Author: Brad Beckett

The folks over at WalletHub recently crunched the numbers to come up with what they see as the Safest States in America.  Their analysis is based on 25 key “safety” metrics such as number of the assaults per capita, the unemployment rate and even estimated losses from climate disasters (this isn’t your typical list based only on local crime data) that were boiled down into five separate categories – Home & Community Safety, Financial Safety, Road Safety, Workplace Safety, and Safety from Natural Disasters.  Be sure to visit their site to peruse the entire list and re-sort the data for…

This week data powerhouse CoreLogic released their April 2016 National Foreclosure Report showing that nationwide foreclosure inventory declined by 23.4% with completed foreclosures declining by 15.8%, compared with April 2015.  The actual number of completed foreclosures decreased from 43k in April 2015 to 37k in April 2016 – representing a 68.9% decrease from its peak of 117,813 in September 2010.  In addition, the nationwide foreclosure inventory was approximately 406k homes (1.1% of all home with a mortgage and the lowest since 9/07) compared to 530k in April 2015. “The number of homeowners who have negative equity has fallen by two-thirds…

A couple of months ago we shared a story about a serial-scammer in Indianapolis who owes $1000’s to individual landlords and is facing numerous eviction lawsuits.  Now we’ve found one with a totally different twist;  TV station WKRN is reporting that a lady in Nashville recently purchased a home that was for-sale-by-owner, the transaction went through without a hitch, she closed, but because there wasn’t anything in the sales agreement requiring the seller to vacate the premises, he refused to leave!!! The problem is that Holloway closed on her home on June 1, and there isn’t an amendment saying he…

According to the latest CoreLogic Storm Surge Report, 6.8 million homes in the United State are at risk of hurricane storm damage, representing $1.5 trillion in reconstruction value.  The 2016 report provides valuable insight into the number of homes at risk of storm surge by state and Core Based Statistical Area as well as the reconstruction cost value for all at-risk homes.  It is important to remember that storm surge flooding is one of the primary causes of hurricane-related property damage along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. “Using more granular-level data has given us an even clearer picture of which…

The Wall Street Journal has a very interesting article about how educated, relatively high-earning workers are flocking to urban neighborhoods at a rate not seen since the 1970’s. This is an interesting phenomenon that indirectly highlights the issue of either allowing urban areas to decay (spiraling downward) or encourage their gentrification and be reborn economically adding value to the entire community through increased property values & stability (but with displacement of the poor). “The movement is injecting new life into tired urban cores, prompting renovation of older residential and commercial buildings while spurring new real estate developments as well as…

Some of these ideas might seem simple, but in our busy day-to-day lives we generate a lot of clutter – especially in our work spaces.  Over time that clutter eventually eats into efficiency which, over time, will impact your bottom line.  Our good friends over at Office Depot / Office Max put together this great graphic laying out some simple ideas to help you stay organized from your desktop to cyberspace.  Happy Friday!

According to the most recent REALTORS Confidence Index Survey Report, 45% of properties were on the market for less than one month before being sold with only 14% taking longer than six months.   Properties sold in April 2016 were typically on the market 39 days.  Short sales were on the market for 120 days, foreclosures for 51 days, with non-distressed properties at 37 days. Click here to read more at the NAR’s Economists’ Outllook

According to a recent report from Freddie Mac, people aged 55+ now control nearly 2/3 (approx. $8 trillion) of America’s home equity, which puts them in a prime position to significantly impact the country’s housing market.   Freddie Mac recently commissioned the first Freddie Mac 55+ Survey, which surveyed nearly 4,900 homeowners born before 1961 about their current housing situation, plans and other criteria. They are completing an analysis of 55+ renters and will release it when it’s finished.  The bottom line;  these folks are looking for specific criteria and have needs that the marketplace can meet.  Investors take note! Click…

HousingWire is reporting that one of the “most contentious battles in history of online real estate” is finally over.  Zillow has announced that a settlement was reached with Move over allegations of theft of trade secrets by two of its former executives who later joined Zillow. “According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Zillow will pay Move, which operates Realtor.com for the National Association of Realtors and owned by News Corp, a total of $130 million to settle allegations that Errol Samuelson, who was once Move’s chief strategy officer, stole trade secrets and proprietary information from Move before joining Zillow…

Corelogic has released their Home Price Index and HPI Forecast for April 2016 showing that home prices are up 6.2%, year over year (which includes distressed sales) as well as increasing 1.8% month over month.  In addition, 17 states reached record highs for home prices.   CoreLogic’s HPI Forecast also maintains that home prices will increase by 5.3% on a year-over-year basis from April 2016 to April 2017, and on a month-over-month basis by 0.9%. Click here to read the full report.