BY BRAD BECKETT ON DECEMBER 29, 2020

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), U.S. house prices were up 1.5% in October and up 10.2% from one year ago. Click here to read more.

BY BRAD BECKETT ON DECEMBER 29, 2020

According to Black Knight's "first look" report for November, 2020, mortgage delinquencies improved for the 6th consecutive month in November, falling to 6.33% from 6.44% in October. Click here to read more.

BY BRAD BECKETT ON DECEMBER 28, 2020

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales dropped 2.5% in November to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million (up 25.8% from one year ago). Total housing inventory at the end of November was 1.28 million units, down 9.9% from October and down 22% from one year ago. Click here to read more.

BY BRAD BECKETT ON DECEMBER 28, 2020

The U.S. Government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in November, 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 841k which is 11% lower than October's revised rate, but is 20.8% higher than one year ago. Click here to read more.

BY BRAD BECKETT ON DECEMBER 28, 2020

With President Trump's signature on the recent $900 Billion Covid-19 Relief Bill the details are fully emerging and being implemented by the Administration.  Among these are an extension of the CDC eviction moratorium through January, 2021 as well as provisions for emergency rental assistance. Click here to read more.

BY BRAD BECKETT ON DECEMBER 22, 2020

On the heels of Congress passing a $900 billion COVID-relief package, the Federal Housing Administration announced that it was extending their eviction and foreclosure moratorium as well as their loan forbearance policies through February 28, 2021. Click here to read more.

Senator Portman (R-OH) worked hard to get a deal done on additional COVID-19 relief, and was a key negotiator on housing related issues, especially the Emergency Rental Assistance, detailed below.  The bill passed with only a handful of Senators and several Congressmen opposing it.  The bipartisan package authorizes a second round of PPP loans for the hardest hit small businesses, additional unemployment benefits, support for health care providers, additional funding for vaccine development and distribution, funding for testing and tracing, and funding for a litany of smaller programs.

The $25 Billion will be parceled out in a block grant to states on per person share with funds likely arriving by February.  Additionally, cities and counties with populations over 200,000 will receive a direct allocation of the Emergency Rental Assistance funds.

This new set of funds will have the following guidelines, mainly due to leadership by Senator Portman, providing for a block grant that is pretty hands off and gives states lots of flexibility. But there are a few key guardrails:

• $25 billion for emergency rental assistance and utility payments will be funded through the Coronavirus Relief Fund and administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury;
• Assistance can cover up to 12 months of back and forward rent, with an additional three months in certain cases;
• The CDC's eviction moratorium will be extended one month to Jan. 31.
• Households below 80 percent area median income (AMI) are eligible for rental assistance funds if they qualified for unemployment insurance or experienced reduced household income or financial hardship due to the pandemic; and are at risk of homelessness or housing instability;
• States and localities must prioritize households below 50 percent of AMI and/or those who have been unemployed for 90 days;
• Property Owner/Managers can apply for assistance on the resident's behalf but tenant must cosign the application. Payments must be used to pay the resident's rental obligations;
• Cities and states can make payments directly to Property Owner/Managers or utility companies on behalf of renters. If a Property Owner/Manager refuses to accept rental assistance, it goes directly to resident to pay to Property Owner/Managers or utility provider;
• Up to 10 percent of funds can be used to provide case management and other services intended to help keep households stably housed;
• Extends the deadline for spending previously allocated Coronavirus Relief Funds to Dec. 31, 2021

Congress also passed fiscal year 2021 appropriations (for the fiscal year that started October 2020) with increases for many of the regular housing and homelessness programs administered by HUD and the USDA. The spending bill likely provides enough funding to renew existing contracts for the Housing Choice Voucher program and Project-Based Rental Assistance. Congress also increased many other HUD programs for 2021.

Click here to read the Emergency Rental Assist section of 12-20 Stimulus bill.

BY BRAD BECKETT ON DECEMBER 15, 2020

Many real estate investors are already owners of short-term rentals. In early December, Airbnb corporate opened itself up to all investors by going "public" and is now listed on the NASDAQ as ABNB, allowing practically everyone to get in on the action! Click here to read more.

BY BRAD BECKETT ON DECEMBER 11, 2020

Infographic: The VisualCapitalist says that real estate value is concentrated in our larger cities. Today's infographic shows how they stack up and reveals the median value of a home in America's 30 most valuable cities. Click here to read more.