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.
Author: Brad Beckett
Brad Beckett
Director of Education & Outreach, National Real Estate Investors Association
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…
Today’s graphic from the Visual Capitalist reminds us that when you add up the parts, every U.S. state plays an integral role in the country’s overall economy – to the tune of $20 trillion. Take a look at how each state’s GDP plays its role in the nation’s overall big picture – it’s quite remarkable! As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.
We’ve had several posts about the growing problem of squatters flouting the law or even creating counterfeit documents to claim possession. Recently, law enforcement in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida removed 10 people who illegally took over an expensive home, leaving it, according to local officials, bug infested and damaged. According to the NY Post, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office evicted seven men, two women and a child from the home after it was discovered they were illegally squatting. Investigators were able to unravel an alleged crime ring after the arrest last Fall of a suspect who allegedly led a title fraud…
On a recent episode of the Rental Property Owner & Real Estate Investor Podcast, Brian Hamrick talks with a unique and fascinating family of real estate investors. Two members of the family, both teenage boys, control over 80 units of real estate investments. Their parents ave been investing for 2 decades and control hundreds of single and multi-family residential properties, as well as oil wells, crypto, and precious metals. In addition, they’ve spoken to audiences around the world and have published two #1 bestselling books. Click here to listen at RPOAonline.
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.
