Author: Brad Beckett

Recent analysis of mortgage data by the NAHB’s Eye on Housing reveals that the share of new home sales backed by FHA loans climbed from 12.1% to 14.0% in Q2 of 2023.  They say this is the largest share since Q1 2021 but roughly three percentage points lower than the post-Great Recession average.  In addition, conventional loans naturally led with 73.7% of new home sales, VA loans were 5.4% and cash purchases were 6.5% of new home sales. Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

Kansas City’s KCTV reports that a member of the Mid-America Association of Real Estate Investors (MAREI) recently challenged the property tax assessments on his investment properties, and won!  According to the report, John Welchert owns 2 side-by-side, identical duplexes that were valued at two different amounts.  Welchert appealed the values on the two duplexes (and his personal home) and was able to challenge the county’s comps and then found his own comps. He’s baffled how his duplexes, which sit side by side, were valued differently. One rose in value to $321,000 and the other to $361,000. They were built the…

According to the latest Yardi Matrix Multifamily Report, the average U.S. multifamily rent was $1,729 in July (up $2).  Yardi says the multifamily market exhibited strength in July, as the economy continues to outperform expectations.  They say demand remains propped up by the healthy job market, as the U.S. economy added 1.7 million jobs in the first half of 2023.  Indeed… “While we still expect the economy to cool in coming quarters, the fact that second quarter job and GDP numbers were strong while inflation recedes has confounded the economic consensus. As long as that continues, consumer balance sheets will…

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.

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…