Author: Brad Beckett

What are the most expensive places for property taxes?  A recent report from CoreLogic says the average property taxes paid by homeowners vary from $694 per year in West Virginia to $8,498 in New Jersey.  However, they also point out that In West Virginia the median home price in 2023 was $154,500 and New Jersey’s median price was $439,000. “…states calculate property taxes differently by municipalities, as home prices and rates can vary greatly locally. In West Virginia, for example, average annual property taxes range from about $210 in McDowell and Webster counties to about $1,856 in Jefferson County. Similarly,…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report for March, 2024.  According to their data, median rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1,487 (up 0.3%) and $1,847 (up .05%) for two-bedrooms. Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. Click here to read the full report at Zumper.

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 6% annual increase for January, 2024.  Their 10-City Composite increased 7.4% and their 20-City Composite increased 6.6%, year-over-year. “U.S. home prices continued their drive higher…Our National Composite rose by 6% in January, the fastest annual rate since 2022.”  Said Brian D. Luke, Head of Commodities, Real & Digital assets at S&P DJI. Click here to read the full report at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in February, 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662k, which is 0.3% lower than January’s revised rate but is 5.9% higher than one year ago.  The median sales price of new houses sold in February was $400,500 with an average sales price of $534,300.  There were an estimated 463k new houses for sale at the end of February representing a 8.4-month supply at the current sales rate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales rose 1.6% in in February, 2024.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) came in at 75.6 in February.  In addition,while the NAR pointed out that year over year, pending transactions were down 7%, they say slow & steady progress is being made.  Indeed… “While modest sales growth might not stir excitement, it shows slow and steady progress from the lows of late last year…Ongoing job gains are clearly increasing demand along with more inventory.”  Said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. Click here…

In late March, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that makes it easier to remove squatters – which, as we have seen, is a growing problem across the nation.  According to WPTV, under the new law, a property owner can request law enforcement to immediately remove a squatter if the person has unlawfully entered, has refused to leave after being told by the homeowner to do so and is not a current or former tenant in a legal dispute. Boom… “We are putting an end to the squatters scam in Florida,” DeSantis said. “While other states are siding with the…

This Sunday, March 31st is Easter. Each year the holiday falls on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox. Interestingly, the date fluctuates each year between March 22nd and April 25th. Today’s infographic from the dataviz blog takes a look at “Easter by the Numbers” all the way from the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the number of chocolate Easter bunnies consumed annually. Stay safe and have a Happy Easter and a Happy Good Friday!!! So what exactly is Easter? The History Channel says: “Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection…

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their monthly National Economic Outlook where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. National Economic Outlook By Ingo WInzer March, 2024 Newly available data from the fourth quarter of 2023 don’t make the home price situation any clearer. On average, home prices increased about 5 percent in the past year, pretty much as they had in the previous two quarters. This means that the surge of the last few years is over but provides little guidance about when and what kind of price readjustment will…

We have been following the growing problem of squatters and how it is adversely affecting residential communities across the nation.  Now comes one we can hardly believe and really takes the cake;  A recent storyy in the New York Post says migrant TikToker with a 500k-strong online social media following is offering his fellow migrants tips on how to “invade” unoccupied homes in America and invoke squatter’s rights.  Yeah, you read that right. According to the NY Post, the Venezuelan national Leonel Moreno appears to live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, and said in a recent video that under…

On a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke discusses what the latest inflation reports are telling us, why home sellers might be jumping for joy, and where we’ll be seeing the most single-family construction.  Take a listen…. Click here to listen on Spotify.com.