Author: Brad Beckett

According to the ADP National Employment Report for September, 2024, private sector employment increased by 143k jobs and annual pay was up 4.7% year-over-year. The ADP National Employment Report is an independent and high-frequency view of the private-sector labor market based on the aggregated and anonymized payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. employees. “Stronger hiring didn’t require stronger pay growth last month…Typically, workers who change jobs see faster pay growth. But their premium over job-stayers shrank to 1.9 percent, matching a low we last saw in January.”  Said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. Click here to read the…

On a recent episode of the Rent Perfect podcast David Pickron says the influx of the institutional investor groups that are backed by billions of dollars are having a negative effect on the everyday investors ability to purchase properties.  Pickron discusses some strategies to consider when the market is unpredictable or pricing out the average investor. Click here to listen.

The Tax Foundation says 38 states have legalized sports wagering in some capacity, however only 27 states have online betting.  They say it has seen rapid growth since the U.S. Supreme Court granted states the ability to establish online sports betting markets in Murphy vs. NCAA in 2018.  However, states apply a range of different tax rates and access to legal sports betting can be quite limited, depending on the state.  The interactive map below shows those states with online betting as well as the online betting tax rate. Click here to read the full report at the Tax Foundation.…

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254k in September, 2024 with the unemployment rate coming in at 4.1%.  Interestingly, the BLS says employment in government continued its upward trend in September (up 31K) with an average monthly gain of 45k over the past 12 months. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A recent report from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says that in 2023, the majority of new home starts featured laundry connections on the first floor (72%), second floor or higher (26%) and the basement, garage, and other locations came in at a 1% or lower share.  The data was from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction.  However, in the NAHB’s What Home Buyer’s Really Want survey, buyers’ preferences were slightly different (except for the 1st floor). This comparison highlights a disconnect between what builders are offering and what buyers are seeking. While builders are largely opting for laundry connections…

We have continued to see rising shelter costs in the inflation data we’ve posted.  Now a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau says over 21 million renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2023, representing nearly half (49.7%) of the 42.5 million renter households in the United States for whom rent burden is calculated.  According to HUD, households are considered cost-burdened when they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, mortgage payments, and other housing costs.  Households spending more than 50% of their income on housing costs are considered severely cost-burdened.…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in August, 2024 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,131.9 billion, which is 0.1% lower than July’s revised number.  However, August’s revised estimate is 4.1% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $899.9 billion in August, which is 0.3% lower than July’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. Census Bureau reminds us that Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) celebrates the contributions of Americans tracing their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean.  Indeed….they are part of the fabric of what makes America culturally rich nation and reinforces our motto – E pluribus unum (out of many, one).  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report for September, 2024.  According to their data, median rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1531 (up 0.1%) and $1,912 (down 0.2%) for two-bedrooms.  Be sure to check out their entire list of the top 100 metro areas. “September signaled a cooling off in the hot moving season as national one and two-bedroom rents both decreased on a monthly basis—a trend which we have not seen in the last five months…As we transition into fall, this shift in the rental market aligns with the typical seasonal patterns we have finally…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices were up 0.1% in July, and up 4.5% from July 2023 to July 2024.  The FHFA HPI is the nation’s only collection of public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from all 50 states and over 400 American cities that extend back to the mid-1970s. “For the third consecutive month U.S. house prices showed little movement…Gradually declining mortgage rates and relatively flat house prices may improve housing affordability.”  Said Dr. Anju Vajja, Deputy Director for FHFA’s…