Author: Brad Beckett

Housing discrimination is a very serious issue and when it happens, it leaves a bad stain on all housing providers – and should be dealt with immediately.  There are appropriate avenues for reporting housing discrimination issues, which we have shared on this site. However, as Cincinnati’s WCPO is reporting, a Cincinnati woman is facing federal charges after allegedly making false claims that her landlord had racially discriminated against her.  According to the report, prosecutors said the tenant lied to investigators and fabricated messages from her landlord to support her claims that she was being racially discriminated against.  She sent the…

According to the ATTOM Data’s July 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, there were 31,877 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in July – down 9% from June but up 5% from one year ago.  In addition, ATTOM says nationwide one in every 4,380 housing units had a foreclosure filing in July, 2023.  States with the highest foreclosure rates were Maryland (one in every 2,071 housing units with a foreclosure filing); New Jersey (one in every 2,335 housing units); Delaware (one in every 2,343 housing units); Illinois (one in every 2,430 housing units); and South Carolina (one in every 2,511 housing units).…

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,452,000, which is 3.9% higher than June’s revised number and is 5.9% higher than one year ago.  July’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 460k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,442,000, which is 0.1% higher than June’s revised number and is 13% lower than one year ago.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 464k in…

The U.S. Census Bureau recently identified Florida and Idaho as America’s fastest-growing states.  Today’s graphic from Statista illustrates which U.S. states have been gaining& losing population from July 2021 to June 2022.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! “While states in the West or South had been attractive for new residents since before the pandemic because of low cost of living, low taxes and lower prices of housing, coastal states saw white color workers unmoored from their places of residence by remote work regimen seek out new (and often cheaper) living arrangements.” Hat tip to Statista.

According to their August 2023 Rental Activity Report, Rentcafe says “renting is now the new buying” as high home prices and the peak rental season bring out more renters looking for apartments.  For August, here are the places seeing the most listing activity and attracting the most attention from apartment hunters. Some key points: Arlington, VA, is the most sought-after city by U.S. renters. The Midwest is this month’s most popular region with 10 cities in our ranking. Click here to read the full report at Rentcafe.

Recent analysis of mortgage data by the NAHB’s Eye on Housing reveals that the share of new home sales backed by FHA loans climbed from 12.1% to 14.0% in Q2 of 2023.  They say this is the largest share since Q1 2021 but roughly three percentage points lower than the post-Great Recession average.  In addition, conventional loans naturally led with 73.7% of new home sales, VA loans were 5.4% and cash purchases were 6.5% of new home sales. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

Kansas City’s KCTV reports that a member of the Mid-America Association of Real Estate Investors (MAREI) recently challenged the property tax assessments on his investment properties, and won!  According to the report, John Welchert owns 2 side-by-side, identical duplexes that were valued at two different amounts.  Welchert appealed the values on the two duplexes (and his personal home) and was able to challenge the county’s comps and then found his own comps. He’s baffled how his duplexes, which sit side by side, were valued differently. One rose in value to $321,000 and the other to $361,000. They were built the…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix Multifamily Report, the average U.S. multifamily rent was $1,729 in July (up $2).  Yardi says the multifamily market exhibited strength in July, as the economy continues to outperform expectations.  They say demand remains propped up by the healthy job market, as the U.S. economy added 1.7 million jobs in the first half of 2023.  Indeed… “While we still expect the economy to cool in coming quarters, the fact that second quarter job and GDP numbers were strong while inflation recedes has confounded the economic consensus. As long as that continues, consumer balance sheets will…

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was up 0/2% in July, 2023.  The all items index was up 3.2% for the 12 months ending in July.  Once again, the BLS says the index for shelter (housing costs) was the largest contributor (90%) to the monthly all items increase. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Realtor.com says that while some of America’s more famous lake towns are pricey, there are actually many that are surprisingly affordable, offering lakeside living for bargain-basement prices. In fact, the U.S. Geological Survey says there are almost 7 million bodies of water in the U.S. and of those, 5.76 million are classified as a lake or pond.  To that end they put pen to paper to find America’s most affordable lake towns.  They looked at all home listings (areas with at least 50 listings) for the past year within a half-mile (10-minute walk) of a named lake or pond, then…