Author: Brad Beckett

This week S&P/Case-Shiller released their monthly Home Price Indices for January which showed that home prices increased 5.4%, year-over-year.  In addition, their 10-City Composite is up slightly at 5.1% for the year and the 20-City Composite’s year-over-year gain is 5.7%. “Home prices continue to climb at more than twice the rate of inflation,” says David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The low inventory of homes for sale — currently about a five month supply – means that would-be sellers seeking to trade-up are having a hard time finding a new,…

As more and more baby-boomers are nearing retirement evidence is showing that many are selling their homes and looking at downsizing options.  This week the WSJ reported that to be the case.  In fact they also reported that unlocking home equity can make a big difference when it comes to planning for retirement. “Renting has both advantages and disadvantages for older consumers. On the plus side, renters typically enjoy a wider range of housing options, flexibility (a one-year lease is a short-term commitment) and the fact that building managers handle repairs, landscaping and snow shoveling. A big financial disadvantage for…

Data powerhouse CoreLogic is reporting that cash sales accounted for 34% of home sales in 2015, which was the lowest level since 2008. The cash sales share peaked in January 2011 when cash transactions accounted for 46.6 percent of total home sales nationally. Prior to the housing crisis, the cash sales share of total home sales averaged approximately 25 percent. If the cash sales share continues to fall at the same rate it did in December 2015, the share should hit 25 percent by mid-2017. Click here to read the full report on CoreLogic.

Several weeks ago we posted an infographic talking about what constitutes a good credit (FICO) score.  Today’s infographic breaks down the credit score to see the five factors that determine it as well as some interesting facts.  Hat tip to the folks at MGIC.  Happy Friday… Click here to read the previous story, “What Exactly is a Good Credit Score,” on Real Estate Investing Today.

This week representatives from the National Multifamily Housing Association (NMHA) and the National Apartment Association gave testimony before the US House Committee on Financial Services Housing and Insurance Subcommittee on the challenge of meeting the increasing demand for multifamily homes for millions of working Americans. The hearing was entitled The Future of Housing in America: Government Regulations and the High Cost of Housing.  Testifying on behalf of NMHC and NAA was Clyde Holland, chairman and CEO of Holland Partner Group, where he outlined the key reasons why America faces a growing affordability problem – stagnant wages, a supply-demand imbalance and…

Black Knight Financial Services is reporting that mortgage delinquencies have hit their lowest level since 2007.  According to their “first look” report for February, delinquency rates were down 13% month over month and 16% year over year.  In addition, non-current inventory has fallen below 3 million for the first time in over 8 years. Click here to read the full report at Black Knight Financial Services.

Commenting on a recent report about disappointing home sales, the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors, Lawrence Yun, said “the main issue continues to be a supply and affordability problem. Finding the right property at an affordable price is burdening many potential buyers.” Indeed, February’s existing home sales numbers dropped 7.1%, this after increasing to the highest annual rate in six months.  However February’s number is still 2.2% higher than one year ago.  Interestingly, Yun also noted that real estate investors were grabbing a bigger share of the action.  Most notably: “Investor sales have trended surprisingly higher in…

According to data released by RedFin, new home listings nationwide are up 11.9%, year over year, representing the fastest rate of growth since 2013.  Meanwhile overall housing inventory fell 3.7%, year over year, to around 500k homes….However that number is a 4% increase over January.  The national median home sale price saw an increase of  4.8%., year over year. “New listings rebounded in a big way after getting off to a weak start at the beginning of the year,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “There were enough new listings in February to cut the inventory deficit in half.  More…

Cash flow…it’s the one thing every investor wants to maximize with their rental properties.  Too bad it’s not some big metaphorical spigot that can be opened up simply by turning a magic valve.  However, there are several successful ways to do this – some of which might just amaze you. The folks over Rental Housing Journal Online recently posted their free ebook “51 Ways to Increase Rental Property Cashflow” that explains how you can increase your rent every month.  One tip can even increase the monthly rent for a single-family home by $400! Maybe you bought in the right neighborhood,…

Housing-data powerhouse RealtyTrac recently released their first-ever Registered Criminal Offender Risk Index which shows that average home values and home equity were lower (while average foreclosure rates were higher)  in zip codes with a higher offender index than in those with a lower offender index. Interestingly,   The report also shows that average home price appreciation has been slightly stronger over the past year and five years in zip codes with a higher offender index than in zip codes with a lower offender index. “This new index provides concrete evidence that registered criminal offenders pose not only a potential safety risk…