Author: Brad Beckett

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing says high housing costs have contributed to a downward shift in single-family housing starts in the nation’s in the densest counties.  In addition, they point out that multifamily growth was robust throughout much of the country at the end of 2022 except in high-density markets.  Their findings are from the NAHB’s Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) for Q4 2022. “The market share in the single-family market has consistently been changing since the pandemic. As many families move out of densely populated urban centers, there has been more single-family building in outlying areas of metros, small…

Monday, March 20th, is the first day of Spring!  That means now is a great time to start thinking about your property’s landscaping.  Whether it’s a rental or a new flip, a good-looking lawn will certainly add value and improve its curb appeal!  The folks over at The Home Depot put together this handy infographic with some Spring fertilization tips to help make your lawn look great…..As always, stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Did you know….Members of National REIA receive a 2% biannual rebate, 20% off interior & exterior paints & primers, volume pricing, access to an exclusive…

A recent report from Zillow says the most pet-friendly city in the country for renters is Austin, Texas, with over 4 out of every 5 rental listings allowing pets.  In fact, as of January, Zillow says more than half of their rental listings indicated they allow pets.  Interestingly, 4 out of the top 10 cities on their list were in Texas. Zillow’s top 10 pet-friendly cities for renters: Austin, Texas – 80.8% of rental listings allow pets Dallas, Texas – 78.0% Fort Worth, Texas – 77.2% Charlotte, North Carolina – 76.6% Denver, Colorado – 76.5% San Antonio, Texas – 75.8%…

According to a recent report from ATTOM Data, HELOCs comprised 20.7% of all mortgages in Q4 2022 –  nearly five times the 4.6% level from Q1 2021.  The data, from their Q4 2022 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, also found that 1.52 million mortgages secured by residential property (1 to 4 units) were originated in the quarter.  That figure was down 24% from Q3 2022, marking the seventh quarterly decrease in a row, and down 54% from Q4 2021. “ATTOM’s Q4 2022 mortgage origination report stated that even home-equity lending dropped, by 16 percent in the last few months…

According to Black Knight’s latest Mortgage Monitor, both supply & demand in the housing market are being impacted by a volatile interest rate environment.  In addition, they say shortages in for-sale inventory are keeping affordability tight and buoying higher home prices that potentially lock would-be sellers in place.  Indeed… “Sharply rising 30-year rates in February have weakened home affordability, with nearly all major U.S. markets remaining unaffordable as compared to their own long-run averages….Between escalating inventory challenges and worsening affordability, we’re seeing some volatility in the market – just not in the form of widespread, steep price corrections.”  Said Andy…

A recent joint report from the NMHC & Urban Land Institute examines the feasibility and potential of repurposing unused and underutilized commercial real estate (offices, hotels, retail, etc.) into viable housing that could help with the nation’s housing crisis. The report seeks to seeks to answer: Is it feasible at all? For what types of structures? And to what extent? “Conversions of commercial real estate to residential units have become a mainstream development option, and perhaps even a specialized niche sector. A growing number of local, regional, and national developers are honing the skills required to undertake the complexities of…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in January, 2023 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,825.7 billion, which is 0.1% below December’s revised estimate but is 5.7% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $847.4 billion in January, which is 0.6% below December’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 5.8% annual gain for December, 2022.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 4.4% and their 20-City Composite posted a 4.6% year-over-year gain.  While positive, both increases continued to be down from previous months. “The cooling in home prices that began in June 2022 continued through year end, as December marked the sixth consecutive month of declines for our National Composite Index…The National Composite declined by -0.8% in December, and now stands 4.4% below its June peak. For 2022 as a whole, the National Composite rose…

We have many posts about breakdown one dollar in rent and other financial stories.  However, today’s infographic from the Daily Infographic takes us through all the parts that make up a dollar bill and gives us some basic information about each part.  Undoubtedly,  many of you reading this post have the first dollar they even made framed on the wall….. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday! Hat tip to the Daily Infographic.

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report showing that their median national rent for 1-bedroom apartments in February, 2023 was $1,492 (unchanged from January) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,824 (up 0.1% from January).  Zumper says year-over-year rent-price increases continued to decelerate from post-pandemic-era increases in 2021 and 2022.  Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. “Many markets continue to either normalize or correct following the steep increases in rent seen in 2021-22 in the zero interest rate & QE environment we went through…With interest rates expected to…