Author: Brad Beckett

The latest Yardi Matrix is reporting that the average U.S. monthly rent dropped $3 in October to $1,216.  The drop, while slight, represented the biggest drop in three years.  Year-over-year, average rents rose 4.4% nationwide.  Yardi says the decline demonstrates a reversion to more “normal” rent growth, which they forecast earlier this year. “The deceleration is far from being a sign that the sector is overheated. Fundamentals in most markets continue to be strong. Occupancies of stabilized properties are not far from cyclical highs, while the growing population coupled with strong job numbers is producing above-trend household formation that leads…

Crowdfund Insider is reporting that the Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced changes to Rules 147 & 504, which are intended to make it easier for intrastate sales activities.  According to the report, the updates will “impact the ability for issuing companies to crowdfund from state residents.”  They reported that the changes were widely expected and received the support of state securities regulators. Click here to read the report on Crowdfundinsider.com. Click here to read Crowdfund Insider’s Fact Sheet

The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that national vacancy rates in the 3rd quarter of 2016 were 6.8% for rental housing and 1.8%  for homeowner housing.  The rental vacancy rate of 6.8% was 0.5 percentage points lower than the rate in the Q3 of 2015 and virtually the same rate as  Q2 of 2016.  The homeownership rate was 63.5% was not statistically different from the rate in Q3 of 2015 and was 0.6 percentage points higher than the rate in the Q2 of 2016. Click here to read the full report on Census.gov.

Black Knight Financial Services released their Home Price Index (HPI) report for August showing home prices were up 0.3% from July and up 5.3% from one year ago.  Currently at $266K, the U.S. HPI has risen over 33% from the market’s bottom and is now within just 0.7% of a new national peak.  The report also shows that home prices in nine of the nation’s 20 largest states and 9 of the 40 largest metros hit new peaks in August…..Almost a carbon copy of July’s report. Click here to read the full report at Black Knight Financial Services.

Foreclosure Legacy From The Housing Crisis Is Finally Dead Share of Foreclosure Auctions Sold to Real Estate Investors Back Above Pre-Recession Levels By John Triplett NationalREIA Foreclosures have been steadily dropping and have finally reached a level that existed before the housing crisis, according to a release from ATTOM Data Solutions, parent company of RealtyTrac. “Foreclosure activity has been on a steady slide downward over the past six years, finally dropping back below pre-crisis levels in September,” Daren Bloomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM, said in the release. “While we’ve known that the national foreclosure problem has been dying a…

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.