Author: Brad Beckett

The folks at MDG Advertising added up the top trends driving the direction of modern marketing and suggested which media channels you should target your ad dollars.  Their key takeaways: Digital Will Be Rating Higher Than TV Mobile Will Move Ahead to Become the Fastest Growing Segment Facebook Will Be Socially Superior Click here to read the full story.

The WSJ.com says that “the week between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays produces a sharp deceleration in the number of economic reports. Still, those who look up from their eggnog will find two fresh readings on the housing market and a gauge of consumers’ feelings heading into 2016.”  Indeed…. Click here to read the full story on WSJ.com

This month Wired magazine delved into the recent real estate crowdfunding phenomenon with a story about how Fundrise “lets common folk invest in posh real estate deals.”  They report about how equity crowdfunding platforms, like Fundrise, allows anyone to become a venture capitalist. “We’re trying to take the quality from private real estate transactions and make it available to everyone,” says Fundrise chief operating officer Brandon Jenkins. Click here to read the full story on Wire.com.

This week S&P/Case-Shiller released their National Home Price Index which showed that home prices rose 5.2% in October, when compared to one year ago.  In September that number was 4.9% and confirms that nationwide home prices have continued to rise over the last 12 months. “Generally good economic conditions continue to support gains in home prices,” says David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.  “Among the positive factors are consumers’ expectations of low inflation and further economic growth as well as recent increases in residential construction including single family housing starts. …

Bloomberg is reporting that 2016 could be a good year for women looking to buy real estate, particularly in cities where their incomes are rising faster than those of single men.  Reporting on data from Redfin and paired with Census data, they note that for over a year the majority of respondents to a prospective homebuyer survey have been women. Beyond higher wages, here’s another factor that could bring single women back to the market: Because of their lower household incomes, single women often shop in the same price range as investors looking for rental properties. Such investors played a…

Real estate data powerhouse RealtyTrac recently released its 2016 Rental Affordability Analysis that suggests buying a home is more affordable that renting in 58% of US markets.  The report also says that the rise in rents is outpacing wage growth in 57% of the same markets. “Renters in 2016 will be caught between a bit of a rock and a hard place, with rents becoming less affordable as they rise faster than wages, but home prices rising even faster than rents,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “In markets where home prices are still relatively affordable, 2016 may be…

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently launched a new quarterly household survey called Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME).    The report was created to monitor consumer sentiment about the housing market and will cover a wide range of topics including real estate trends, including current renters & homeowners’ views regarding homeownership, whether or not it’s a good time to buy or sell a home, and expectations and experiences in the mortgage market.  The first issue was December, 2015 and concluded: “Although only half of surveyed households believe the economy is currently improving, nearly all young renters eventually want to…

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that personal income grew 1.3% on average in the third quarter of 2015, the same pace as in the 2nd quarter.   Personal income grew in every state with third-quarter personal income growth rates ranging from 0.6% in Alaska to 2.2 percent in Nebraska and South Dakota. Click here to read the full report.

Black Knight Financial Services reported this week that foreclosure starts in November were 66k, their lowest level since April, 2006. Some takeaways: 66,600 foreclosure starts in November mark the lowest one-month total since April 2006 Foreclosure inventory down 185k from one year ago; fewer than 700,000 active foreclosures remaining Seasonal increase seen in 90-day defaults; 90-day delinquent inventory up 7k from one month ago Prepayment rate (historically a good indicator of refinance activity) down sharply in November; 16% below October’s rate Click here to read the full report on Black Knight Financial

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing-home sales were down 10.5% in November, which represents the slowest pace in 19 months.  However they did say that some of the decrease was likely because of an apparent rise in closing time-frames that may have pushed some transactions into December. “It’s possible the longer timeframes pushed a latter portion of would-be November transactions into December…As long as closing timeframes don’t rise even further, it’s likely more sales will register to this month’s total, and November’s large dip will be more of an outlier.” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s Chief Economist. Click…