Author: Brad Beckett

Bankrate.com recently combed through the data on nearly 200 US cities to identify the best and worst places to retire.  Their criteria;  cost of living, crime rate, walkability, health care quality, state and local tax burden, personal well-being for seniors, weather, and the cultural vitality.  The best city was Arlington, VA.  The worst?  Niagra Falls, NY. Here is a portion of their chart showing the top 10 locations out of nearly 200 cities: Click here to see the full chart and story on Bankrate.com

Earlier this week we posted about a California city performing warrantless searches under the guise of  rental inspections, now Forbes is reporting that the Institute for Justice is also raising the alarm about the Fourth Amendment rights of renters.  The article points out, due in part to a nearly 50-year old Supreme Court decision, cities and towns across America are literally snooping on renters without having to obtain warrants.  This is a dangerous slippery-slope that needs to be monitored and properly addressed.  Groups such as the Institute for Justice and the Pacific Legal Foundation are taking up the fight. “Not…

According to new data from the U.S. government, privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,153,000.  This is 1.5% above the revised May rate of 1,136,000, but is 13.6% below the June 2015 estimate of 1,334,000.  Single-family authorizations in June were at a rate of 738,000; this is 1% above the revised May figure of 731k.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 384,000 in June. Privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,189,000. This is…

Rental information site Zumper released their latest National Rent Report which now ranks the largest 100 cities in the nation according to the price of a one and two bedroom apartment.  Their reports analyze rental data from over 1 million active listings across the United States, which are aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population.  No surprises for the top price-fetching cities, however the entire comprehensive list is worth a look. Click here to read more on Zumper.com

A new federal lawsuit says the California city of Highland is violating the Fourth Amendment rights of landlords and tenants by subjecting them to unjustified & warrantless open-ended searches of their property by city inspectors without complaints or evidence of wrongdoing.  The lawsuit was filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) on behalf of local landlord Karl Trautwein and his tenants. The PLF said that the city is “attempting to bully property owners and tenants into allowing inspectors in without a warrant.” “Karl Trautwein and his tenants are victims of this arm-twisting.  Mr. Trautwein owns a number of rental homes…

You knew it was coming.  CNBC’s Diana Olick is reporting that the new sensational game Pokemon Go is finding its way into real estate listings.  One recent listing said “I’m fairly certain there is a PIKACHU at this open house, don’t miss it.”  Indeed… This might play out in some bizarre ways as Pokemon Go’s creators seek to further monetize their product by selling locations for honey-pots and maybe even virtual ad-space within the game.  Stay tuned….. Click here for the full story on CNBC.

A few months ago we posted about the Five Most Wanted Student Housing Amenities.  After all, student housing can be a very lucrative investment.  This week’s infographic sheds light on some proven strategies for listing student housing rentals as we approach the back-to-school season.  Happy Friday…. Hat tip to Places4Students.com.

This week housing data powerhouse RealtyTrac released their Midyear 2016 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report that shows over 500k U.S. properties with foreclosure filings during the first six months of 2016.  That number is down 20% from the last six months of 2015.   While foreclosures overall have been trending down, nineteen states posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in the first half of 2016; those states included Massachusetts (46% increase); Connecticut (40% increase); Virginia (18% increase); Alabama (11% increase); and New York (10% increase).  Interestingly, 27% of all properties sold at foreclosure auction were purchased by investors.  This marks the highest…

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) is reporting that hundreds of Cleveland-area homeowners & renters will vacate their homes next week, to make room for short-term tenants traveling there for the GOP convention, which begins on July 18th.  The article points out that a unique rental market materialized to satisfy convention-driven demand.   The event is expected to draw more than 50k people into downtown Cleveland for the 4-day event. “Airbnb expects 1,300 to 1,400 guests to stay at its listings in the Cleveland area during the convention. That marks a fourfold spike in bookings, when compared with weeks on either end of…

This week data powerhouse CoreLogic released their May 2016 National Foreclosure Report showing that nationwide foreclosure inventory declined by 24.5% with completed foreclosures declining by 6.9%, compared with May 2015.  The actual number of completed foreclosures decreased from 41k in May 2015 to 38k in May 2016 – representing a 67.9% decrease from its peak of 117,813 in September 2010.  In addition, the nationwide foreclosure inventory was approximately 309k homes (1% of all home with a mortgage and the lowest since 10/07) compared to 517k in May 2015. “Delinquency and foreclosure rates continue to drop as we experience the benefits…