Author: Brad Beckett

Are gas stations and convenience stores the new grocery stores?  That’s the gist of a recent article by Chase Bank about the cultural shift taking place among shopping habits – particularly among millennials.   They report that in 2014, convenience stores accounted for 11% of food & beverage stops – up from around 8% in 2006.  Keep in mind that these stores sell an estimated 80% of all fuel purchased.   Real Estate investors take note…..it may not be about the best deal anymore, more and more it’s about convenience. “They are less likely to shop for staple ingredients and more likely…

The U.S. Department of Commerce is reporting that total construction spending in February was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,19 trillion, which is 3% higher than February 2016.  Private residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $484.7 billion in February, 1.8% higher than January’s number. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $432.7 billion in February, 0.3% below January’s number.  Public construction spending was $275.5 billion in February. Click here to read the full release.

The folks over at Realtor.com took a look at the data from the country’s largest housing markets to come up with their top 20 “hottest” markets.  With buyer demand outpacing the available inventory, these 20 cities burn the brightest – especially when you consider that the median list price is now $260k (8% higher than one year ago). “While the story keeps revolving around low inventory, prices are now also taking center stage, reaching all-time highs and keeping waves of buyers at bay,” said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research at realtor.com. Vallejo, CA San Francisco, CA Dallas, TX Denver,…

We recently told you about ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2016 Year-End U.S. Home Flipping Report, which revealed that 193,009 single family homes and condos were flipped (sold in an arms-length transfer for the second time within a 12-month period) in 2016. Today’s infographic helps put all that data into perspective.  Happy Friday! Hat tip to ATTOM Data Solutions & RealtyTrac.

We’ve all heard about them and undoubtedly, you’ve seen several stories here about the growing problem of bed bug infestations.  Now, after years of research & design, there is finally a solution to the growing problem of bed bugs.  ClearVue Technologies has brought to market a revolutionary new product that not only detects bedbugs but captures them via a specially designed trap that is pet-safe and people-friendly.  These traps provide the most effective detection & protection against the growing threat of bed bugs on the market today. Click here to learn more about ClearVue’s bed bug traps. ClearVue Bed Bug…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R) recently released their National Housing Market Summary for the Q4 of 2016.  According to the report,  the housing market showed a mixed set of results for the fourth quarter of 2016 with construction starts rising for both single-family and multifamily housing. While purchases of new single-family homes fell,  sales of previously owned (existing) homes rose.  In addition, for all of 2016, the housing market continued to improve with housing starts up 6% over 2015.  Construction of single-family homes increased 9% and multifamily housing starts dropped…

CNBC’s Realty Check is reporting that home builders across the country are having trouble finding workers to build homes.  Reporter Diana Olick cites a home builder in Denver, CO, where homes are taking about two months longer to build and there are instances of contractors doubling their wages just to keep workers from skipping to the next job site.   In addition, she reports that wages in the residential building industry are growing at twice the rate of wages in the overall economy. “Thousands of construction workers left the industry during the recession, many of them heading to the energy sector.…

Recently,  S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller released their National Home Price NSA Index which showed that home prices rose 5.9% in January, setting a 31-month high.  Their 10-City Composite posted a 5.1% annual increase and the 20-City Composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.7%.  Seattle, Portland, and Denver reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities over each of the last 12 months. In January, Seattle led the way with an 11.3% year-over-year price increase, followed by Portland with 9.7%, and Denver with a 9.2% increase. Twelve cities reported greater price increases in the year ending January 2017 versus the year…

Let’s face it, artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming an important part of the real estate industry.  With growing rental demands and the need for more complex property management, AI is providing technology solutions to make the job easier and more efficient.  Especially when you consider that the number of renter households grew by about 9 million over the last 10 years and there are now over 45 million renter households across the country.  Even a headline in Forbes calls property management the next frontier for artificial intelligence. Click here to hear more of Kathy’s podcasts on NewsforInvestors.com

Black Knight Financial Services recently released their January, 2017 Home Price Index (HPI) reporting that U.S. home prices were up 5.4% year over year in January and up 0.1% for the month.  In addition, home prices in three of the nation’s 20 largest states (Massachusetts, New York and Washington) and nine of the 40 largest metros hit new peaks (Boston, MA; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Kansas City, MO; Nashville, TN; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA).  The Black Knight HPI utilizes repeat sales data from the nation’s largest public records data set, as well as its…