Market & Trends
The world of real estate investing moves quickly. Catch the must-know news, market information, and trends for the industry here.
Back To: All Topics
Market & Trends
The world of real estate investing moves quickly. Catch the must-know news, market information, and trends for the industry here.
Back To: All Topics
Government Regulations Account for Nearly One-Third of Multifamily Development Costs
Government regulations make up about a third (32.1%) of the cost of multifamily development, reported the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) this week. In the joint report, nine in 10 multifamily developers said they incur costs from: Delays due to “long approval ...
Fed Raises Interest Rates for the Second Time This Year
Citing information indicating “the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising at a solid rate,” the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve opted to increase the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 2% this week. Most analysts expected the Fed ...
U.S. Homeowner Equity Passes $1 Trillion Mark
Just under two-thirds of homeowners saw double-digit increases in their home equity between March 2017 and March 2018 according to CoreLogic. That increase equated to a total gain of $1.01 trillion, which contributed to a decline in negative equity over the same period. The total number of mortgaged residential properties ...
Real Estate Agent Sets World Record: $1.9 Billion Sold
Let the “everything’s bigger in Texas” jokes begin. Ben Caballero will laugh all the way to the bank. Caballero, who already held the world record for selling $1.444 billion worth of homes in 2016, topped that record in 2017 with $1.906 billion in home sales. Caballero sold 3,556 homes in ...
Regional Real Estate Spotlight: Southern California
Southern California, often referred to as SoCal, is defined in many ways. You can use the term to refer to California’s 10 southernmost counties. You could use it to refer to the geographic area surrounding three of the country’s largest metropolitan areas and those areas themselves. You could use it ...
“Cluster Mailboxes” Affect Developments, Demand
To reduce or even eliminate sidewalk and curbside delivery, the U.S. Post Office has begun encouraging a new form of mass mail delivery. Nearly two-thirds of single-family builders report they have had a local post office request “cluster mailbox” installations for new developments. Cluster mailboxes serve a group of homes ...
Top 3 Reasons Closings Were Delayed in April 2018
About one in every five closings were delayed or terminated in April 2018, according to findings from the Realtors Confidence Index, released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) this week. 17 percent of April’s closings were delayed. 5 percent were terminated. The survey is based on responses from more ...
The Best Counties for Buying Single Family Rentals
ATTOM Data Solutions analyzed 449 U.S. counties for potential single family rental returns in 2018 to help real estate investors identify the best places for buying single family rentals this year. Rental data was from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and home price data was from publicly ...
Case Study: Moving from Single-family to Self-storage Investments
Long before John Manes and Robby Dunn launched Pinnacle Storage Properties and eventually partnered with Erik Osterhus, they both owned single-family and multi-unit real estate investments. Like many novice investors, they spent a great deal of time fixing toilets, rehabbing units, cleaning carpets, and investing time, energy and effort into ...
Commercial Real Estate Value Factors You See Every Day
When you drive by a strip mall, you probably notice it in an absentminded sort of way. Maybe you get a little hungry if there is a popular restaurant you particularly like out front, or maybe you remember you had been meaning to stop by that big-box arts-and-crafts or DIY ...
3 New Rental Housing Laws Landlords Should Know
Three legislative bills passed during Q2 2018 that will impact rental property owners. These three bills either directly affect landlords because they are national policy or may affect landlords in the future, if their state decides to follow suit and pass similar legistlation. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer ...
Consumer Reports Releases Top Exterior Paint Colors for 2018
Consumer Reports released it's "Hottest Exterior Paint Colors of 2018" which outlines this year's most attractive exterior colors as well as which brand carries them and which sheen works best for the outside of a home. The company scored paint colors and manufacturers based on attractive shades, price point, and durability. ...
Phoenix Area Flipping Data Illuminates National Trends
A recent report from ATTOM Data Solutions about national flipping trends stated that about one in every 10 homes in Phoenix, Arizona metro area market is a flip. Only five markets posted higher numbers than this. Even though Phoenix is a hot spot for flippers, it is not necessarily a ...
Rental Concessions Increasing in Today’s Multifamily Market
Rental rates keep rising nationally, but renters are getting more bang for their buck these days due to an increase in rental concessions. According to a report from CoStar, an increasing number of developers are offering concessions to new and renewing residents in order to keep occupancy up. Lynn Bora, ...
3 Crucial Questions to Ask Before Investing in Hyper-Localized Housing Markets
Thanks to the overwhelming presence of technology in our lives today, real estate markets are becoming hyper-localized. I tend to blame our reliance on web-based social networks. After all, we can now poll our 500 closest friends about the relative merits of a neighborhood, a local middle school, or even ...
The Advantages of “Middle Market” Commercial Real Estate
Everyone likes a trophy, and glamorous properties in big cities have certainly benefited from the recent strong real estate market. But much less attention has been paid to the resurgence of “middle market” commercial properties. We’ll explore here the opportunities offered by smaller-value transactions in areas not considered “gateway” markets ...
Hurricane Season Begins with 7 Million Homes at Risk
The official start of hurricane season was June 1 this year, and in preparation, CoreLogic released a memo on the topic. “This year, nearly 7 million homes are at risk of a hurricane storm surge,” CoreLogic analysts wrote. Their analysis was based on data from 2017 and forecasts from the ...
First-Time Homebuyers Make Up Nearly Half Q1 Freddie Mac Financing
According to Freddie Mac’s first-quarter home lending data, nearly half of all borrowers who took out home mortgages during the first three months of this year were first-time homebuyers. Those borrowers’ median age is 32, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater called ...
Changes in Rental Rates Spark Investor Interest
National rental rates increased by two percent in May 2018 over May 2017, the slowest rate of increase since 2010. However, reported RentCafé analysts, rents still rose in 79 percent of the country’s largest metro areas, were unchanged in 17 percent of those areas, and fell in only four percent ...
California Agent Fined for Use of Bandit Signs
Most real estate investors have used a bandit sign or two in their real estate investing. These signs, which tend to populate nearly every high-traffic corner over most weekends in most areas of the country,are a low-budget, high-return advertising option and also are a great source of real estate deal ...
Fake NAR Emails Could be a Phishing Scam
If you get an email from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) this week, be sure to look for the logo before you respond. The association issued a warning yesterday that NAR members are receiving “suspicious emails” designed to appear as if they are from the NAR (they are not) ...
Lava-Buried Hawaii Homes Built Despite Volcano Risk
One of the most affordable places to live in Hawaii is no longer the bargain it has been for nearly 80 years. According to the Wall Street Journal, multiple subdivisions built in the Lower Puna area of the Big Island are now threatened by the Kilauea volcano’s ongoing eruption, which ...
3 Things a Blueprint Can Tell You About Your Investment Property
Although many real estate investors choose to leave the complicated lines, measurements, and extremely fine print of blueprints to their contractors, engineers, and architects, sometimes a quick look at a property’s inner workings can tell you a lot about how a potential project might go. At times, a blueprint can ...
Think Realty Magazine June 2018
+ WHAT'S INSIDE Think Realty | News & Events •Don’t Let Travel Deter Your Long-Distance Investments Design Point | Renovation Rockstar: Panama City A-Frame Commercial Investing | Keeping Complex Housing Issues Simple •Behind the Scenes: Commercial Conversion •Commercial Real Estate Value Factors You See Every Day •When Two Worlds Collide ...
Fannie Mae Testing Airbnb Income Based Mortgage Loans
Fannie Mae is working with three lenders to evaluate the integrity of mortgage refinance loans underwritten with consideration of a primary residence’s Airbnb income. This is the first time Airbnb income has been a factor in refinance applications. Quicken Loans conceived the program. The project is in the pilot stages ...
