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Kathy Fettke / RealWealth
Don’t get caught off guard by market crashes that can take all your money down with them. And don’t miss out on markets where you can build wealth practically overnight. Real Estate News for Investors with Kathy Fettke is the premiere source for savvy real estate investors who want to stay up-to-date on new laws, regulations, and economic events that affect real estate. Topics include: market trends, economic analysis that affects housing prices, updates on the best rental markets for investing in single-family rentals or multi-unit rentals, turn-key housing standards, the fate of the highly revered 1031 exchange and other tax law affecting investors, self-directed IRA investing and 401k changes, where rents and property values are rising or falling, flipping risks, new Dodd-Frank rules regarding private lending and financing standards, areas with job losses vs job growth, areas that are overbuilt or over-supplied versus areas with low supply and high demand, and how to avoid real estate scams.
We'll bring you the latest reports from organizations like the National Association of Realtors, Realty Trac, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, Rent Range, Property Radar, the Norris Group, Peter Schiff, Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Suse Orman, Bigger Pockets, Dave Ramsey and more. And we'll help you interpret the data in terms that make sense for your real estate goals, and portfolio. Grow and protect your wealth by staying on the forefront of economic data analysis, expert opinions, innovative investing strategies and profitable investment opportunities. We'll share all the top real estate news stories and the best trade secrets investors should know, so you can stay ahead of the curve and make fully informed real estate decisions.
Host Kathy Fettke is Co-CEO of the Real Wealth Network, author of Retire Rich with Rentals and host of the Real Wealth Show on iTunes. She brings decades of media and real estate investing experience, offers her own viewpoints on particular topics, and taps into her network of real estate experts for real world news updates created just for investors like you. Get the real news on real estate on Real Estate News For Investors podcast!
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Due Diligence: The Risk of a Future Water Shortage
If you are a real estate investor, you’ve probably thought about climate change and how it may impact your portfolio. We’ve been warned about rising sea levels, storm surges, more severe hurricanes, and more destructive wildfires, but one future risk that hasn’t gotten as much attention is the risk of a water shortage in areas that don’t get much rain or snow. According to a new risk assessment study by the Blackrock Investment Institute, it’s a financial risk that many investors may not be factoring into their portfolios. www.NewsForInvestors.com
04:3307/08/2020
Real Estate News Brief: GDP Plummets, Real Estate Sizzles, and Virtual Mini Vacations
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending August 1st, 2020… we have a sharp drop in the gross domestic product, a real estate market that defies gravity, and a new way to feel like you are taking a vacation with your laptop. We begin with economic news from this past week, and a new record for the U.S. GDP, but not in a good way. The government says the gross domestic product dropped a whopping 32.9% from April to June, on an annualized basis. That’s the worst drop in GDP ever, with the closest being in mid-1921. www.NewsForInvestors.com
08:0004/08/2020
Real Wealth: Changing Views on Money & Wealth
The pandemic is changing the way people think about money, and how much they feel they need to be wealthy. The Charles Schwab 2020 Modern Wealth Survey was taken in January of this year, before the U.S. was hit by the pandemic, and again in June, several months after the pandemic began. The results reveal changes in both attitudes and behavior, when it comes to money. More than half of the people who participated in the survey say COVID-19 has had a financial impact on them or a close family member. But the sudden economic uncertainty that the pandemic has created, is also having a good effect on how people are handing their money. www.NewsForInvestors.com
03:4604/08/2020
Personal Finances: Roth IRA Conversions During COVID-19
If you’ve thought about buying real estate in a self-directed Roth IRA but would like to get more money into that account, 2020 may be the year to do a Roth IRA conversion from a traditional IRA or 401k. The conversion will trigger a tax event, but due to current circumstances, you might save a bundle of money doing that conversion this year. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:0401/08/2020
Due Diligence: New Flood Risk Tool for Individual Properties Across the U.S.
Millions of U.S. properties are at substantial risk of flooding, and some say that risk is growing due to climate change. But it hasn’t been easy to determine a property’s flood risk. Many states don’t have flood history disclosure requirements, and FEMA maps don’t tell the whole story. A non-profit academic research group hopes to close that information gap with a new visualization tool that calculates flood risk for 142 million properties across the U.S. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:1228/07/2020
Real Estate: Malls Support E-Commerce with Vacant Store to Warehouse Conversions
Demand for warehouse space is skyrocketing as more and more people shop online, and that is providing another option for struggling malls. Mall owners with vacant space on their hands or retailers with an online presence are turning retail space into warehouse space for e-commerce. And there’s plenty of room for this trend to fly. A new report from commercial real estate services firm JLL says we may need another 1 billion square feet of warehouse space by 2025. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:4925/07/2020
Real Estate News Brief: Home Sales Soar, First-Time Homebuyer Help, Airbnb Backlash
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending July 25th, 2020... numbers surge for both new and existing home sales, first-time homebuyers may get penalty-free access to retirement accounts, and critics pounce on Airbnb’s request for donations. We begin with economic news from this past week, and a real estate market that is not bogged down by the coronavirus. The Commerce Department reported that the pace of new home sales surged 13.8% in June. That’s the highest level in 13 years. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:0025/07/2020
Tenant Issues: Landlord Loses Case Involving an Emotional Support Pet and Tenant Allergies
An Iowa landlord got caught in an impossible situation. He said “yes” to an emotional support dog, and that dog ended up bothering another tenant who had allergies. The allergic tenant sued because she rented the apartment with the understanding that no pets were allowed, and the court sided with her because she was there first. The case itself has an important lesson for landlords dealing with the conflicting needs of its tenants. This has not been an easy dispute to resolve. The case worked its way to the Iowa Supreme court where Chief Justice Susan Christensen acknowledged that the landlord got himself into a “pickle” trying to satisfy the needs of both tenants. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:5325/07/2020
Crowdfunding: New York Investment Firm Goes Silent after Death of Founder
A crowdfunding company that raised hundreds of millions of dollars from thousands of investors appears to have fallen into a black hole. Prodigy Network was already on shaky ground financially when founder Rodrigo Niño died a few months ago. And now, it’s not clear who’s running the company. The website is still blazing a message of prosperity, but calls and emails are going unanswered. www.NewsForInvestors.com
08:2424/07/2020
Real Estate News Brief: Housing Start Boom, Mortgage Rate Surprise, and Drive-In Theater Revival
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending July 18th, 2020... home construction is booming for a second month in a row, mortgage rates are at a 50-year low, and drive-in theaters are popping up across the country. We begin with economic news from this past week, and a housing market that is rebounding nicely from the pandemic. The Commerce Department reported that housing starts continued a surge that began in May. They were up 17.3% in June, after a 17% increase in May... www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:2822/07/2020
Real Estate Investing: Detroit Tops List as “Best Bang for Your Buck”
If you want to stretch your real estate investing dollars as far as you can, you may want to look at Detroit. Motor City is the number one large metro for the amount of residential square footage you can get for your money. You might run into some competition as a summer buyer however. There are reports that the Detroit real estate market is booming right now, despite concerns about the pandemic. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:5617/07/2020
Housing Market: Record Low Mortgage Rates Fall Below 3%
Mortgage rates have never been this low. Freddie Mac reported on July 16th that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below the 3% mark to just 2.98%. That’s the lowest they’ve been in the 50 years that rates have been tracked. Those low rates are great for buyers, but they are also the results of the current crisis. Mortgage rates tend to drop when investors pour money into the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond. When there’s more demand from investors buying up Treasurys, bond prices rise as yields go down (just like in real estate, when prices rise and cash flows decline). Investors who typically buy bonds also buy mortgage-backed securities for the same reason -- for safety, even if the return is lower. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:0917/07/2020
COVID-19: Millionaires Call for Wealth Tax to “Heal the World”
Multi-millionaires around the world are renewing their call for a wealth tax. This time, they say it’s needed to help heal the world from this pandemic. There are 83 ultra-wealthy individuals who signed an open letter this last week, asking their respective governments to raise taxes for people like them. They call themselves “Millionaires for Humanity” and say this tax should be imposed “immediately, substantially, and permanently.” www.NewsForInvestors.com
08:5416/07/2020
Real Estate News Brief: Low Mortgage Rates, Rising Rents, Home Price Impact
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending July 11th, 2020... new record-low mortgage rates, where rents are rising, and what to expect from home prices. We begin with economic news for the past week, and some progress on getting back to work. The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims hit a seasonally-adjusted four-month low of 1.31 million. That’s down from 1.41 million the week before last. Those figures don’t include benefits handed out through a temporary federal-relief program or state programs. If you include those figures, the total number of people receiving benefits is more like 31.5 million. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:1011/07/2020
U.S. Economy: PPP Money Grab Could Turn into SBA Audits
Businesses large and small lined up for the government’s Paycheck Protection Program, and now many of them may be lining up for an audit. The program was designed to help companies that were hurt by the coronavirus with loans that are forgivable if employees are kept on the payroll. But loans were approved quickly, without a lot of documentation, and now many businesses may have to prove that they truly meet the loan criteria, or give the money back. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:5811/07/2020
Property Management: Rent Collection Update, June/July
Two national reports on rent collection show that most tenants are meeting their rent obligations, although the results are slightly lower than last month. Eviction moratoriums are also being lifted in some markets, making it possible for landlords to address a difficult financial situation with an eviction, if needed. The National Multi-Housing Council keeps track of rent collection for apartments. In the Council’s rent collection report for July, it says that 77.4 percent of renters made a full or partial rent payment by July 6th. Property managers usually give renters five days to pay their rent, so they can report “on time” payments by the 6th. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:2710/07/2020
U.S. Economy: June Jobs Report Reality Check
The latest jobs report shows a stunning 4.8 million jobs were added back into the economy in June. That’s on top of 2.5 million jobs that were added in May. Both represent the two biggest monthly gains in U.S. history. Although they “shattered expectations” as the White House wrote in a headline, there’s more to know about the status of the current job market. The COVID-19 pandemic that shut down our economy put 22.2 million people out of work during the first two months of the crisis. The addition of 8.3 million jobs in the last two months is an impressive turnaround, but it still leaves millions of formerly employed people without a job. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:1509/07/2020
Real Estate News Brief: A Boom in Pending Home Sales, a Dip in the Jobless Rate, and a New FICO Score
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending the Fourth of July 2020... market optimism after a report on pending home sales, good news about jobs, and a new FICO score that could help borrowers with below-average scores. We begin with economic news from this past week, and a report on pending home sales that sent the stock market soaring. They were up a record 44.3% from April to May, according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s the largest monthly increase ever. It also followed two months of serious declines, but is evidence of what some economists say will be a “V”-shaped recovery for the housing market. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:3504/07/2020
Gold Fraud: $2.2 Billion in Fake Gold out of Wuhan, China
If you have gold in your financial portfolio, beware of any holdings connected to Kingold Jewelry. It’s now at the center of a massive gold fraud scandal. And what adds another layer of intrigue is the company’s location, in Wuhan, China, which is the epicenter of the current pandemic. The gold scandal is not connected to the pandemic, but is it creating new shockwaves connected to China. According to a report by Zero Hedge, 83 tons of fake gold were used to secure loans and insurance policies for Kingold. The gold is supposed to be worth 16 billion yuan or about 2.2 billion dollars but it was discovered that the gold bars were just gold-plated copper. It’s believed to be the biggest gold counterfeiting scandal in recent history. www.NewsForInvestors.com
04:5004/07/2020
Real Estate: Business Deals Without Handshakes
The pandemic is giving many of us “shakephobia.” Shaking hands is a common way to express good will and is often used during the closing of a business deal. It’s also a great way to spread germs, and maybe not a wise thing to do as the coronavirus spreads. I thought I’d dedicate this podcast to ways you can avoid a handshake without offending the person you are greeting. The handshake has been around for a long time. The message a handshake delivers is one of trust, respect, equality, and, in business, agreement. www.NewsForInvestors.com
04:2002/07/2020
U.S. Economy: Real Estate Headed for “V-Shaped” Recovery!
It’s headline news for residential real estate. The National Association of Realtors is reporting a mammoth 44.3% increase in pending home sales for the month of May. That’s after a decline during the previous two months when the pandemic was at its peak. Economists see this as a sign of a “V-shaped” recovery that could help lead the economy out of the current recession. The market for existing homes was pretty much at a standstill for two months. Sellers didn’t want to list their homes out of fear of the selling process -- that buyers touring homes would bring germs. Stay-at-home orders also kept the number of buyers to a minimum, especially those who wanted to see a home in person before they signed on the dotted line. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:0701/07/2020
Real Estate News Brief: New Home Sales Surge, Investor Optimism, Fast Internet
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 25th, 2020... new home sales are surging, real estate investors are feeling optimistic, and a home buyer priority that can make or break a sale. We begin with economic news from this past week, and some promising signs for the housing market. The government reported a big surge in the sale of new homes in May. They were up a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 16.6%. In May of last year, they were up 12.7%. The Northeast experienced the biggest increase. Sales were up 45.5% in that region. The national median sales price for a new home is $317,900. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:4430/06/2020
Housing Trends: Houston MLS Removes "Master" from Listings
Efforts to eliminate signs of racism have swept across the country. From the toppling of confederate statues to the retiring of the Aunt Jemima image by Quaker Oats, individuals and businesses are getting rid of racist symbols. The word “master” is something that’s used in the real estate world to describe the main bedroom in a house. In one city, realtors have decided to replace that word on the MLS because it “can” invoke thoughts of slavery. The Houston Association of Realtors stopped using the words “master bedroom” and “master bathroom” on June 15th. Instead, the association is describing those rooms as “primary bedroom” and “primary bathroom.”
04:2626/06/2020
Housing Market: Buyers Clamoring for Single-Family Homes
If you’re in the market for a single-family home, chances are you’ll have competition this summer. Searches for single-family homes have surged as many more people clamor after the privacy of a home with a yard in the midst of this pandemic. A Redfin report says interest in single-family homes hit a four-year high last month. Tampa is at the top of the list for an increase in single-family web searches, probably due to things like Florida’s great weather, low home prices, low taxes, and a friendly business environment. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:1426/06/2020
Real Estate News Brief: Bidding Wars, Mortgage Rates, & Tenant Finances
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 20th, 2020… competition heats up among home buyers, mortgage rates hit a new low, and what tenants are doing to manage their finances. We begin with economic news from this past week, and testimony from Fed Chief Jerome Powell on the state of the economy. He told members of Congress that some economic data points to a “modest rebound” right now, but he also warned of significant uncertainty about how the recovery may take place. The nation is still at the mercy of COVID-19 as cases rise in some states and new safety measures are put in place. Several states and cities have ordered that masks are worn in public, including California. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:2920/06/2020
Real Estate: New PPP Rules Benefit Sole Proprietors, Deadline Looms
There are big changes to the Paycheck Protection Program that benefit independent contractors and sole proprietors. The changes include more lenient requirements for how you spend the money, an easier process for loan forgiveness, and a longer period of forbearance. But the deadline to sign up is approaching at the end of the month, so if you haven’t applied yet, the clock is ticking. The deadline to sign up for the Paycheck Protection Program is currently June 30th. That didn’t change in the latest update. The changes were authorized in legislation called “The Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act of 2020, which was sent to President Trump’s desk for final approval on Friday, June 5th. www.NewsForInvestors.com
04:1820/06/2020
U.S. Economy: New Main Street Lending Program for Businesses
The Fed has launched a new lending program to help struggling companies and get people back to work. The Main Street Lending program was announced in March to help small to medium businesses that were doing well before the pandemic, and it’s rolling out now at local banks. The loans are not forgivable like those in the Paycheck Protection Program but the terms are generous, and they do fill a lending void for businesses that were too big to qualify for the PPP program. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is administering the $600 billion program, but loans are provided through local banks that have registered to participate... www.NewsForInvestors.com
04:1718/06/2020
Real Estate News Brief: Fed’s Economic Plan, Small Business Optimism, Short-Term Rental Surge
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 13th, 2020… the Fed’s plan for the economy, why small businesses are optimistic, and a sudden surge in short-term rental reservations. We begin with economic news from this past week and word from the Fed that the federal funds rate will probably stay right where it is, at zero, for the next couple of years. Fed Chief Jerome Powell said in a news conference after the mid-year meeting: “We’re not even thinking about raising rates.” He didn’t mention negative rates either which is something that other countries have done. Powell also said the Federal Reserve would use a “full range of tools” to support the economy. That includes the buying of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities to provide lending liquidity to the market. The Fed’s current balance sheet is about $7 trillion dollars. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:2816/06/2020
Housing Policy: Black Families Still Suffer Redlining
The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer unleashed anger across the country over the mistreatment of Blacks throughout American history. Inequality can manifest in many ways and in many parts of our culture, despite laws that outlaw discrimination. Our housing and financial markets are no exception. Although the practice of redlining was banned more than 50 years ago, Redfin says that Black families continue to feel the impact. Redlining came into being in the 1930s. The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation rated neighborhoods on their overall likelihood of default or “mortgage security.” www.NewsForInvestors.com
08:1112/06/2020
U.S. Economy: Fed’s Forecast for Economic Recovery
The Federal Reserve offered a mid-year update on the economy, after skipping the last update in March due to the pandemic. After a two-day meeting, Fed Chief Jerome Powell delivered his comments in a virtual meeting with reporters. He highlighted the fact that we are in the midst of a difficult and challenging time with great uncertainty about the future. But that said, he offered a potential timeline for a recovery that could make us economically whole over the next couple of years. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:5212/06/2020
Real Estate News Brief: Job Growth Surprise, Forbearance Slowdown, Healthy Home Design
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 6th, 2020... a pleasant surprise about job growth, a forbearance slowdown, and home design that discourages germs. We begin with economic news from this past week and a surprise report on the job market that sent the stock market soaring. The government’s job growth report shows a 2.5 million hiring increase for the month of May. That brought the unemployment rate down to 13.3% from a high of almost 15%, because of the pandemic. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:1411/06/2020
COVID-19: Foreclosures Ahead But Not Like the Great Recession
The government is doing everything it can to prop up the housing market. But when those props disappear, will we see foreclosures? Investors capitalized on the foreclosure crisis during the Great Recession. Many single-family homes were snapped up at fire-sale prices, and turned into rentals. But, investors hoping for a similar situation may be waiting for quite some time. According to some experts, we will probably see a surge in defaults and foreclosures, but not at such a grand scale and not for several months or even a couple of years. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:4711/06/2020
Real Estate: Wall Street's Single-Family Home Landlords Bet on Suburban Rental Demand
Some of the nation’s biggest landlords are betting on a surge in demand for single-family rentals in the suburbs. JPMorgan Asset Management and American Homes 4 Rent announced a joint venture to build 2,500 new single-family rentals in western and southwestern high-growth markets. They say the deal will capitalize on a post-pandemic desire to move away from apartments in crowded cities. It will also help address a lack of existing home inventory. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:4308/06/2020
Housing Market: The Remote Work Revolution (And it's Affect on Office Space Landlords)
It was only a few months ago that cities were worried about how to keep their low-income residents. Now there’s concern that the need for social distancing is chasing big companies and their highly-paid employees away. The post-pandemic office environment is going to be different, and there are signs already that businesses are rethinking their office space needs. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:0606/06/2020
Real Estate News Brief: New Mortgage Rate Low, Flexible Lease Terms, Demand for Outdoor Living
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending May 30th, 2020... mortgage rates have hit a new record low, landlords keeping tenants with shorter terms, and buyers want homes with outdoor features. We begin with economic news from this past week, and signs of life in the housing market. New home sales were up .06% from March to April, although they were down more than 6% from April of last year. But the increase beat analyst expectations, with the biggest rise in the Northeast. Home sales were up almost 8% in that region. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:0103/06/2020
Airbnb, Hotels Duke it Out Over Germ-Free Lodging
Choosing between an Airbnb and a hotel will now include COVID-19 risk factors for many people, and at first glance, some travelers may think hotels are better at keeping things clean. But there are several factors to consider when choosing a place to stay overnight, including cleaning and disinfecting procedures. Both lodging options have their benefits and their risks. An article in the New York Times gives hotels the edge over home-sharing services like Airbnb and VRBO. It says that, for years, Airbnb has disrupted the travel industry with more affordable, home-like accommodations, but that COVID-19 is now disrupting the disruptor, in reference to Airbnb. That includes other home-sharing options as well, like VRBO. www.NewsForInvestors.com
07:4031/05/2020
U.S. Economy: Reopening Stifled by Unemployment Bonus
States across the nation are giving businesses the green light to reopen, but where are the employees? It seems that a very generous unemployment bonus, authorized by the CARES Act, may be contributing to a decision to remain unemployed. The government is handing out a $600-a-week bonus on top of regular unemployment benefits/ Now, many are getting more from unemployment than they did when they were working. The fact that people are getting this bonus has probably contributed to high rent collection numbers. People have had the money they need to keep up with their obligations. That’s the whole point of the extra money, to keep people as close to financially whole as possible. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:2129/05/2020
Real Estate News Brief: Economic Restart, Builder Confidence, Rising Home Prices
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending May 23rd, 2020... we have a new start to the economy, builder confidence, and markets where home prices are rising. We begin with economic news from this past week, and the beginnings of an economic reopening for all 50 states. Although reopening guidelines are different from state to state, many are lifting restrictions on recreational activities for Memorial Day weekend, with the appropriate social safety measures. There’s been a decreasing number of COVID-19 cases and deaths across the nation and in Europe. Africa and other parts of the Americas are still seeing an increase. So the world is not out of the woods yet. But the holiday weekend may mark a turning point for the U.S. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:2423/05/2020
Eviction Ban: Coronavirus Squatters in Short-Term Rentals
While many short-term rental owners can’t attract guests right now, others can’t get rid of them. There’s word that wealthy guests are squatting in fancy summer rentals because of the coronavirus ban on evictions. That’s putting owners in a tough spot. There’s word that property owners are worried they could miss out on the summer tourist season. It’s not clear if this is happening in other areas, but the New York Post writes that some short-term guests in the Hamptons are refusing to leave, once their reservations have ended. Local landlords and real estate brokers say these tenants moved into their water-front accommodations before the eviction ban went into place and are now saying they can’t afford to pay the rent, or to move anywhere else. And these are not cheap places or low-income guests. www.NewsForInvestors.com
04:0622/05/2020
Real Estate: Florida Vacation Rental Owners Sue the Governor
The Florida governor is taking steps to restart the vacation rental business but some short-term rental operators are not very happy about the rules. Governor Ron DeSantis banned most short-term rentals in March, while allowing hotels and other kinds of lodging to remain open. Some have filed a lawsuit over a vacation rental ban that they feel has unfairly singled them out. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:2420/05/2020
Real Estate News Brief: $3 Trillion Stimulus Bill, Surge in Mortgage Requests, $100 Surprise for a Landlord
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending May 16th, 2020... a $3-trillion relief bill that will help landlords, a new surge in mortgage applications, and a heart-warming rent payment story out of St. Louis. We begin with economic news from this past week, and House approval of a $3-trillion relief package that includes $100 billion for a national rental assistance program and $75 billion in mortgage relief for multi-family landlords. It also provides another round of stimulus checks for individual taxpayers, and almost $1 trillion to state and local governments faced with steep declines in tax revenue. It’s not clear how the legislation will fare in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said that the three coronavirus bills already approved are enough for the time being. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:0117/05/2020
Return to Normal: How UVC Light Can Protect Us from COVID-19
A return to normal means winning the war against COVID-19 and one weapon in our war chest could be a UVC light bulb. Man-made UVC devices are not new, but their use is expanding as a way to kill the virus. Amazon just announced the development of a UVC robot to disinfect warehouses and Whole Foods grocery stores. There’s also another development at Columbia University that could easily kill this virus and keep future ones from ever getting a foothold. www.NewsForInvestors.com
06:2116/05/2020
Rentals: May Rent Collection Better than April
A national rent tracker for apartments shows that May rent collection is better than April. That’s not what many people expected given the massive number of job losses and efforts by a small number of activists encouraging a rent strike. Property teams within our own network are also reporting good results for single-family rentals. The National Multifamily Housing Council says that by May 6th, 80.2% of tenants had made a full or partial payment on their rent. Last month, only 78% of tenants had done so. The survey included 11.4 million apartment households and was done the first week of May. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:0115/05/2020
Real Estate News Brief: Economic Turmoil, Warren Buffett Optimism, Mortgage Uptick
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending May 9th, 2020… an economy in turmoil, words of encouragement from Warren Buffett, and a pick-up in mortgage activity. We begin with economic news from this past week and another round of job losses. The latest weekly report shows an additional 3.2 million unemployment claims for a total of more than 20 million jobs lost in April. That’s brings us to about 33 million jobs lost since the pandemic began. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:4211/05/2020
Real Estate Investing: Rebound Markets - TAMPA!
The Tampa housing market could be among the first to come roaring back to life after the economy opens back up, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Dallas was named as a potential post-pandemic boom market as well, along with a few other areas. John Burns Real Estate Consulting is well-respected for doing in-depth research on the real estate industry, and specifically for national builders. This latest report looks at geographic opportunities for real estate investors within three categories. www.NewsForInvestors.com
07:1809/05/2020
Housing Market: Demand, Inventory, Sales All Down - Prices Still Rising
We’re in the midst of severe economic shock right now. There are over 30 million job losses in one month, closed businesses, and a 4.8% drop in the GDP, but somehow home prices are rising in some places. That may be a disappointment for homebuyers and real estate investors looking for a deal, although some researchers see lower prices in the coming months. Home prices dropped dramatically during the housing crisis ten to twelve years ago, but that’s not what’s happening this time around so far. As the Wall Street Journal points out, we’ve been dealing with a tight inventory for years and, right now, supply has gotten even tighter because sellers don’t want to list their homes and because many builders have put things on pause. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:4208/05/2020
Harris Poll: Many City Folks Want Homes in the Suburbs
The lure of the big city might be fading a bit. A new Harris Poll shows that a growing number of people would like to move away from the city, and that preferences for other lifestyle habits are changing. The poll includes a wide range of questions from how people intend to buy their food in the future to whether they are worried about dying from the virus.. This particular Harris Poll has been tracking coronavirus trends since mid-March and includes more than 300 questions. It appears that many of the questions have been added in more recent weeks, such as the ones about migrating to more rural areas. Each “wave” of the poll is done weekly over a three-day period with the latest information from the last week of April. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:2406/05/2020
Real Estate News Brief: First-Quarter GDP, Record-Low Mortgage Rates, Demand for Rural Homes
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending May 2nd, 2020, First-Quarter GDP, a new low for mortgage rates, and a surge in demand for single-family homes. We begin with economic news for this past week and the staggered reopening of some state economies. At least 30 states have started allowing businesses to carefully reopen, or have announced plans to do so this month, but each state has different guidelines and timelines. www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:2004/05/2020
Post Covid-19: 50% of Malls Could Close
Many U.S. malls are at risk of closing for good because of the pandemic. A new analysis by Green Street Advisors is predicting that coronavirus shutdowns will push department stores into bankruptcy, and force more than half of all U.S. malls to close by the end of the year. If you are a homebuyer or investor, you should check on the status of a nearby mall to see if it might affect your property value. Green Street says there are 1,000 malls still operating in the U.S. and about 60% of them are anchored by department stores... www.NewsForInvestors.com
05:1101/05/2020
Rentals: Is “Fair Chance” Housing for Ex-Convicts Fair to Landlords?
California is not known as a landlord-friendly state, and a few new laws are adding to that reputation. In addition to statewide rent control that caps rent increases and makes it difficult to evict bad tenants, at least two cities in the San Francisco Bay Area have completely outlawed the use of criminal background checks to screen tenants. These “fair chance” housing laws are designed to prevent homelessness among the formerly incarcerated, but are they fair to landlords? www.NewsForInvestors.com
07:1030/04/2020