Author: Brad Beckett

The Millennial generation, those aged 18-34, now make up over a quarter of the U.S. population.  They are disrupting all sectors of the economy and causing a major re-think among industries across the board.  A recent article on Forbes.com highlights this trend with the Top 5 Ways Millennials Are Disrupting Industries. “Millennials also have a significant impact on the housing market. The US Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development estimate that 1.1 million housing units were started in 2015, more than double 2009’s 554,000 new units. Although millennials have taken longer to establish themselves as homeowners and heads…

In today’s fast-paced, always-connected world good data is essential in making smart investment decisions.  Some of that data is interesting and some of it will put you to sleep.  Nevertheless, having a good “lay of the land” plays a vital role when watching trends and ever-changing market conditions. The folks over the National Multifamily Housing Council have put together a quick fact page showing US residential demographics that’s worth a look. The data include: U.S. Households: How Many Rent, How Many Own? Tenure by Age of Householders/Tenure by Age of Population What Types of Structures do Renters Live in? Apartment…

Last week’s infographic featured America’s most vacant cities, using RealtyTrac’s recently released  Q1 2016 U.S. Residential Property Vacancy Analysis.  Today we’re looking the opposite direction at the five least vacant cities in America.  Happy Friday! Cliock here to read the full report on RealtyTrac

This week housing data powerhouse RealtyTrac released its Year-End and Q4 2015 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which shows that in 2015 over 179k single family homes & condos were flipped in the U.S., representing 5.5% of all single family home & condo sales during the year (up from 5.3% in 2014). “As confidence in the housing recovery spreads, more real estate investors and would-be real estate investors are hopping on the home flipping bandwagon,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac. “Not only is the share of home flips on the rise again, but we also see the flipping…

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development announced this week a new rule that will “reduce burden on state and local housing agencies and private landlords,” streamline a host of requirements and provide greater flexibility for agencies administering rental assistance programs. The new streamlined rule applies to local housing agencies administering Public Housing and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs as well as private landlords under contract through HUD’s Multifamily Housing Programs.  In addition, the rule relaxes regulations on state and local units of government administering tenant-based rental assistance programs through HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program and Housing Opportunities…

Forbes is reporting that troubles for mortgage servicing giant Ocwen Financial continue to mount.  As recent as January, Ocwen was fined by the SEC for $2 million for misstating financial results “by using a flawed, undisclosed methodology to value complex mortgage assets,” now we’re learning that Ocwen has disclosed a new SEC probe into its operations. On Monday, Ocwen reported a $247 million annual loss and saw revenues tumble 17.5% as the company tries to deleverage and recover from an onslaught of scrutiny by regulators into its servicing practices and financial arrangements with related entities, Altisource Portfolio Solutions, Altisource Residential, Altisource Asset Management,…

The most recent CoreLogic US Home Price Index Report says that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 6.9% in January compared with January 2015 and increased by 1.3% in January compared with December 2015.  The data, released this week, also predicted that home prices will increase by 5.5% on a year-over-year basis from January 2016 to January 2017, and on a month-over-month basis home prices are expected to increase 0.5% from January 2016 to February 2016. Click here to read the full report on CoreLogic. Click here to read CoreLogic’s media release

The Washington Post featured an article this week about a subject real estate investors have been talking about for quite a while – self-directed retirement accounts.  In the piece, the author, an agent & investor herself, says the “the nauseating drop” in the value of her retirement accounts made her think about investing in what she knew well and understands – real estate. “Self-directed IRAs are not for everyone…..it is best for those who know real estate or have a real estate expert to guide them.” Click here to read: Even with risks, more investors are giving self-directed IRAs a…

The AP recently reported that the Cleveland city officials are considering legislation that would regulate, limit and tax short-term rentals arranged through sharing websites such as Airbnb.  The short-term rental legislation was introduced with eyes on this summer’s Republican National Convention, which the Ohio city is hosting.  Hearings are expected to be held this month on the issue. The short-term rental legislation was introduced in early January. It would update the city’s zoning code to permit short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, cap a host’s ability to rent at 91 days per year, set basic standards and apply a 3 percent…

There has been a lot of good discussion lately about investing in the self-storage business.  In fact, The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story extolling the values of the biggest provider of self-storage units, Public Storage – telling readers that “This still is a good place to store some cash.” Indeed…..This week the Houston Chronicle featured an excerpted interview with Ari Rastegar, who’s Dallas-based company Rastegar Capital owns 10 self-storage properties in the Houston area.  It’s a very interesting piece and worth a quick read. Q: Why do you like self-storage? A: When you have the big house and…