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For the full transcript, click on the Notes tab on the podcast player for this episode on our website: www.NewsForInvestors.com. Transcript 00:00:00 [Speaker] Kathy Fettke: Americans behind on their mortgage payments are facing the end of a long pandemic-induced foreclosure ban. The moratorium officially ends on July 31st for federally-backed mortgages, and with forbearance programs also coming to an end, the government is offering new options to keep borrowers from losing their homes. Hi I’m Kathy Fettkie and this is Real Estate News for Investors. The pandemic left millions of Americans unemployed and struggling to pay their mortgages. Many went into forbearance programs that allowed them to put their payments on pause. Black Knight says the number of loans in forbearance peaked last August and September at about 4.4% of all active mortgages. But those numbers have been dropping over recent months. Forbearance Volume Drops to about 2 Million According to the latest survey by The Mortgage Bankers Association

For the full transcript, click on the Notes tab on the podcast player for this episode on our website: www.NewsForInvestors.com. Transcript 00:00:00 Intro Music [Speaker] Kathy Fettke: In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending July 24th, 2021… why refi’s are getting cheaper, what investors are doing with this hot market, and how homeowners are making money from their backyard swimming pools. Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is the Real Estate News for Investors. Economic News We begin with economic news from this past week, and a jump in the number of people applying for unemployment benefits. Initial jobless claims were up 51,000 to 419,000 in the last week. It’s the highest level in two months, but the increase is “not” due to the pandemic. As MarketWatch reports, claims were higher in auto manufacturing states like Michigan, Kentucky and Texas because plants are shut down during the summer for retooling. (1) Existing home sales rebounded in June. They had been heading lower for four months due to the

Audio Transcript 00:00:00 Music Intro [Speaker] Kathy Fettke: Competition is so fierce among homebuyers, that we’re seeing a surge in all-cash offers. A new Redfin study shows that all cash-offers are up almost 5% nationwide in the last year. There are also a host of start-ups that help buyers make cash offers and they are expanding. Hi I’m Kathy Fettke and this is the Real Estate News for Investors. The Redfin study found that all-cash offers rose from 25.3% last year to 30% this year. (1) Redfin used county records dating back to January 2001 for this study. You may remember the last big surge happened during the recession when cash offers grew to as much as 34.1% in 2011 and 2012. We’re not quite there yet, but the lack of inventory is making the market much more competitive. Surge in Cash Offers Many of those cash offers were from investors, but in today’s market, people buying their own homes are coming up with cash. A Redfin real estate agent in Idaho says she been seeing more cash offers over the last

Transcript 00:00:00 music [Speaker] Kathy Fettke: The MLS isn’t the only place to find homes for sale. There are studies that show more and more sellers are opting for exclusive listings, and that is limiting buyer options. Also known as “pocket” or “whisper” listings, buyers might want to work with an agent who has them. But beware, pocket listings are best for the broker, and not always the best option for buyers and sellers. Hi I’m Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. There are many reasons for the current shortage of homes for sale. The pandemic delayed many seller plans to list their homes. The record low mortgage rates encouraged many to refinance with dirt cheap loans and remodel instead of moving. Many baby boomers are choosing to “age in place” which keeps those homes off the market. And there’s been a housing gap, in general, for many years. But there are headlines out there that blame another phenomenon. According to the Washington Post, many real estate experts say there’s been

Audio Transcript: 00:00:00 Intro Music [Speaker] Kathy Fettke: In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending July 17th, 2021... what the Fed says about the June inflation report, why there’s been a surge in listings, and where homebuyer love letters are now banned. Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. Economic News We begin with economic news from this past week, and an unexpected bump in the consumer price index. The government reported a .9% increase in prices for June. According to MarketWatch, that’s the largest monthly increase since 2008, mostly due to higher prices for used cars. But prices are also climbing for food, energy, clothing, plane tickets and hotels. The June bump brings the 12-month rate up to 5.4%. The core rate, which eliminates prices for food and energy, was also up .9%, but the 12-month rate is less. It currently stands at 4.5%. (1) Fed Chief Jerome Powell told members of Congress that inflation has risen faster and higher than the central bank expected

Transcript: [Intro music 00:00:00] Kathy Fettke [Speaker]: It looks like the sellers are coming out of hiding. Redfin is reporting an increase in listings, and a new survey by Fannie Mae shows that more and more people feel that “now” is a good time to sell. (1) But there are also signs of a pullback among homebuyers. Hi I’m Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. It’s been a sellers’ market throughout the pandemic, as buyers compete for a dwindling supply of existing homes. But now that the pandemic is easing and home prices have hit record highs, sellers are more motivated to put their homes up for sale. New Listings Jumped in June Redfin says new listings jumped 4% in June, compared to June of last year. That’s the biggest increase since 2019, before the pandemic. But the total number of active listings is still well below levels they were at a year ago. CNBC reports they are off by 32%. But that’s also the smallest year-over-year drop since February. (2) A monthly Fannie Mae survey shows

Transcript: [Speaker] Kathy Fettke: In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending July 10th, 2021... what lenders are saying about a mortgage slowdown, why ARMs are suddenly attractive, and which cities are attracting people who are relocating. Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is the Real Estate News for Investors. Economic News We begin with economic news from this past week. The latest unemployment report shows a slight rise in new claims, but the total number of claims continues to fall. As of June 19th, the number of people collecting benefits was 14.2 million. Economists expect that number to fall faster in September when extra unemployment benefits expire and people are forced to go back to work. (1) And there should be plenty of jobs available. The Labor Department’s latest report on job openings shows a record 9.2 million. That’s exactly double the number of job openings from a low point during the pandemic, and the third month in a row that openings have set a record. (2) In addition to people sitt

Transcript: Kathy Fettke: The U.S. needs millions of homes to meet the current demand for housing, and is depending on builders who can’t find enough workers to do the job. According to one source, the industry needs to hire 1.5 million more construction workers from now through the year 2023. So where have all the workers gone? Hi I’m Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. The construction industry is in hyper-drive right now to satisfy a critical demand for new housing and for upgrades to existing homes. More people are working from home making “home” a much more important part of our lives. It’s a perfect time for builders to expand their businesses but they are limited by the number of workers available. Where Are All the Construction Workers? Solar installer, Matthew Messer, is the owner of New York Solar Maintenance. And he says he’s out in the field working seven days a week because business is booming and he can’t get enough help. He told CNN: “The phone is ringing off the hook. I am

Audio Transcript: Kathy Fettke: The housing market has been booming, but not for everyone. Many Americans are struggling financially as the economy recovers from the pandemic. High home prices are impacting both homebuyers and renters, and we could see a wave of foreclosures and evictions when pandemic moratoriums expire. Those are just a few of the challenges mentioned in “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2021.” It’s put together by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Hi I’m Kathy Fettke and this is the Real Estate News for Investors. Home sales have been soaring in the past year. Many Americans have been on a home-buying binge as the country shifts to a post-COVID reality. Existing home sales were up 20% year-over-year from September of last year through February, and new home sales were even higher. They rose 30% year-over-year from June of last year through February. Home Sales and Prices Are Soaring Existing homes have been hobbled by a historically tight supply that grew worse d

Transcript: In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending on the 4th of July, 2021... what the U.S. Supreme Court decided about the CDC eviction moratorium, the surprising drop in price for lumber, and a new credit card that helps you get money for the down payment. Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. Economic News We begin with economic news from this past week. The latest unemployment report shows that fewer people are applying for benefits, probably because the COVID-era benefits are being phased out. The Labor Department says that 364,000 people applied for benefits. That’s 50,000 less than the week before. Initial claims are now below the half million mark. The total number of people collecting benefits from all eight state and federal programs is 14.7 million, which is another pandemic low. (1) There are plenty of job openings for people looking for work. Companies pumped 850,000 new positions into the market in June. That’s the biggest hiring increase in 10 months, acc

Transcript: Installing solar panels on your home could give you a big boost in value. A new study from Porch.com shows that the average solar-powered home is worth $680,000 which is almost 50% more than the average home in a given area. But it also depends on where you live. Hi I’m Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. Porch.com tallied the number of listings and the average sales prices for the top 500 most populated U.S. cities. It then eliminated the cities that didn’t have at least five solar-powered homes for sale. That left 175 cities in 29 states, and the District of Columbia. (1) It also surveyed homeowners to ask them about home prices in their areas, and how much more solar-powered homes were going for. But the difference in the added value was substantial from city to city. Wide Range in Added Value Pensacola, Florida had the biggest increase in value for homes with solar. The average is $615,000 which is three-and-a-half times the average home price in that area. At the opposite

The Miami condo collapse has got a lot of people wondering about the safety and integrity of their own buildings. The 12-story oceanside condo partially collapsed while people were sleeping. At the time of this podcast, 18 people are confirmed dead and 145 are still missing. As crews continue their search through the rubble, there are reports that the building was in dire need of repair. There were 136 condos at the 40-year-old Champlain Towers South building. More than 50 of them collapsed on June 24th at 1:30 a.m. Eyewitness Accounts of the Collapse The investigations are only beginning to get underway, but there’s growing evidence that the building’s pool deck had a major design flaw, and the concrete under that slab was in bad shape. A Tik Tok video may reveal a lot about what happened. Adriana Armiento took the video from across the street. It shows the entrance to the condo garage just moments before the building came down. You can see what looks like huge chunks of concrete on the floor and water pouri

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 26th, 2021... mortgage rates are back above 3%, forbearance programs are dwindling, and California renters could get their back rent paid off. Economic News We begin with economic news from this past week. The latest report on inflation shows the PCE index rose 3.4% in May, compared to a year earlier. (1) That’s the largest annual increase in almost 30 years, according to CNBC. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index tracks changes in the price of goods and services. It’s considered a more wide-reaching index than the Consumer Price Index, and is the one used by the Federal Reserve. The weekly unemployment report shows the job recovery may be hitting a speed bump. (2) The Labor Department says that initial jobless claims only fell 7,000, and are still above 400,000. MarketWatch says that Wall Street economists had expected a much bigger drop in new claims. The total number of people collecting unemployment from state and federal programs was 14.8 mil

Single-family rents are increasing at their fastest rate in almost 15 years. A new CoreLogic report shows that rent growth for single-family homes was up 5.9% year-over-year in April. That’s the fastest rate of growth since 2006, before the housing meltdown and the Great Recession. Demand for detached homes has mushroomed because of the pandemic. Many Americans want more space inside their home as well as a place to go outside for fresh air. Remote work has also allowed for a migration to smaller cities and more remote locations. There’s also a lack of affordable for-sale homes to satisfy demand at lower income levels. All those factors are pushing people into rentals, and with that kind of demand, rents are moving higher. CoreLogic’s Single-Family Rent Index CoreLogic’s Single-Family Rent Index tracks SFRs. (1) That includes detached homes and single-family homes that are attached to other single-family homes, like condominiums. It analyzes the same group of homes over time to come up with a reading on rent

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 19th, 2021... what the Fed is saying about rate hikes and tapers, how much single-family rents have grown, and where homebuyers are moving. Economic News We begin with economic news from this past week. The Federal Reserve is starting to make plans for rate hikes and tapering due to the risks of higher inflation. In a statement after its monthly meeting it said that it might hike short term interest rates two times in 2023. It also continued to say that recent price hikes were temporary, but Fed Chief Jerome Powell said in the news conference that inflation could rise faster and last longer than he and his colleagues had anticipated. The Fed had forecast an annual rate of 3% this year, but it recently surged in May to a 13-year high of 5%. Powell also said that the Fed has had its first discussion about tapering. It is currently purchasing $80 billion in Treasurys and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities to help stimulate the economy. (1) The job ma

What a difference a month makes! Lumber prices were at a staggering all-time high at the beginning of May. Over the last few weeks they’ve dropped more than 20%. In the securities world, that’s enough of a drop to call it a “bear market.” Prices are still much higher than they were before the pandemic, but they have ratcheted down substantially from their peak. Lumber prices topped $1,500 for a thousand board feet at the end of May, on May 28th. Since then, they have tumbled from their $1,515 high to $1,210, according to an industry trade publication cited by Fortune. (1) That’s a tad more than 20%. Lumber Prices Drop 20% This is great news for homebuilders and do-it-yourselfers who’ve stalled on projects because of the high prices. The National Association of Homebuilders says that the cost of lumber has added an extra $36,000 to the price of a new home, compared to April 2020. It also added about $119 a month for rent on a new apartment. In the midst of the current building boom, builders balked at the cost

Solar energy is not a fringe concept anymore. Experts say it’s becoming more mainstream, but that supply chain issues are impacting the industry right as it’s picking up speed. One reason for the growth of solar is that prices have been dropping, but experts say there’s been a recent surge in the cost of components, labor, and freight, similar to what we’re seeing in many industries, including construction. And that could cause a major setback for solar. The website oilprice.com is calling it: “The Worst Setback for the Solar Boom in a Decade.” (1) With concerns about climate change and an international push toward clean energy, the industry is getting hit with unforeseen expenses. The oilprice blog cites the tripling of steel prices and higher prices for fuel, freight, and polysilicon. It says that many solar companies are in a “wait-and-see mode,” hoping that prices for solar components and freight charges will stabilize at a lower level. Solar Panel Prices Spike According to Bloomberg, the solar panel pric

The high cost of lumber has challenged the construction industry this past year, but there may be some relief in sight. Prices have been pulling back a bit, but how far will they go? Industry experts are expecting a building boom, and that could put more pressure on the price of lumber and other materials in short supply, like paint. As reported by CNBC, lumber futures have been pulling back in the last month, after a huge surge during the pandemic. (1) For July deliveries, they were down more than 5% to $1,158 per thousand board feet. That’s off about 30% from a record high of $1,711 on May 10th. Lumber Prices Off Their Record High But even with that pullback, lumber prices have risen more than 200% in the last year. And that’s adding about $36,000 to the average price of a home, according to a recent report. (2) One lumber industry insider told CNBC that it might make sense to hold off a bit on a project if you can, because of high wood costs. Kyle Little of Sherwood Lumber says: “We do see some relief over

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 12th, 2021… inflation hits a new 13-year high, homeowners make big gains in equity, and “The House that SHE Built” in Utah. Economic News We begin with economic news from this past week. The latest inflation report shows another surge in consumer prices. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a .6% jump in the consumer price index last month. That puts the annual rate at a 13-year high of 5%. The core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy, also jumped .7% to a 29-year high of 3.8%. The Federal Reserve has assured Americans that these price increases are the result of a fast economic recovery, and will only be temporary. Some economists worry that the higher prices won’t come back down, but as MarketWatch reports, the debate is expected to “play out over the next year.” (1) The number of people filing for unemployment continues to drop. The government reported just 376,000 new claims for the week ending June 5th. (2) The number of continuin

A London-based company is betting on the need for climate risk management for governments, companies, and investors around the world. Cervest just announced $30 million dollars in new venture capital funding to grow its climate intelligence platform called Earthscan. According to media website Axios, the money will be used to expand the company’s presence from London to the U.S. and other countries in Europe. (1) The Cervest website calls the service “on-demand climate intelligence.” It promises to help you “understand how current and future climate events will affect your physical assets.” Understanding Climate Change Risk Founder and CEO, Iggy Bassi, said in a press release: “Climate volatility has thrown us into a new era where climate intelligence needs to be integrated into all decisions. Organizations that fail to do so risk being blindsided by climate events such as the recent floods and fires in Australia, the droughts in Europe and the winter freeze in Texas.” (2) The new Earthscan platform is still