing with these situations.   Using data from the DEA, the folks over at Drugabuse.com examined trends and tracked the locations of these labs to come up with some interesting data.  They also…

The Associated General Contractors of America are reporting that construction employment increased in 226 (63%) of 358 U.S. metro areas over the past year.  However contractors in many areas still struggled to find qualified workers which AGC officials say highlights a need for more career and technical education programs.  Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO added the most construction jobs during the past year (13,400), followed by Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL (12,500), Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (9,600), Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA (9,200); and Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA (8,500). “Overall, the employment picture for construction workers is positive—the number of metro areas adding construction jobs in the past year was more than…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for November that showed another month of mixed results across the country with their index falling for the 3rd straight month.  The national average rental rate for one-bedroom units fell 0.9% to $1,126 while the 2-bedroom average fell 0.5% to $1,344.  Zumper’s National Rent Report analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the U.S. to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population. “It certainly seems like many rental markets are slowing down as we head into the winter months where the number of…

Data powerhouse RealtyTrac recently released an analysis showing that men, on average, had a higher rate of foreclosure than women.  Interestingly they discovered that 73 out of every 10k homes with individual male homeowners were in foreclosure as of the end of Q3 2016 while only 72 out of every 10k homes owned by individual females were in foreclosure.  The gap isn’t that large but sure makes for an interesting infographic, nonetheless….Happy Friday! Click here to read the full report on RealtyTrac.com

Comprehensive data powerhouse RealtyTrac recently released their Q3 2016 U.S. Home Sales Report which showed distressed sales (including REO’s. sales of homes actively in foreclosure, and short sales) made up 12.9% of all U.S. single family home and condo sales in the 3rd quarter of 2016.  This number was down 2.1% from the previous quarter and represents the lowest share of distressed home sales since the 3rd quarter of  2007 when it was 12.3%.   The report also revealed that all-cash purchases accounted for 25.9% of all single family home and condo sales.  This was down 1.5% from previous quarter and…

The U.S. Department of Commerce is reporting that construction spending during September, 2016 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.15 trillion, which is 0.4%  lower than August and 0.2% lower than one year ago.  Total construction spending through September was $863.2 billion, which is 4.4% higher than in August 2015.  Breaking this down a little, private residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $453.7 billion in August, 0.5% above August revised estimate of $451.3 billion.  Private nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $426.0 billion in September, 1% below August’s revised…