Author: Brad Beckett

Realtor.com says not all corners of the U.S. are quite as “new-home parched” as others. They say there are many places across the nation where builders are putting up new homes to meet growing demand – especially in areas where the dollar stretches further.   As you might have guessed, most of these locations are in the South – which dovetails with current moving trends. “Builders are simply following where more Americans are moving…These are fast-growing cities, with a lot of lifestyle amenities and a lot of young people and professionals moving in. Builders have recognized this and are trying to…

New data from Redfin shows that the typical down payment fell over 10% over a one-year period ending in January, coming in at $42k.  They say this is the lowest is has been in nearly two years.  They also report that the median down payment was down 35% from its peak in June, but it was still up more than 30% from pre-pandemic levels. A few key points: The median down payment was equal to 10% of the purchase price, down from 14% a year earlier.  Nearly one-third of home purchases were in cash, the highest share in nine years. …

This Sunday, April 9th 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 Friday!!! So what exactly is Easter?  The History Channel says: “Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of…

We first heard about this property back in the Fall after a Maryland couple with a bank contract to buy a vacant foreclosed home went to move in, but there was rental truck in the driveway moving someone else in!  When the new owners confronted the people moving in, the men showed them what they said was a lease for the property.  According to a recent report on FOX News, the property is still being occupied by squatters and the issue has become a growing problem nationwide. FOX says homeowners all across the nation are being tormented by squatters and…

Rentcafe says the rising demand for rentals is affecting the size of newly built apartments in a negative way.  They point out that in 2022, the average apartment size was 887 square feet – which is 54 square feet less than 2012.   Interestingly, the sharpest drop took place in 2022, when the average size went from 917 to 887.  One of the reasons they give for the drop in sizes is that more studios and one-bedroom apartments entered the market in 2022, reaching a historic market share of 57%. “Notably, last year’s decrease comes after the two pandemic years,…

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices rose 5.3% from January 2022 through January 2023.  Month to month, house prices were up 0.2% from December, 2022.   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 changed slightly in January, continuing the trend of the last few months…Many of the January closings, on which this month’s HPI is…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report for March, 2023.  According to their data, rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1,494 (up .02% from February) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,833 (up 0.5% from February).  Zumper says this uptick points to a larger trend of deceleration of price increases and a gradual return to seasonality.  Be sure to check out their list of the top 100 metro areas. “…the rental market continues to inch towards normal…This new reality is emerging thanks to a number of dueling forces. Rental supply is up in many markets thanks…

In late March, a federal judge in in Northern Illinois said home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors (and a group of real estate brokerages) of conspiring to inflate commission rates can move forward as a class action lawsuit.  According to a report from Reuters, U.S. Judge Andrea Wood, of the Northern District of Illinois, granted class-action status to past home sellers seeking more than $13 billion in damages and creates a separate class of current and future sellers who want a court injunction that bars subsequent violations of U.S. antitrust law. The lawsuit challenges a requirement that sellers…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales were up 0.8% in February, 2023 –  the third month in a row.  The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings) increased to 83.2 in February.  The NAR says the affordable U.S. regions  (Midwest & South) are leading a recovery.  Indeed… “After nearly a year, the housing sector’s contraction is coming to an end…Existing-home sales, pending contracts and new-home construction pending contracts have turned the corner and climbed for the past three months.”  Said the NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun. Click here to read…

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 3.8% annual gain for January, 2023.  Their 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 2.5% and their 20-City Composite posted a 2,5% year-over-year gain.  While positive, the indices were down from previous months. “2023 began as 2022 had ended, with U.S. home prices falling for the seventh consecutive month….January’s market weakness was broadly based. Before seasonal adjustment, 19 cities registered a decline; the seasonally adjusted picture is a bit brighter, with only 15 cities declining. With or without seasonal adjustment, most cities’ January declines were less severe…