Author: Brad Beckett

We continue to see reports about people moving away from high-tax, high regulation states to more friendly states.  A recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau says more people moved across state lines in 2021 than in 2019.  Their data show that nearly 7.9 million people moved between states in 2021, up from almost 7.4 million in 2019.  These between state movers made up 18.8% of all movers in 2021, compared to 16.7% of all movers in 2019.  Indeed… Highly populated states, including California, Texas and Florida, experienced some of the largest state-to-state flows. People leaving these states tended to…

According to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Insights (HPI) report, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 2% in April 2023. On a month-over-month basis, home prices declined by 1.2% in April compared with March 2023.  CoreLogic predicts that home prices will increase on a month-over-month basis by 0.9% from April 2023 to May 2023 and on a year-over-year basis by 4.6% from April 2023 to April 2024. “While mortgage rate volatility continues to cause buyer hesitation, the lack of for-sale homes is putting firm pressure on prices this spring, leading to above-average seasonal monthly gains…

A recent report from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says the market value of owner-occupied real estate has fallen for the 3rd consecutive quarter.  According to their data, the level of households’ real estate assets decreased by $0.61 trillion from $41.79 trillion in Q4 of 2022 to $41.18 trillion in the Q1 of 2023.  Interestingly, real estate secured liabilities of households’ balance sheets (mortgages, home equity loans, and HELOCs) increased over Q1 from $12.47 trillion to $12.52 trillion, a 0.36% quarterly increase. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was up 0.1% in May, 2023.  The all items index was up 4% for the 12 months ending in May.  Once again, the BLS says the index for shelter (housing costs) was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, followed by an increases in used cars & trucks. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The recent acrimony & debate about raising the nation’s debt ceiling is now behind us – for the time being anyway.  However, the fact remains that U.S. government debt now stands at 129% of GDP (as of June).  Today’s chart from the Visual Capitalist shows the sharp rise in the debt ceiling in recent years by pulling data from various sources including the World Bank, U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Congressional Research Service.  Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.

On a recent episode of the Rent Perfect podcast David Pickron says with student loan debt on the rise and the pause on paying back loans coming to an end in June 2023, it’s critical for housing providers to be prepared for what comes next.  Indeed… Click here to listen on Spotify.

According to the ATTOM Data’s May 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, foreclosure filings were up 7% from April 2023 and 14% from May 2022.  In addition, data show that lenders repossessed 4,020 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs). That figure was up 38% from April 2023 and 41% from May 2023.  The states with the greatest number of REOs in May 2023 included Illinois (352); Ohio (279); Michigan (271); Texas (240); and Pennsylvania (229). The top 10 U.S. zip codes with the greatest number of REOs in May 2023 were: 78254 in San Antonio, TX (27); 30901 in Augusta, GA…

In Mid June the Ohio-based Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions filed an amicus brief in Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to safeguard the American judicial system from abuse and send a clear message that lawsuits must be based on actual injury or harm.  National REIA (along with a few others) joined The Buckeye Institute in filing the brief. “Testers have been a vexation on rental owners for many years as they literally waste everyone’s time going through a process to rent a unit and never doing so. It is not uncommon for five or…

A new report from the National Association of Realtors says America’s Housing market is short more than 300k affordable homes for middle-income buyers.  In fact, they say the ongoing housing inventory crunch impacts middle-income buyers more than any other income bracket.  The data comes from the NAR and Realtor.com’s housing affordability & supply report which examined the number of listings missing by price range in the current market when compared to a balanced market.  They define a balanced market as being one where half of all available homes fall within the price range affordable for middle-income buyers.  Indeed… “Middle-income buyers…

A new report from Redfin says in April all-cash home purchases reached their highest level since 2014 as high mortgage rates drove down overall home sales more than all-cash sales.  According to their report, 33.4% of U.S. home purchases were made in cash in April, up from 30.7% one year ago.  Interestingly, all-cash purchases were most common in Cleveland (OH) followed by West Palm Beach (FL) and Baltimore (MD). They were least common in San Jose (CA), Seattle (WA) and Oakland (CA). “The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.79% at the start of June, near its highest level in…