Author: Brad Beckett

7 Reasons Why Smaller Multifamily Homes  are Great for Real Estate Investors By Richard ‘Monty’ Montgomery Reader Question: Monty, my wife and I are 32 years old and have just finished restoring a big Victorian two-family home in New Jersey. We took on a bit of debt, but I just paid all of the credit cards down and completely paid off a pretty big loan. We currently owe around $280,000 on the mortgage and it is worth around $350,000. Our other two-family is hitting on all cylinders. Debt is looking good and we once again have a good amount…

National apartment listing site ABODO recently released their Annual Rent Report highlighting national trends for 2016-2017.  Using over a million listings from all across the U.S., they determined the average price of a 1-bedroom apartment for each city, state as well as the whole country.  They report that the average renter in 2016 paid $1,001 per month.  It’s interesting data especially when you correlate it with the reports we’ve seen from other sources. “…if 2016 was any indication, rents in 2017 will continue to rise. The continuing revitalization of aging urban cores — especially in the South and the Midwest…

Real Estate news site Inman recently released their Real Estate Industry for 2017 which they surveyed some of the industry’s top executives (among other respondents) who were nearly unanimous in saying that 2017 will be another strong year for real estate and are hoping that freed up inventory, spurred on by higher interest rates, will motivate buyers into taking action.  Indeed… “Thanks to the momentum driving the housing market — good employment, rising salaries, high-earning millennials with an interest in homeownership who are unhappy with high rents — our research found there is good optimism about the housing market in…

This month ATTOM Data Solutions, “curator of the nation’s largest fused property database,” released their 2017 Rental Affordability Report which says that buying a home is more affordable than renting in 66% of U.S. housing markets.  The report used data from HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and RealtyTrac on 540 counties with at least 900 homes in 2016. “While buying continues to be more affordable than renting in the majority of U.S. markets, that equation could change quickly if mortgage rates keep rising in 2017,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions, the new parent company…

CNET is reporting that a new law in Arizona effectively makes the state extremely friendly to short-term rental sites such as Airbnb.  The new law, which preempts local ordinances, removes any limits to the number of properties that can be rented out as well as any restrictions on the number of days they can be rented.  However, according to the new law, Airbnb must collect local taxes for each rental based on an agreement reached last month between Airbnb and the Arizona Department of Revenue. “For thousands of hard-working Arizonans, opening their home to out-of-state guests provides the financial breathing…

Who are first-time homebuyers, exactly, and what are they composed of?  Using data from the NAR’s annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers the folks over at MGIC put together some interesting facts & insights about first-time homebuyers.  Interestingly, 74% rented before buying and 67% said their primary reason for buying a home was out of a “desire to own our own home.”  Happy Friday! Click here to read more on mgic.com.

The RPOA Real Estate Investor Podcast recently discussed “Replacing Your Job Income with Five Rental Properties, Infinite Returns and Profiting by Solving Other People’s Problems with Nick Watkins.”  This is a great conversation with an investor who started off with a duplex and now owns several rentals and has real-life experiences to share. “Two-Thirds of the way through my conversation today, Nick Watkins drops a huge bombshell: He’s managed to generate as much money in rental profits as he makes in his full-time job – and he’s done it with only two duplexes and three single-family properties!  Nick takes me…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for December showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,139 and $1,348 for a 2-bedroom apartment.  San Francisco continues to dominate their National Rent Index of 100 cities at $3,350/$4510 with Toledo, Ohio rounding out the bottom at $430/$550.  Zumper says “Even as pricey markets continue to fall, other rising markets are pushing up the national median rent about 2.6% since last year.” Click here to read the full report on Zumper.com.

The latest Yardi Matrix is reporting that the average U.S. monthly rent dropped $4 in December to $1,210 – marking the 4th consecutive month of decline (albeit a whopping total of $10).  However, on a year-over-year basis, rents grew 4% nationwide and Yardi suggests that rents are in a period of deceleration after growing at high levels for the previous two years. “As we have stressed in recent months, fundamentals remain sound and deceleration is not alarming, given that gains remain well above the long-term 2.3% average. The current level of growth is on par with our forecast for 3.9%…

Redfin recently reported that their Housing Demand Index declined 7.3% in November to seasonally-adjusted level of 94.  In November, 7.6% fewer buyers went on tours compared with October, and 8% fewer wrote offers.  Compared to November 2015, there were 10.2% fewer homes on the market.  This marks the eighteenth consecutive month of year-over-year declines in homes for sale, leading to a shrinking pool potential homes for buyers to search.  The Redfin Housing Demand Index is based on thousands of Redfin customers requesting home tours and writing offers. “Buyers and sellers had a lot to digest in November, including an election,…