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Until recently, home ownership was no bargain compared to renting, according to Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau and published statistics from Thomson Datastream indicate that rising rents and falling mortgages are tipping the scales towards home ownership. The median monthly mortgage payment has fallen to about Continue reading… Mortgage Rate Update; Should you Rent or Buy a Home? Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for December 2011 showing a decrease of 2.2 percent from the month before, and a decrease of 7.3 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for December was 307,000 homes, down from an Continue reading… New homes sales fall in December and make 2011 worst year on record The last couple of months I have said that, “unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Unfortunately, nothing dramatic happened, and 2011 has ended with only 428,600 new home starts setting a new record low and significantly below the prior all-time low of 445,200 starts in 2009. Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for October shows an increase of 10.4 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 9.2 percent increase from a year ago. This is the first time in four months that the index has increased and marks the highest level the Continue reading… Home sales jump in October to highest level in 18 months A report released today by CoreLogic shows that 17.10 percent (96,986) of all St. Louis homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position in the third quarter of 2011, down slightly from 17.30 percent the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being “underwater” or “upside down” and refers to Continue reading… Fewer Homeowners Underwater on Mortgage In this tighter credit environment, FHA remains to be a great alternative for buyers with limited resources for a down payment and closing costs or past credit problems. Underwriting guidelines are more lenient than conventional guidelines. WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that Roger Harris, Hediger Enterprises Inc., Carroll Management Group, Forum Manor Associates L.P. and Forum Manor LLC have agreed to pay $295,000 in monetary damages and civil penalties to resolve a Fair Housing Act lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, race and sex discrimination, retaliation Continue reading… Justice Department Settles Housing Discrimination Lawsuit in Rolla, Missouri The last couple of months I have said that, “unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Well, unfortunately, even though the report for October shows an increase of 3.9 percent in housing starts, the seasonally adjusted annual rate is still at just 430,000 homes and Continue reading… New home permits and construction increase in October; Still at record low pace for year According to a new report from Trulia, its Metro Movers Report, 59 percent of the properties searched online by homebuyers are outside of their current metro area. My first thought would be there are a lot of people relocating to other states, however the report shows that most of these searches being done are Continue reading… Report shows homebuyers heading to the "burbs" Despite massive loss of value over the last few years, the U.S. housing market has outperformed the stock market since 2000. A report released recently by RadarLogic showed that, over the past decade, the housing market, in spite of all of it’s recent troubles, has still performed better in terms of an Continue reading… Housing market has performed pretty well during past decade relative to other investments Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for September 2011 showing an increase of 5.7 percent from the month before, and a decrease of 0.9 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for September was 313,000 homes, up from an Continue reading… New home sales tick up in September but still on track to be worst year ever Affordable Cost of Living and Top-Notch Amenities are Key Today U.S. News Media Group unveiled The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012 with top locations in 10 key categories that are most often considered as key factors by people when choosing where to retire. Many of the categories focus on how to achieve the retirement Continue reading… The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012 Freddie Mac released it’s U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for October this morning showing demand for rental housing on the rise and that the multifamily sector of the housing market is a strong positive signal for the U.S. Housing Industry. Report highlights include: Over the year ending mid-2011, the Census Bureau reported a net increase Continue reading… Rental housing on upswing The economy is delaying baby boomers’ plans to sell their homes, according to a survey just released by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. This doesn’t mean boomers aren’t in the market though….in fact, according to the survey, the desire to purchase and own a home, or more than one home, “remains strong.…especially so in the Continue reading… Boomers aren’t selling their homes but are looking to buy investment property Yesterday, statistician’s from the U.S. Census Bureau gave a briefing on highlights of the housing characteristics data contained in the 2010 Census. Several interesting facts came out, but the one that I found most interesting was that the data shows the U.S., at 65.1 percent, has the second highest homeownership rate on record Continue reading… 2010 Census Data Shows Second Hightest Homeownership Rate on Record Despite Largest Decrease since 1940 As far as I’m concerned, the Internet is one of the greatest inventions of all time, and ranks right up there with flush toilets, sliced bread and basketball! For real estate investors, the Internet is the single best property due diligence research tool available. Especially for investors who are located in counties where property tax Continue reading… How To Use The Internet To Perform Due Diligence On Real Property Mark Fleming, Ph.D., Chief Economist for CoreLogic, in a presentation yesterday, said the housing market is not out of the woods yet as the potential of a double-dip in our economy increases and as 30 to 40 percent of economists feel there is a chance of another recession. The economy’s “stall speed” was another issue Continue reading… Housing market not out of the woods yet Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for August shows a decrease of 1.2 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 7.7 percent increase from a year ago. This is the second consecutive month the index has decreased from the month before and, while the year Continue reading… Home sales decline in August; second consecutive month of declines Occupancy Surpasses Long-Term Average, and Rents Move Ahead of Pre-Recession Peak – Bay Area, Seattle, Austin and New York Lead Rent Growth The U.S. apartment sector again posted robust revenue growth in the third quarter of 2011, according to MPF Research, an industry-leading market intelligence division of RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ:RP). National occupancy climbed 0.6 percentage points Continue reading… Report Shows Continued Strong Momentum for the U.S. Apartment Market in the Third Quarter Dennis Norman This morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for July was released showing US home prices increased for the fourth consecutive month. Both the 20-city composite and 10-city composite home price index increased by 0.9 percent from the month before. The 10 city composite home price index was down 3.7 percent from a year Continue reading… Home prices rise slightly in July; 18 of 20 metros still down from a year ago Owners of vacation rentals are reporting that the summer season was a successful one with 68 percent of them reporting occupancy rates of 76 percent or more over the summer, this according to a report released today by HomeAway, Inc. The vacation rental market suffered from the market downturn just like the rest of the Continue reading… Vacation rental owners report high occupancy rates from the summer season Trulia released the results of its American Dream survey today, which showed that, despite the tough economy and challenged housing market we are in, home ownership is still central to the American Dream. In fact, 80 percent of current home owners said they plan to buy a home again. Las Vegas, Nevada is the best place in America to buy at rental property at this time according to the newly released “HomeVestors-Local Market Monitor Best Markets to Invest in Rental Property” report. According to the report, approximately 14 percent of the single family homes in the U.S. are being operated as rental properties. It is not uncommon when performing an inspection, not be able to have ready access to the electric panel cabinet. Items are stored in front of it, it is located behind the laundry equipment, it is covered by a finished wall, it is located in a closet with limited space and yes even it may Continue reading… Electric Panels need their space too WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that New Orleans landlords Betty Bouchon, the Bouchon Limited Family Partnership and Sapphire Corp., have agreed to pay $70,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging they unlawfully denied housing to African-American prospective renters at a 16-unit apartment building located in New Orleans. The settlement Continue reading… Justice Department Obtains $70,000 Settlement in Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Against New Orleans Landlords Radar Logic, a real estate data and analytics company, released it’s June 2011 Monthly Housing Market Report which tracks the home prices in 25 major markets in the U.S., showing that home prices in those areas declined 4.7 percent in June from the year before. Home sales in those 25 metros declined as well in June, Continue reading… Report says housing market is likely to get worse by end of year A report released by Trulia shows that, based on current market conditions, it is cheaper to buy a home than rent in 74 percent of major U.S. cities. At the top of the list is Las Vegas with a price rent ratio of 6 (the lower the number, the more affordable it is). At the Continue reading… Buying a home more affordable than renting in three out of four major cities A survey released today by TransUnion shows that more large property managers (201 or more units) were able to increase rents last year than small property managers (200 or fewer units) were able to. According to the survey, sixty-four percent of large property managers said they have raised rents, while only thirty-six percent of Continue reading… Size matters when it comes to property manager’s ability to raise rents A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows U.S. home prices increased in April 2011 by 0.7 percent from the month before, marking the first month-over-month increase since Mid-2010. However, U.S. home prices in April 2011 decreased 7.5 percent from the year before. If we take the distressed sales (foreclosures, REO’s and Continue reading… US Home Prices Increased In April; First monthly increase since mid-2010 A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows home prices in the U.S. declined in March by 7.5 percent from the year before, marking the eighth-consecutive month year-over-year home prices have dropped, according to their index. The prior months report showed home prices had decreased by 5.8 percent from a year ago so Continue reading… U.S. Home Prices Decreased In March; Non-Distressed Sale Prices Stabilizing |
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