Author: Brad Beckett

According to a new report from Zillow, in 2016 the total value of all U.S. housing stock grew to a record-setting $29.6 trillion – which is 5.7% ($1.6 trillion) higher than 2015.  Not surprising, Los Angeles and New York metro areas hold the highest shares of the country’s overall housing value, at 8.6% and 8%, respectively.  The next most valuable metro is San Francisco, worth 4.2% of the overall housing value. Interesting takeaways: Los Angeles is the most valuable metro, worth a cumulative $2.5 trillion Portland, Ore. had the biggest increase in value – growing 13.4% in 2016 Renters paid…

The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced this month that construction spending during November 2016 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.18 trillion, 0.9% higher than October’s estimate and 4.1% higher than November 2015.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $462.9 billion in November, 1% higher than October’s estimate.  Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $429.9 billion in November, 0.9% above October’s estimate of $426.2 billion. Click here to read the full release.

News site Bloomberg has a story about how private eyes (investigators) have been deployed by various parties to spy on home-sharing services like Airbnb to either settle a grievance or catch landlords running afoul of local laws & ordinances – or both.  The story highlights a situation in San Francisco where a PI was hired by a tenant lawyer representing a family who was evicted from the very same apartment being let through a home-sharing site.  The apartment happens to be in an up & coming neighborhood where utilizing these sharing sites is more lucrative than traditional rentals. “The goal…

This might not come as a shock, but more children live in homes with two parents.  Indeed, the majority of America’s 73.7 million children under age 18 live in families with two parents (69%), according to recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.  The second most common family arrangement is children living with a single mother, at 23%.  Interestingly, between 1960-2016, children living in families with two parents decreased from 88% to 69%.  Happy New Year! Click here to read the full report.

CNBC recently interviewed RealtyTrac’s Vice President, Daren Blomquist about the return of house flipping.  He doesn’t think we’re seeing the “crazy levels” of 10 years ago, however he says the high number of recent flippers are an indication of “bandwagon flippers” taking advantage of certain markets with homes that need a lot of work.  In this context, he cites that 2016 saw the highest number of flipped homes since 2006 with an average gross return per flip of $62k.  Indeed…. Click here to watch on CNBC.

According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sales of new single-family homes rose in November signaling that the housing market is rebounding strongly.  November sales of new single-family houses were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592k – which is is 5.2% above October’s rate and is 16.5% than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in November was $305,400; the average sales price was $359,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of November was 250k, representing 5.1 months…

Black Knight Financial Services released their Home Price Index (HPI) report for October showing that home prices were up just 0.2% from September and up 5.6% from one year ago.  This number also marks 54 consecutive months of sustained year-over-year growth.  Currently at $266K, the U.S. HPI has risen over 33.5% from the market’s bottom and is now within just 0.4% of a new national peak. The report also shows that home prices in 6 of the nation’s 20 largest states and 7 of the 40 largest metros hit new peaks in October.  Covering 90% of U.S. residential properties at the ZIP-code level, the Black…

Are PCBs the New “Asbestos?”  In a recent podcast, Kathy Fettke says that if you own a building that was constructed in the 1950s, 60s, or 70s, you need to be aware of potential PCB contamination because it’s becoming headline news.  What exactly are PCB’s anyway?  Polychlorinated biphenyls are man-made chemicals that were widely used in construction materials and electrical products starting in the 50’s until they were banned in 1979.  They were found in caulking, oil-based paint, floor finishes, and fluorescent light ballasts.  This podcast is worth a listen. Click here to hear more of Kathy’s podcasts on NewsforInvestors.com

At the end of December S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller released their National Home Price Index showing that home prices rose 5.6% in October (year over year).  Their 10-City Composite remained unchanged and the 20-City Composite posted a 0.1% increase in October.  After seasonal adjustment, the National Index recorded a 0.9% month-over-month increase, while both the 10-City and 20-City Composites each reported a 0.6% month-over-month increase. 13 of 20 cities reported increases in September before seasonal adjustment; after seasonal adjustment, all 20 cities saw prices rise.  Seattle, Portland, and Denver reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities over each of…

As readers know, we’re always on the lookout for interesting data.  The folks over at howmuch.net used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compile exactly how Americans have spent their hard-earned money over the last 75 years.  After adjusting for inflation, they broke it down into 12 categories;  Reading, alcohol, tobacco, education, personal care, miscellaneous, recreation & entertainment, healthcare, clothing, food, transportation and housing.  It’s fairly obvious that, with the exception of 1941, Housing dominates the list. Click here to read the full story on howmuch.net.