Author: Brad Beckett

This week property information provider Corelogic reported that October’s (year over year) foreclosure inventory was down 21% and that completed foreclosures declined 27.1%.  The data was released as part of their October 2015 National Foreclosure Report.   The number of completed foreclosures decreased as well from 51k in October 2014 to 37k in October 2015 . In addition, they report that October’s foreclosures were down 68.2%  from the peak of 117,543 in September 2010. Some key takeaways: Five states accounted for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally;   Florida (86k), Michigan (59k), Texas (30k), Georgia (25k) and California (24k) Four…

There has been a lot of discussion about millennials entering the housing market and whether they prefer renting or actual home ownership.  Recently , real estate news site Inman had an interesting take on the issue – they posit that the current marketplace is seeing aging baby boomers who are “house rich” trying to sell to those who are “credit poor.” “The millennial generation — most likely with a FICO credit score that hasn’t been built up yet — is trying to buy homes from existing long-term residents. Those long-term residents know they have “profit” accumulated in their asset; it’s…

Freddie Mac announced this week that all data from all fixed-rate single family mortgages would be added to its Single-Family Loan-Level Dataset that now includes 21.5 million mortgage loans originated through the end of 2014.   Previously, their publicly available dataset only included loan-level and actual loss data on 30-year fixed-rate single-family mortgage loans.  The expanded dataset contains approximately 3.3 million loan-level credit performance data on 15- and 20-year fixed-rate single-family mortgages originated between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2014, plus approximately 18.2 million 30-year fixed-rate single-family mortgages originated between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2014. In their media release Freddie Mac said…

Recently the NAHB’s Eye on Housing site together a heat map that shows owner-occupied home improvement spending by zipcode.  These numbers are garnered from a statistical model relating improvement spending to five key variables (number of homes in the area, the share built in 1960s, share built in the 1970s, owners’ average income and level of education) for calendar year 2015.  The estimates show total spending on improvements, as well as improvements per occupied home in the area, in each zip code. Click here to read the full article at Eyeonhousing.com.

According to the latest edition of Yardi Matrix Monthly U.S. multifamily rents remained steady in November with the average rent being $1165 – which has essentially remained unchanged for two months. Nationwide, rents dropped by $1 to $1,165 and have been basically flat for two months, which is consistent with a normal seasonal pattern. Rents had risen for nine straight months before October. The flattening of rents during the winter months is expected, and it is consistent with Yardi Matrix’s forecast, which calls for rent growth to slow to about 4.5% in 2016 Click here to read the full…

According to new data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association, delinquency rates for commercial and multifamily mortgage loans continued to decline in the third quarter of 2015. “Commercial and multifamily mortgages are performing very well,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research.  “Delinquency rates for loans held by life companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are all hovering near zero.  Among loans held by banks, the delinquency rate for multifamily loans is now lower than it has been since the series began in 1993, and the delinquency rate for mortgages backed by other commercial properties is…

What do you know about millennials, the most tech-savvy generation to come along yet?  According to the census bureau there are over 83 million of them.  That makes them the largest demographic cohort as well a powerful force when it comes to demand for housing – representing 32% of the home buying market and 68% of first-time buyers (according to the Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report 2015). The folks at UpNest.com recently put together the following infographic to help illustrate the various characteristics of millennials and what they value in the home buying & selling experience.  Happy Friday.…

According to a report on TechCrunch, real estate site Redfin has launched its own home-price estimate tool, taking on Zillow’s Zestimate.  According to Redfin, whose stated mission is “to redefine real estate in the customer’s favor,” their new tool, Redfin Estimate, will be data-driven, and a “more accurate” home valuation tool.  Their site will use the same data as real estate agents and claims that “unlike other appraisal estimators, the Redfin Estimate looks at 100% of the homes on the MLS to calculate your property’s current market value — so you get an accurate online estimate, instantly.” Interestingly, TechCrunch asked Redfin…

The Commerce Department announced this week that construction spending during October 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,107.4 billion, 1% above September’s estimate of $1,096.6 billion. The October figure is 13.0% higher than the October 2014 estimate of $979.6 billion. During the first 10 months of 2015, construction spending amounted to $888.1 billion, 10.7% higher than the same period in 2014.  In addition, according to historical data October’s figure is the highest level since December 2007. Click here to read the full release from the US Department of Commerce. Click here to see historical data from…

Forbes.com says crowdfunding has been particularly well received in the real estate sector but they urge investors to understand its implications before choosing an investment platform.   Indeed… “Through crowdfunding, instead of having to rely on connections to pinpoint real estate deals and having to put $100,000 or more into a single deal, investors can access these deals from the convenience of their laptop or tablet.” Click here to read the entire story on Forbes.com. More information about crowdfunding can be found at REIFA.org