Author: Brad Beckett

How does your state rank on individual income taxes?  According to the Tax Foundation’s 2023 State Business Tax Climate Index, the individual income tax is important to businesses because states tax sole proprietorships, partnerships, and, in most cases, limited liability companies (LLCs) and S corporations under the individual income tax code.  In fact, states that score well on the Index’s individual income tax component usually have a flat, low-rate income tax with few deductions and exemptions. “High marginal rates adversely affect labor output and investment and can influence location decision-making, especially in an era of enhanced mobility, where it is…

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their monthly National Economic Outlook where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. National Economic Outlook By Ingo Winzer May, 2023 From the point of job creation, the national economy seems to be flying high; jobs in April were up 2.6 percent over last year. But a closer look shows that the pace of growth is slowing as more jobs lost to the pandemic have been regained. The actual rate of new job creation, rather than just recovery, may be closer to the 1.5 percent…

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,401,000, which is 2.2% higher than March’s revised number and is 22.3% lower than one year ago.  April’s rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 542k.  Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,416,000, which is 1.5% below March’s revised number.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 502k in April. Click here to read the full report at…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were down 3.4% in April to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.28 million (down 23.2% year over year). Total housing inventory at the end of April was 1.04 million units, up 7.2% from March and 1% from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 2.9-month supply at the current sales rate with properties remaining on the market for around 22 days. The median existing-home price for all housing types in April was $388,800, down 1.7% from one year ago. The NAR said all four major U.S. regions registered…

Citing data from WalletHub, the Visual Capitalist visualizes in a fancy bar chart the best states for people to retire in.  The rankings are based on 47 different metrics across three dimensions.  Indeed… According to their list Virginia, Florida and Colorado are battling it out for the top spot.  Stay safe and have Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to the Visual Capitalist.

After one month in effect, a tax on high-end properties in Los Angeles appears to be dud.  Breitbart news is reporting that Measure ULA has brought sales of luxury homes to a halt while raising little money for affordable housing.   Under Measure ULA, the city collects a 4% tax on sales over $5 million and a 5.5% tax on sales of property worth $10 million or more.  However, they report that wealthy homeowners rushed to sell their homes before April 1st (the day it went into effect) and pulled their homes off the market.   Indeed… “…wealthy homeowners rushed to sell…

The unofficial start of Summer (aka Memorial Day) is next weekend along and with that reminder comes AAA’s annual travel forecast.  The venerable AAA predicts that 42.3 million Americans will travel 50+ miles from home this Memorial Day weekend – an increase of 7% over 2022!  In addition, AAA says 3.4 million travelers are expected to fly to their destinations – an increase of 11% over last year and exceeding pre-pandemic levels, despite high ticket prices. “This is expected to be the third busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000, when AAA started tracking holiday travel…More Americans are planning trips and…

Citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing report, the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says the share of FHA-backed loans for new home sales rose by its largest share since 2007, climbing to 11.7%.  In addition they report that 76.1% of new home loans were conventional (highest since 2008), 8.3% were cash and 3.9% were VA (lowest level since 2007). Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

Storage.com says the storage industry has been trending for a while has momentum.   In fact, their data say 21% of Americans use self storage in one form or another.  In addition, there are plans to add close to 53 million more square feet of storage space in 2023.  In their recent report, they surveyed users about why they use self storage, what they keep there, what types of unit they use, and more.  The most common item in storage? Furniture.  Indeed… “…Much of the new clientele that discovered the usefulness of the service and amplified demand during the pandemic…

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that in Q1 2023 seven in 10 metro areas saw home price gains.  In addition, they say 7% of the 221 tracked metros registered double-digit price increases over the same period, down from 18% in Q4 2022.  The NAR says among the major U.S. regions, the South saw the largest share of single-family existing-home sales (46%) in Q1, with a year-over-year price appreciation of 1.4%. Prices climbed 2.9% in the Midwest yet slipped 0.1% in the Northeast and 5.3% in the West.  Unsold Inventory in Q1 averaged 1,630,000 listings at any given time,…