Author: Brad Beckett

A recent report from RentCafe says interest in converting older buildings into residences remains high and that adaptive reuse apartments are poised for impressive growth in the upcoming years.  Interestingly, they report that 122k rental apartments are currently undergoing conversion, 45k, of which are the result of office repurposing.  However they do point out  that while 2019 & 2020 were peak years for adaptive reuse, it appears that the number of projects converted in 2021 and 2022 didn’t match the initial excitement.  Indeed… Some Key Points: A total of 10,090 apartments were converted in 2022. In the same timeframe, the…

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing says at the end of Q2 2023, housing’s share of the economy was 15.8%, while overall GDP increased for the 4th consecutive quarter – increasing at an annual rate of 2.4%.  They say housing-related activities contribute to the U.S. GDP in two basic ways.  First; through residential fixed investment (RFI) – effectively the measure of the home building, multifamily development, and remodeling contributions to GDP.  And, second; the measure of housing services, which includes gross rents (including utilities) paid by renters, and owners’ imputed rent (an estimate of how much it would cost to rent…

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187k, in July 2023, with the unemployment rate standing at 3.5%.  Employment continued to trend up in health care, social assistance, financial activities, and wholesale trade. Click here to read the full report at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The U.S. government is reporting that the national vacancy rates for Q2, 2023 were 6.3% for rental housing and 0.7% for homeowner housing.  The national homeownership rate for Q2, 2023 was 65.9%.  In addition, approximately 89.6% of the housing units in the United States in Q2 were occupied and 10.4% were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units made up 59.1% of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 30.5% of the inventory.  Vacant year-round units comprised 7.9% of total housing units, while 2.4% were vacant for seasonal use. Click here to read the full release at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in June, 2023 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,938.4 billion, which is 0.5% higher than May’s revised estimate and 3.5% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $856.3 billion in June, which is 0.9% higher than May’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Playground equipment provider AAA State of Play reminds us that childcare can be notoriously expensive here in the U.S. They say the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers “affordable” childcare to cost less than 7% of a family’s income.  Interestingly, data shows that only in 2% of counties in the entire country does the average cost of childcare fall within this limit.  Today’s infographic identifies the top 25 most and least expensive places in the country for childcare, based on government data. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to AAA State of Play.

CNBC’s Diana Olick says a new report from the National Association of Realtors shows foreign buyers are pulling back from the U.S. housing market reaching a new record low.  According to the report, from March 2022 through April of this year, international buyers bought roughly 84,600 homes.  The figure is the lowest on record since the NAR began tracking them in 2009.  Interestingly, the median price of homes purchased by foreign buyers was $396,400, the highest price ever recorded. “Florida, Texas and Arizona continue to attract foreign buyers despite the hot weather conditions during the summer and the significant spike…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report for July, 2023.  According to their data, rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1,506 (up 3.2% year over year) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,882.  Zumper says the 3.2% year-over-year increase for 1-bedroom was the smallest gain in over two years.  Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas.  Confidence in the economy is a concern: “Though price increases have slowed dramatically, we don’t expect to see rents decrease anytime soon. In reality, prices are still correcting after astronomical pandemic-era rent hikes…Renters hate…

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a -0.5% annual decrease for May, 2023.  Their 10-City Composite decreased 1% and their 20-City Composite decreased 1.7%, year-over-year.  However, their U.S. National Index posted a 1.2% month-over-month increase in May, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites both posted slight increases. “The rally in U.S. home prices continued in May 2023…” “Regional differences continue to be striking. This month’s league table shows the Revenge of the Rust Belt, as Chicago (+4.6%), Cleveland (+3.9%), and New York (+3.5%) were the top performers. If this seems like an unusual occurrence…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices rose 0.7% in May.  In addition, they report that prices rose 2.8% from May 2022 through May 2023.  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. “U.S. house prices increased moderately in May, continuing the trend of the last few months…However, house prices in some regions of the country remained below the levels…