Author: Brad Beckett

In the fashion world when something is the “new black” it connotes a sense of style & coolness.  Indeed, According to a recent article on BloovianPrime “Condos are the new Black.”  Using data from Zillow, they report that condos are appreciating faster than single-family homes in markets across the country.  In fact, condominiums are appreciating at a rate of 5.1% compared to 3.7% for single-family homes. [condos]  “are appreciating faster than single-family homes in nearly two-thirds of the top 35 most populated housing markets.” Click here to read the full story, Condos Are The New Black, BloovianPrime 10/28/15

This week Congress passed a short-term, three-week extension of the Highway Bill that will expire on November 20th.  The current funding authorization would have expired on Thursday 11/29.  Lawmakers said they needed this extra time to hash together a 6-year funding bill from different versions being considering in each chamber.   The Senate’s current version of the bill (which passed in July) is over $16 billion larger than the current House version which has cleared committee but has not come up for a full vote. Both versions of the bill use different funding methods and tap various sources of revenue -…

Crowdfunding is an exciting new way of financing that could fundamentally change the way real estate deals get done. “Crowdfunding holds great promise as not the only solution but one of many new-generation solutions where real estate investors, borrowers and lenders can connect, invest and fund deals.”     Scott Whaley, President of NREIA and founder of REIFA. This week, Reuters news ran the following story about the Crowdfunding situation. Crowdfunding of U.S. real estate deals gains momentum by Herbert Lash REUTERS, 10/26/15 (New York) A tipping point may be near for U.S. investors seeking to benefit from crowdfunding in real…

New data from the US Dept. of Commerce show that 3rd quarter vacancy rates for rental housing were 7.3% and 1.9% for homeowner housing.  In addition, the national homeownership rate is 63.7% – which is still at its lowest level in 30 years. Click here to read the full report.

When you’re researching a property, have you ever wondered if someone has died at that address?  An online service called DiedInHouse.com will, for a small fee, generate a report using millions of records to determine if a death occurred at any valid US address.  Their reports can also contain information about that death as well as meth activity, fires and other data that may be available but unknown to potential buyers. According to an article on Forbes.com, the service was founded three years ago when its founder went searching for information after one of his tenants asked him if he…

According to the National Multifamily Housing Council’s 3rd quarter Quarterly Survey of Market Conditions,  market conditions improved across all four survey indexes.  Some takeaways: Consumer demand for apartments increased for the seventh consecutive quarter Sales Volume remained unchanged Twice as many respondents indicated more construction activity than those reporting slower activity Click here to see the full survey results.

Black Knight Financial Services is reporting the their “first look” at September 2015 month-end mortgage performance statistics derived from its loan-level database which represents a majority of the national mortgage market. Delinquency rate up 1.7% in September, still 14% below last year’s level Overall non-current inventory (all loans 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure) now 3.2 million Despite delinquency rate rise, 90-day delinquent and foreclosure inventories continue to improve Prepayment activity (single month mortality rate) continues to slow; down to 1.07% in September Click here to read the full report, Loan Delinquency Rate Rises for Second Consecutive…

HousingWire is reporting that Ocwen Financial failed four metrics in the second half of 2014, according to a new report filed by Joseph Smith, monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. These deemed failures are part of Ocwen’s Global Corrective Action Plan to address previously reported issues with incorrect dates on correspondence to borrowers. Click here to read the full story on HousingWire. Click here for information about Joint State-Federal National Mortgage Servicing Settlements.

Citing data from several reliable sources, a recent infographic in HousingWire reports that 89% of renters think owning a home is part of the American Dream and 32% of homebuyers plan to buy in the next two years.  Another interesting take-away, from the technology side, is that Facebook is the most used social platform among renters. Click here to read the full story.

The National Association of Realtors reported today that existing-home sales rebounded strongly in September following August’s decline and have now increased year–over–year for 12 consecutive months.   All four major regions experienced sales gains in September. “September home sales bounced back solidly after slowing in August and are now at their second highest pace since February 2007 (5.79 million),” he said. “While current price growth around 6 percent is still roughly double the pace of wages, affordability has slightly improved since the spring and is helping to keep demand at a strong and sustained pace,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief…