Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was up 0.6% in August, 2023.  The all items index was up 3.7% for the 12 months ending in August.  The CPI’s index for gasoline was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase. Click here to read the full release at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Short-term rentals are hot – as many of our members know.  Today’s graphic from Statista breaks down which U.S. cities have the highest density of Airbnb rentals.  They point out that Hawaii, with 32,597 Airbnb listings for an estimated 1.4 million inhabitants, has the highest Airbnb density out of all U.S. cities and regions analyzed by InsideAirbnb as of June 2023.  Indeed….Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Statista.

Recently we saw where HELOC activity hit a 15-year high in 2022 (the highest level since mid-2007), but has since slowed – to a pace with pre-pandemic levels.  A recent “Chart of the Week” from the Mortgage Bankers Association breaks down how these HELOC’s were utilized over the past several years.  Not surprising, home renovation/remodeling continues to be the primary reason, followed by debt consolidation, emergencies and other big ticket financing.  Data was pulled from the MBA’s 2023 Home Equity Lending Study. Given borrowers’ trillions of untapped equity in real estate, lenders anticipate the home equity market to grow in…

Having peaked in 2009 at 26%, the number of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage that are underwater with their mortgage was 2% in Q2, 2023.  In addition, CoreLogic is reporting that as home prices have risen, 6.3% fewer owners (about 75k borrowers) were underwater in Q2 compared with the previous quarter.  Interestingly, state in the Northeast posted the nation’s largest annual equity gains while those in the West continued to see losses. “…while more borrowers are underwater compared with one year ago,” Hepp continued, “they are not necessarily concentrated in markets that have seen the largest price declines, as negative…

Realtor.com says these 10 cities are “real estate bonanzas” where short-term rental hosts can get a good ROI.  However, they do say that before running out and buying an investment property it helps to fully understand the real estate market you’re targeting – with items such as how much you can charge per night, and how much you can expect to make.  To get their list, they zeroed in on the markets they found where short-term rentals have the greatest earning potential. They analyzed home price data in each metropolitan and micropolitan areas with an average of at least 25…

A recent report from Apartment List says the gap in urban and suburban rent growth widened during the pandemic.  However, they do point out that while rents are now falling, they’re falling slower in the suburbs.  In addition, their data show 2023 is the first year-over-year price drop the rental market has experienced since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A quick glance at the national data shows that even though rents are down year-over-year, an affordability windfall is not reaching the suburbs. In fact, the urban-suburban gap has widened steadily for the past eight months because rent drops…

A new report from Redfin says that in Q2 2023 investor home purchases fell 45% from one year ago – which they say is the biggest decline since 2008.  Real estate investors bought roughly 50k homes in Q2, the fewest of any second quarter in seven years, with the exception of the start of the pandemic.  To get their numbers, Redfin analyzed records across 39 of the most populous U.S. metro areas. They define an investor as any institution or business that purchases residential real estate.   Indeed… Some key points: The drop in investor purchases outpaced the 31% decline in…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix Multifamily Report, the average U.S. multifamily rent was $1,728 in August.  Yardi says economic growth continues to be stronger than expected, providing a backdrop to consistent multifamily demand.  However, some headwinds exist… “While multifamily conditions are generally favorable, headwinds do exist. Property expenses such as insurance are rising rapidly (as we discuss later in this report). Inflation is decreasing, but it remains stubbornly high, and Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell has indicated that the central bank might increase interest rates further.” Click here to read the full report at Yardi.

Whether someone should rent or buy is a topic we’ve had several posts about.  Today’s graphic from the Visual Capitalist says the U.S. has witnessed the biggest numerical gap in 50 years between the cost of renting or owning a home.  While the data might be a little high altitude, it all comes down to location (x3).  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist

Recent analysis from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing shows that for new single family homes, the median single-family square floor area declined to 2,191 square feet, the lowest reading since the end of 2010. In addition, the average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes fell to 2,415 square feet.  The data was pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design. “An expected impact of the virus crisis is a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes including work. Home size correspondingly increased in 2021 as interest…