El Paso Investors Club

What are the best neighborhoods for buying and investing?  ATTOM Data Solutions helps answer that question with their 2018 Neighborhood Housing Index where they ranked rank over than 10k neighborhood housing markets nationwide based on six factors impacting the hyperlocal housing market: affordability, home price appreciation, school scores, crime rates, unemployment rates and property taxes.  Their top 5 markets were:  Pine Ridge neighborhood in the Naples, Florida, metro ($632,871 median price); Westlake neighborhood in the Mobile, Alabama, metro ($196,179); Union neighborhood in the San Jose, California, metro ($795,000); Westmoreland neighborhood in the Charlotte, North Carolina metro ($326,000); and Hunters Hill neighborhood in the Denver, Colorado, metro ($271,000).

“While home prices are typically higher in higher-ranked neighborhoods with better schools and lower crime, there are still many top-notch neighborhoods with more reasonably priced homes,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “The top five neighborhoods in this ranking represent a diverse set of markets across the country, illustrating that great neighborhoods come in many different forms.”

Click here to read the full report at ATTOMdata.com.

According to the latest Yardi Matrix, U.S. multifamily rents rose $3 in July to $1,409 – which they report is yet another all-time high.  Year-over-year in July, rents were up 2.8%.  Yardi says the multifamily market continues to demonstrate steadiness and that growth continues to be led by secondary markets being driven by strong late-cycle economic performance.

“Economic conditions remain favorable for the multifamily industry, especially in secondary markets that are leading the nation in employment growth. Domestic migratory patterns are also driving demand in key markets in Florida and the Desert Southwest. Households received an income boost via the 2017 tax reform package, which has allowed many to afford higher rents.”

Click here to read the full report at yardimatrix.com.

Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that retirement-aged Americans across the country are struggling to find housing they can afford.  To that end, the folks at smartasset.com investigated just how much money seniors spend on housing and what cities are the most expensive for seniors.  Specifically, they looked at the number of senior renters and homeowners who spend at least 30% of their income on housing.  They found two main points; Seniors who rent are more likely to be housing cost-burdened (over 2x as likely as senior homeowners) and Seniors in big cities struggle.

“Many Americans miss the opportunity to save, which means they miss the chance to invest…Without the gains from investing, it is almost impossible to save enough for retirement.”

Click here to read the full story on smartasset.com.

Are you someone who has thought about investing in a rehab project?  A recent article over on AskaLender.com looks at the process of doing a fix-n-flip and explains the process of buying a fixer-upper, remodeling and/or renovating it and then selling it at a profit.  They rightly point out that “it’s important to know what you’re doing when taking on a fix-and-flip project. If you make a mistake, your profitable investment could turn into a costly money pit.”  Indeed….always do you due diligence before making any investment.

Doug DeShields

Doug DeShields, president of the National Real Estate Investors Association, and an active rehabber himself, said he typically looks for homes that were built between 1950 and 1975. “They have good bones, good structure,” he said. “They’re typically brick and we can tend to do well in those houses.” Part of knowing whether a house has “good bones” or not is having some familiarity with what it takes to make necessary repairs, according to DeShields. “You do not have to be the world’s best carpenter,” he said. “You don’t have to swing the hammer one time. But what you need to do is have a good feel for the various aspects. You need to know a little bit about construction, whether you can physically do it or not. You need to know what makes a good property.”

Key points:

• Shoot for 70 percent of the after-repair value (ARV) minus cost of repairs.
• Look for homes with good bones (i.e., a solid structure).
• Choose newer homes for faster, less thorough flips.
• Get all proper permits for repairs or additions.
• When starting out, get a mentor to teach you the ropes.

Click here to read the full article on askalender.com.

Black Knight Financial Services recently released their “first look” report for June, 2018 showing that active foreclosures continue to decline and have fallen below 300k for the first time since late 2006.  In addition they report that foreclosure starts fell 3.1% in June for the lowest single-month total in more than 17 years.  Black Knight’s month-end mortgage performance statistics are derived from their loan-level database representing the majority of the national mortgage market.

Click here to read the full report on BlackKnightInc.com.

The U.S. government is reporting that the national vacancy rates in Q2 2018 were 6.8% for rental housing and 1.5% for homeowner housing.  The rental vacancy rate was 0.5 percentage points lower than the rate in Q2 2017  and not statistically different from the rate in Q1 2018. The homeowner vacancy rate was virtually unchanged from the rate in Q2 2017 and Q1 2018.  The homeownership rate of 64.3% was not statistically different from Q2 2017 nor from Q1 2018.  In addition, approximately 87.7% of the housing units in the United States in Q2 2018 were occupied and 12.3% were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units made up 56.3% of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 31.3% of the inventory in Q2 2018. Vacant year-round units comprised 9.5% of total housing units, while 2.9% were for seasonal use.

Click here to read the full report on census.gov.

Local Market Monitor, a National REIA preferred vendor, recently released their National Economic Outlook for July, 2018 where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy.  Interestingly, they report that “…the new manufacturing jobs have a special impact on real estate markets because they provide fairly high pay….[AND]…..Real estate investors might want to assemble a list of such markets and keep track of new plant announcements..”

National Economic Outlook – July 2018

July 24, 2018
By: Ingo Winzer

Manufacturing is no longer the engine of the US economy, like it was 50 years ago, but it’s had a rebirth of sorts over the last few years as companies in America find they can produce many products better and more cheaply than foreign manufacturers. A lot of these are intermediate products, specialty components – used in other products – where precision, speed of delivery, and adaptability to changing specifications are important to buyers, along with price. Two of the biggest job gainers have been machine shops – highly automated and flexible operations – and makers of structural metal products.

Two other expanding segments are producers of heavy equipment – mining and construction machinery, for example – and producers of industrial equipment – the automated machines that are the vital ingredient for sustained growth in the manufacturing sector. Production in these segments depends on creative design and heavy use of computer technology rather than low-cost mass production.

Aside from providing a boost to the economy in general, the new manufacturing jobs have a special impact on real estate markets because they provide fairly high pay. And because they tend to be mid-sized operations that can be located anywhere, they’re quite likely to show up in markets where the cost of manufacturing is low but the workforce is skilled – such as Midwest markets with available land and a technical college nearby.

Real estate investors might want to assemble a list of such markets and keep track of new plant announcements.

Including the strong 2.3 percent increase in manufacturing jobs in the past year, total jobs increased 1.6 percent in June. Jobs were up 2.6 percent in business services, 2 percent in healthcare, 2 percent at restaurants, 1.5 percent in finance, and 0.5 percent in retail.

NEW!!  To learn more, Ingo has put together this FREE 7 minute webinar which expands on the data in this Outlook.

About the Author: Ingo Winzer is President of Local Market Monitor, and has analyzed real estate markets for more than 20 years. His views on real estate markets are often quoted in the national press and in 2005, he warned that many housing markets were dangerously over-priced. Previously, Ingo was a founder and Executive Vice President of First Research, an industry research company that was acquired by Dun and Bradstreet in March 2007. He is a graduate of MIT and holds an MBA in Finance from Boston University. He resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Click here for more information about Local Market Monitor.

A recent article on Curbed.com discusses how online platforms such as Roofstock and OwnAmerica have made it much easier for investors to purchase Single Family Residences (SFRs).  In particular they cite Roofstock as one of many SFR investment platforms that have popped up since the housing crisis.  Curbed says these new platforms make it easy & convenient as well as allowing investors to buy and own rental homes in multiple parts of the country at the same time.  However, they do point out that while institutional SFR companies own around 250k SFRs most SFR landlords are “mom and pop” investors who own only one house – many of whom are landlords only after moving and renting out their previous house.  In fact, they cite data showing that about 70% of SFR properties are owned by someone whose primary residence is located 10 miles or less of the rental property.

“OwnAmerica and Roofstock work like a listing service for SFR properties the same way Zillow is a listings service for owner-occupied housing. The companies don’t own the houses, but charge sellers a listings fee and advertise the home to potential buyers…After a customer buys a home on the platform, the company will help the buyer secure a mortgage if needed, and also find a property management company to handle leasing, maintenance, and rent collection, although buyers are free to facilitate these services on their own.”

Click here to read the full story on Curbed.com.

The U.S. government is reporting that sales of new single-family houses in June, 2018, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 631k, which is 5.3% lower than May’s revised rate but is 2.4% higher than June, 2017.  The median sales price of new houses sold in June 2018 was $302,100 and the average sales price was $363,300.  There were an estimated 301k new houses for sale at the end of June representing a 5.7 months supply at the current sales rate.

Click here to read the full release on census.gov.

“Evictions are an awful side of the rental housing business that causes pain for both tenants who need a place to live and landlords who have to run a business.”  That’s the synopsis of a recent interview with National REIA’s Charles Tassell (while wearing his Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Apartment Association hat) that was posted on apartmentheadlines.com.

“As America faces an affordable housing crisis, there are many sides to the story on what causes evictions besides just poverty. Evictions are not just the terrible landlords fault, but a more complex issue…”

Click here to read the full story on apartmentheadlines.com.