Author: Brad Beckett

Last month we featured a link to an episode in new video series called “Crowdfunding with Cat” that delved deeper into the new rules for equity crowdfunding.  This week Entrepreneur is featuring the “Crowdfund with Cat” Cliff’s notes with links to all 8 of her first season. “If you are interested in learning more about what it means to invest in a startup through equity crowdfunding or how to raise money through more traditional, donation-based crowdfunding, then welcome. This is your video-tutorial-introduction-to-crowdfunding crash course. Here’s a complete list of each episode we have published so far. ” Episode 1: Equity…

Housing data powerhouse RealtyTrac recently released their Q2 2016 Home Affordability Index showing affordability by county, across the U.S.   The report analyzed median home prices derived from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by RealtyTrac and average wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 417 U.S. counties with a combined population of nearly 210 million. The affordability index was based on the percentage of average wages needed to make monthly house payments on a median-priced home with a 30-year fixed rate and a 3 percent down payment — including property taxes and insurance. “Although nearly one in…

The National Association of Realtors reported this week that existing-home sales for May were up 1.8% – representing the highest pace in nearly a decade.  Total sales numbers for May were 5.53 million.  All-cash sales represented 22% of transactions in May with individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchasing 13% of those homes.  By the way, 63% of those investors paid in cash……Good data….Happy Friday! Click here to read the full release on Realtor.org.

This week Black Knight Financial Services released their May 2016 “First Look” report containing performance statistics derived from its loan-level database representing the majority of the national mortgage market. Key takeaways: Foreclosure inventory now below 575,000 from over 800,000 just 12 months ago Foreclosure starts up from 10-year low in April, but at 62,100 remain below pre-crisis levels Prepayment speeds (historically a good indicator of refinance activity) continue to trail 2015 levels despite interest rates being lower than last year Delinquencies inched up in May; still down by over 13 percent on an annual basis Click here to read the…

This week Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released their State of the Nation’s Housing 2016 report which says the U.S. housing market has “now regained enough momentum to provide an engine of growth” for the economy.  The report suggests that as the lingering effects of the housing crash fade, homeownership will regain some lost ground, but to what degree remains open for debate.  The State of the Nation’s Housing has been published annually since 1988 by the JCHS and provides a current assessment of the state of the rental and homeownership markets; the economic and demographic trends driving housing…

National Mortgage News is reporting that title agents saw an average increase of $184 per transaction during the 2nd quarter of 2016.  Citing data from First American Financial, the increases varied by state with New Mexico seeing the highest at $313 and Indiana at the bottom with a $58 average increase. “Change is difficult, and the implementation of the new Know Before You Owe processes and forms was a challenge for title agents as well as lenders, requiring significant investments in new technology and time,” First American chief economist Mark Fleming said in a news release. Click here to read…

Corelogic is reporting that distressed sales accounted for 10% of homes sold nationally in March AND they expected them to return to Pre-Crisis Share in 2018.  Distressed sales, which include REO & short sales, accounted for 9.9% of total U.S. home sales in March ’16, down 2.7 percentage points from March ’15 and down 1.7 percentage points from February ’16. Key takeaways: Of total sales in March 2016, distressed sales accounted for 9.9% and real estate-owned (REO) sales accounted for 6.8% The REO sales share was 21.1 percentage points below its peak of 27.9% in January 2009 Distressed sales shares…

Today is the first day of summer so let’s take a quick look at the 10 Hottest Real Estate Markets for Summer 2016.  Inman is reporting that total listings and list prices are on the rise all over the country and, as recent data have shown, homes aren’t staying on the market for very long.  That’s why they’re saying “these cities’ home values are strengthening, along with their economy.” The hotest markets are: San Francisco Denver St. Louis Boston Sacramento Dallas Seattle Portland, OR Atlanta Charlotte, NC Click here to read the full story on Inman.com.

This Sunday, June 16th is Father’s Day and what better way to celebrate than to help Dad build the ultimate Man Cave….Today’s infographic from the Home Depot breaks it down for us….As always, stay sfae and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Home Depot!

Real estate information & home-related marketplace site Zillow recently announced that it was fine-tuning its Zestimate algorithm to boost accuracy and improve its median error rate from 8% to 6%.  Zestimates are published on more than 100 million homes across the country based on 7.5 million statistical and machine learning models that examine hundreds of data points on each individual home.  To calculate their Zestimate, Zillow uses data from county & tax assessor records as well as direct feeds from hundreds of multiple listing services and brokerages. “Since we launched the Zestimate 10 years ago, we have been continually working…