The Scotsman Guide recently spoke with Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors about where the housing market is heading in 2016. What is the overall health of the housing market right now? I would say it is in a good condition, a moderate recovery and certainly a sustainable recovery. The only negative sign would be that the home prices, or even rents, are rising fast in relation to people’s incomes. That would be the only hiccup. Otherwise the housing market is in a good state. Click here to read the full interview on the Scotsman Guide.
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
Joining a local REIA is one of the best ways to be successful in real estate investing. Not only will you network and interact with fellow investors, but you’ll also learn best practices from those who have “been there and done that” – potentially saving you a lot time, money and resources. Along those lines, the good folks over at Inman posted an interesting article about the “three numbers you must memorize for real estate investing.” In it, they suggest that there are three key metrics & data that investors need to not only be aware of, but checked regularly…
According to the new Zillow Rent Forecast, rent appreciation will level off over the next 12 months and slow to an annual rate of 1.1% by the end of the year. Zillow is forecasting a decrease in the rate of rental appreciation amid a so-called rental affordability crisis that suggests renters in some markets are spending about half of their income on rent. Some takeaways: National median rent at the end of 2015 was $1,381, and is expected to increase slightly to $1,396 over the next 12 months. The slowdown in rents means that, by the end of the year,…
HousingWire is reporting that a Utah-based real estate investment firm offered investors a guaranteed ROI in turnkey houses that the SEC alleges bilked $28 million out of over 250 people. According to the SEC filing, Marquis Properties fraudulently represented that it sells interest in “turnkey real estate properties, promissory notes secured by real properties, and joint venture agreements to purchase real properties.” The SEC said in its complaint that Marquis, the company’s president and chief executive officer, Chad Deucher, and its executive vice president, Richard Clatfelter, Deucher and Clatfelter represent that Marquis locates, purchases, renovates, and sells single family and…
The Washington Post is reporting that one-third of realty transactions are plagued by delays, with some of them being fatal. Citing data from an internal survey of 2,643 conducted by the National Association of Realtors, they report that 32% (nearly one third) of all real estate transactions experienced some sort of delay. When you break down that 32%, the delays were caused by: Buyer financing setbacks – 46% Home inspection issues – 14% Appraisals that diverge from the agreed-upon contract price – 21% Click here to read “One-third of realty transactions are plagued by delays, some of them fatal,” 1/20/16,…
The folks over at Atlas Van lines have been annually sharing moving data for over 20 years. Good data means good investment decisions……especially when you consider where there’s people there’s a need for housing. Some takeaways: States with the highest percentage of inbound moves: Oregon (64%) Idaho (63%) North Carolina (61%) Alaska (60%) North Dakota (59%) States with the highest percentage of outbound moves: Hawaii (62%) New York (61.8%) Illinois (61.7%) South Dakota (60%) Wyoming (59.5%) Click here to read more at Atlas Van Lines.
The Securities & Exchange Commission announced this week that Ocwen Financial will pay a $2 million fine for misstating financial results “by using a flawed, undisclosed methodology to value complex mortgage assets.” Ocwen agreed to pay a $2 million penalty after an SEC investigation found that the company inaccurately disclosed to investors that it independently valued these assets at fair value under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). “Ocwen’s filings led investors to believe the company was valuing complex mortgage assets using GAAP rather than relying on a related company’s accounting methodology that later proved to be flawed,” said Michael…
In a new report released by Yardi Matrix, U.S. multifamily markets will enjoy moderate growth in 2016. They caveat that on domestic economy cooperating and potential hot spots abroad remain calm (which is like predicting the weather). Their report, “Winter 2016 Multifamily Outlook: Rent Growth Encore? What’s in Store for 2016,” also predicts that increased gross domestic product, moderate growth in apartment supplies, healthy capital markets and 2.5 million new jobs will drive 4.6% growth, outpacing the eight-year average of 2.8%. Indeed. “2016 should be a year of solid rent growth, without the froth of 2015. Yardi Matrix projects 4.6%…
The Tax Foundation recently released their state & local tax burdens report for FY 2012. Among its findings: During the 2012 fiscal year, state-local tax burdens as a share of state incomes decreased on average across the U.S. Average income increased at a faster rate than tax collections, driving down state-local tax burdens on average. On average, taxpayers pay the most in taxes to their own state and local governments. In 2012, 78 percent of taxes collected were paid within the state of residence, up from 73 percent in 2011. “A state’s tax burden is the portion of total state…
The federal government today released new residential construction data for December 2015 showing that housing starts have remained above the one million mark – the 9th straight month this has happened since 2007. In addition, total building permits fell 3.9% compared to last month with permits for single-family homes rising 1.8% and multi-family falling 11.4%. An estimated 965,700 housing units were completed in 2015. This is 9.3% above the 2014 figure of 883,800. Click here to read the release from the US Department of Commerce.
