Author: Brad Beckett

CNBC’s Realty Check with Diana Olick is reporting that “property flipping in today’s rocky housing recovery means staying one step ahead of the game — a game that is becoming increasingly cutthroat. Foreclosures are drying up and cash-heavy hedge funds are still buying low-end properties to rent. For a home flipper, someone who buys and sells a home in the same calendar year, the pickings are ever slimmer, but the profit can still be high.” Click below to watch the report: Click here to read the full report.

According to the Yardi Matrix Monthly for October, apartment rents leveled off during the month of October averaging $1166 – which is almost unchanged from September.  This represents the fist month in 2015 where a month-to-month increase was not reported. Click here to read the Yardi Matrix Monthly report for October.

What are the fastest growing counties in America by population? Click on the interactive map below to find out. Hat tip to Inman.

This week Housing data powerhouse RealtyTrac released their 3rd quarter US Home Flipping Report, showing that over 43k single family homes & condos were flipped.  This figure constitutes 5% of all single family & condo unit sales that quarter. “After curtailing flipping activity last year due to slowing home price appreciation and shrinking inventory of flip-worthy homes, real estate investors have started to jump back on the flipping bandwagon in 2015,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “On the acquisition side, investors are finding creative ways to pinpoint potential flips in the off-market arena, and on the disposition side…

In the fashion world when something is the “new black” it connotes a sense of style & coolness.  Indeed, According to a recent article on BloovianPrime “Condos are the new Black.”  Using data from Zillow, they report that condos are appreciating faster than single-family homes in markets across the country.  In fact, condominiums are appreciating at a rate of 5.1% compared to 3.7% for single-family homes. [condos]  “are appreciating faster than single-family homes in nearly two-thirds of the top 35 most populated housing markets.” Click here to read the full story, Condos Are The New Black, BloovianPrime 10/28/15

This week Congress passed a short-term, three-week extension of the Highway Bill that will expire on November 20th.  The current funding authorization would have expired on Thursday 11/29.  Lawmakers said they needed this extra time to hash together a 6-year funding bill from different versions being considering in each chamber.   The Senate’s current version of the bill (which passed in July) is over $16 billion larger than the current House version which has cleared committee but has not come up for a full vote. Both versions of the bill use different funding methods and tap various sources of revenue -…

Crowdfunding is an exciting new way of financing that could fundamentally change the way real estate deals get done. “Crowdfunding holds great promise as not the only solution but one of many new-generation solutions where real estate investors, borrowers and lenders can connect, invest and fund deals.”     Scott Whaley, President of NREIA and founder of REIFA. This week, Reuters news ran the following story about the Crowdfunding situation. Crowdfunding of U.S. real estate deals gains momentum by Herbert Lash REUTERS, 10/26/15 (New York) A tipping point may be near for U.S. investors seeking to benefit from crowdfunding in real…

New data from the US Dept. of Commerce show that 3rd quarter vacancy rates for rental housing were 7.3% and 1.9% for homeowner housing.  In addition, the national homeownership rate is 63.7% – which is still at its lowest level in 30 years. Click here to read the full report.

When you’re researching a property, have you ever wondered if someone has died at that address?  An online service called DiedInHouse.com will, for a small fee, generate a report using millions of records to determine if a death occurred at any valid US address.  Their reports can also contain information about that death as well as meth activity, fires and other data that may be available but unknown to potential buyers. According to an article on Forbes.com, the service was founded three years ago when its founder went searching for information after one of his tenants asked him if he…

According to the National Multifamily Housing Council’s 3rd quarter Quarterly Survey of Market Conditions,  market conditions improved across all four survey indexes.  Some takeaways: Consumer demand for apartments increased for the seventh consecutive quarter Sales Volume remained unchanged Twice as many respondents indicated more construction activity than those reporting slower activity Click here to see the full survey results.