In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending September 23rd, 2023... the Fed’s forecast on inflation, future rate hikes and the GDP, why remote work is good for the environment, and calls for a major shake-up at NAR.   We begin with economic news from this past week and a message from Fed Chief Jerome Powell. He announced the result of the committee’s September meeting, saying there would be no rate hike at this time, but a majority of Fed officials expect the need for one more quarter-point hike this year. The range is currently 5.25% to 5.5%. 12 Fed officials foresee another hike while seven don’t see them going any higher. Only “one” Fed official expects the need to raise rates above 6% next year...   ...That’s it for today. You can read more about the stories in this episode by following links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   If you’d like to know more about creating a financial safety net with real estate, please sign up for a free RealWealth membership. It’ll take just a minute to sign up and will give you complete access to our website.   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Links:   1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-skips-september-rate-hike-doesnt-rule-out-november-rise-38887479?mod=federal-reserve   2 - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/20/fed-signals-it-will-raise-rates-one-more-time-this-year-before-it-ends-hiking-campaign.html   3 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-fall-to-8-month-low-of-201-000-c593f45f?mod=economy-politics   4 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-sales-fall-in-august-to-the-lowest-level-in-nine-months-ede3e35f?mod=economic-report   5 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-housing-starts-drops-to-lowest-level-since-june-2020-daac45   6 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/builder-confidence-index-falls-to-five-month-low-amid-high-mortgage-rates-6d3a2572?mod=economy-politics   7 - https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms   8 - https://gizmodo.com/working-remotely-could-cut-worker-emissions-in-half-1850853923   9 - https://therealdeal.com/national/2023/09/19/nar-staffers-call-for-leadership-overhaul-amid-controversy/

The market for existing homes is so tight that even the big landlords are having a tough time finding them, but the new rental real estate playbook is all about build-to-rent homes. It’s no secret that renters want the single-family lifestyle, and builders are pumping tens of thousands of new rental homes into the market, with the biggest BTR boom in the South from Texas to Florida.   According to stats from RealPage, more than 104-thousand BTR units are under construction across the nation right now. As of September of this year, more than 61,200 of them are in the Southeast section of the US , about 28-thousand five-hundred are in the Western half of the US, almost 13-thousand are in the Central states, and close to 17-hundred are in the Northeast. The RealPage definition of single-family includes fully detached, semi-detached, row homes, duplexes, quadruplexes, and townhomes... At RealWealth, we recently launched a new build-to-rent fund for investors over the Texas border in Oklahoma. It’s a pre-boom area that has all the right features for a desirable and growing residential location. It’s near main highways, close to large employers, and is just 12 miles from Gainesville, Texas. That’s in an area north of Dallas which has been expanding rapidly as a major technology hub.   We’ve already started purchasing new fourplexes with built-in equity for the fund, and we’ve contracted with a builder for a total of 10 fourplexes over the next two years. My fund partner, Leah, was born and raised in the area, and has witnessed the growth patterns in vast undeveloped areas that are now bustling cities. She is currently focused on Thackerville near the Oklahoma-Texas border because it’s in desperate need of housing and so close to booming job growth. At the time of the interview she said there was only one rental on the market and just 11 homes for sale.   If you’d like to check on all the build-to-rent stats mentioned in this podcast, check for links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. You can find out more about our rental fund at growdevelopments.com. My partner Leah also provided a lot of information about why she thinks this area is ready to blast off on a recent Real Wealth Show with the title: “The Nearby Texas Market that’s Poised to Blast Off!”   RealWealth can help you create a financial safety net with real estate. It’s free to join and gain complete access to all our data and resources. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review!    That’s it for today! Thanks for listening. Kathy Fettke   Links:   1 - https://www.realpage.com/analytics/btr-by-region/   2 - https://squaremile.com/property/development-resident-experience-investor-returns/   3 - https://growdevelopments.com/

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending September 16th, 2023... two more reports on inflation just ahead of this week’s Fed meeting, single-family versus multi-family rent growth, and why two background check companies were fined $5.8 million. We begin with economic news from this past week and another round of inflation reports for the month of August. The Consumer Price Index showed an increase in overall inflation but a drop in the core rate which eliminates pricing for energy and food. The overall CPI rose an unexpected .6%, mostly due to a surge in energy prices. That brought the yearly rate up from 3.2% to 3.7%. But when you strip the numbers down to the core rate, inflation was only up .2% and that small increase lowered the annual core rate from 4.7% to 4.3%... ...That’s it for today. You can read more about the stories in this episode by following links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   If you’d like to know more about how to buy rental real estate, make sure you are a RealWealth member. It’s free to join and will give you access to all our data on various rental markets along with hundreds of webinars, our experienced investment counselors, more than a dozen property teams, and lots of great ideas about how to get from point A to B in your wealth-building journey!   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Links:   Kathy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathyfettke/ Kathy's audiobook on Audible: https://tinyurl.com/retirerichaudible   1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cpi-shows-biggest-increase-in-inflation-in-14-months-efec35e1?mod=economy-politics   2 - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/14/ppi-inflation-report-august-2023-.html   3 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-will-inflation-cool-to-the-feds-2-target-by-late-next-year-says-jp-morgan-strategist-bd6f1c25?mod=mw_quote_news   4 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-4-week-average-of-jobless-claims-drops-to-lowest-level-in-seven-months-672e01a9?mod=economic-report   5 - https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms   6 - https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/rents-are-falling-slower-in-the-suburbs   7 - https://www.corelogic.com/intelligence/annual-rent-growth-slows-again-june/   8 - https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-says-truthfinder-instant-checkmate-deceived-users-about-background-report-accuracy-violated-fcra?   9 - https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/commercial/new-tool-helps-hosts-calculate-short-term-rental-profit

The Australian real estate tycoon who became notorious for his comments about millennials wasting money on avocado toast, is making new waves with comments about employee attitudes. Tim Gurner spoke out at an Australian Financial Review conference and told his peers that they have to “kill” this feeling of superiority among employees and to do that, employees, and the economy in general, would need to feel some pain....   ...You’ll find a link to the Fortune article in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   If you’d like to learn more about how to become your own boss through real estate investing, be sure to check out the RealWealth website, and sign up for free. Members will get complete access to all our information, resources, and experienced investment counselors, with no cost, and no obligation to buy anything.   Links:   1 - https://fortune.com/2023/09/13/australia-real-estate-ceo-tim-gurner-pain-in-economy-avocado-toast/

More big landlords and property managers are getting hauled into court over alleged rent-fixing. I recently reported on a lawsuit against RealPage and institutional landlords who use the company’s YieldStar rent-setting platform. Now there are similar allegations against Yardi Systems and 18 property management companies. 

Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman filed the lawsuit accusing Yardi and the property management firms of a scheme to fix apartment rents nationwide. The attorneys say that the companies used Yardi’s RENTmaximizer tool to automatically raise rents so they wouldn’t compete with each other. That eliminated the need for discounts and other move-in deals to entice tenants...

...You can read more about the Yardi lawsuit by following a link in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   You can find out more about the business of single-family rentals at RealWealth.com. Sign up for free and enjoy a wealth of information about how to find and manage rentals, without breaking any laws!    That’s it for today! Thanks for listening. Kathy Fettke   Links:   https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/multifamily/yardi-18-real-estate-firms-accused-of-rent-fixing-in-class-action-lawsuit-120603

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending September 9th, 2023... we’ll tell you the mortgage rate buyers are waiting for, the homebuying expectations for millennials, and a new super low 1% down payment program.   Economic News   We begin with economic news from this past week, and comments from three Federal Reserve Bank Presidents about the possibility of more rate hikes. New York’s Bank President, John Wiliams, spoke at a conference and said that monetary policy is in a good place right now with the desired effects. But, he says: “Going forward, we will have to keep watching the data… and asking ourselves the question ‘is this sufficiently restrictive, do we need to maybe raise rates again?” He also says that worries about a recession have essentially vanished, although he expects the unemployment rate to hit 4% in the coming months. It’s currently at 3.8%.... ...That’s it for today. You can read more about the stories in this episode by following links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   If you’d like to know more about how to buy real estate for investment purposes, sign up for a free membership at RealWealth.com. It’ll take just a minute to sign up and will give you complete access to our website. That includes hundreds of webinars, data on different rental markets, a curated list of real estate professionals and property teams, and access to our own experienced investment counselors.   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Links:   1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-williams-says-monetary-policy-is-in-a-good-place-recession-talk-has-vanished-270384ec   2 - https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/chicago-feds-goolsbee-suggests-central-bank-is-almost-done-raising-rates-bd88492e   3 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-logan-says-skipping-rate-hike-in-september-does-not-imply-stopping-61a077c   4 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-jobless-claims-fall-to-216-000-lowest-level-since-february-bfe4111f?mod=mw_latestnews   5 - https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms   6 - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/05/mortgage-rate-tipping-point-homeowners-say-5percent-is-the-magic-number.html   7 - https://www.redfin.com/news/gen-z-millennial-affordability-barrier-to-homeownership/   8 - https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/homes/zillow-low-down-payment-loan/index.html

Are you thinking of buying land as a place to build your dream home or to own as an investment opportunity? With such a tight inventory of already-built homes, land sales are increasing across the country and so is a real estate scam known as title fraud. According to an attorney for the National Association of Realtors, title fraud has become a more popular tactic among real estate fraudsters than wire fraud. (1)   We’re seeing more and more headlines about land that’s being sold without the property owner’s knowledge, and warnings from various authorities and real estate professionals about title fraud. It’s also being called “vacant land fraud” and “seller impersonation fraud” according to one story out of Nevada. (2) The Nevada Division of Insurance and the Nevada Real Estate Division have been warning residents about this kind of scam...   ...You can read more about this topic and the precautions you can take to prevent it from happening by following links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   If you’d like to know more about how to buy real estate for investment purposes, sign up for a free membership at RealWealth.com. It’ll take just a minute to sign up and will give you complete access to our website. That includes hundreds of webinars, data on different rental markets, a curated list of real estate professionals and property teams, and access to our own experienced investment counselors.   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Links:   1 - https://www.businessinsider.com/land-fraud-explained-how-properties-being-sold-from-under-people-2023-9   2 - https://www.fox5vegas.com/2023/08/31/nevada-warns-residents-increasingly-common-real-estate-scam/   3 - https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/a-rising-fraud-scammers-are-selling-other-peoples-real-estate-2871438/ 4 - https://www.businessinsider.com/mans-arizona-lot-sold-for-200000-without-him-listing-it-2023-8

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending September 2nd, 2023... what the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge is telling us about July, the home buying slowdown among investors, and plans for a brand-new bustling city in the San Francisco Bay Area.   We begin with the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge showing a slight uptick in July. The Personal Consumption Expenditure price index rose 3.3% compared to the previous year. That’s up from 3% in June. The core rate which excludes food and fuel was also up from 4.1% in June to 4.2% in July. The report is fuel for the Fed’s next meeting when officials will decide on whether to hike short-term rates once again...   You can read more about these stories by following links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. While you are there, be sure to sign up for a free RealWealth membership. You can learn more about how and where it makes sense for you to invest. You can also look at sample rental properties, get your questions answered by experienced investment counselors, and connect with property teams and other real estate professionals. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.   Links:   1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/inflation-rate-rises-slightly-in-july-pce-finds-f496f493   2 - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/business/economy/fed-inflation-july.html   3 - https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/feds-bostic-says-us-interest-rates-are-high-enough-2023-08-31/   4 - https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/feds-bostic-says-us-interest-rates-are-high-enough-2023-08-31/   5 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-jobless-claims-fall-to-lowest-level-in-four-weeks-3b2da360   6 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-creates-187-000-jobs-in-august-382df422?mod=economy-politics   7 - https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms   8 - https://www.redfin.com/news/investor-home-purchases-drop-q2-2023/   9 - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/business/land-purchases-solano-county.html

Like any industry, there are plenty of stories within the real estate world about lawsuits, fraud, and scandalous behavior. Some of the latest headlines include the resignation of the president of the National Association of Realtors in the midst of a scandal, a huge class-action price-fixing lawsuit against RealPage and some of the nation’s biggest landlords, and a real estate influencer in Philadelphia accused of swindling starry-eyed first-time real estate investors. I thought I’d dedicate this episode to those stories and a few others...

If you’d like to learn more about real estate investing without breaking any laws, please sign up as a RealWealth member. Membership is free and will give you full access to our website and resources, including our property teams and our investment counselors. You can also catch up on any episodes you’ve missed and find links to our sources at newsforinvestors.com. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.   Links:   1 - https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/29/homes/nar-president-resigns/index.html   2 - https://therealdeal.com/national/2023/08/29/national-association-of-realtors-pocket-listing-suit-revived/   3 - https://therealdeal.com/national/2023/08/20/philadelphia-real-estate-influencer-accused-of-fraud/   4 - https://therealdeal.com/national/2023/08/20/philadelphia-real-estate-influencer-accused-of-fraud/ 5 - https://therealdeal.com/miami/2023/08/18/miami-realtor-sentenced-in-ppp-fraud-case/

 

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending August 26th, 2023… tough talk on inflation from the Fed Chief, when and why we might see a surge in home prices, and what Texas is doing to manage a booming economy north of Dallas.   We begin with economic news from this past week and comments from Fed Chief Jerome Powell. He delivered the keynote address at the Kansas City Fed’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He reiterated previous sentiments about making progress on inflation, but says it’s still too high and the central bank plans to “keep at it until the job is done.” He said: “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective” – which is 2%...    ...The North Texas area is becoming a global technology hub as semiconductor companies move into the area. That’s creating tens of thousands of jobs, and with all those jobs, a surge in housing demand. We are capitalizing on this opportunity at RealWealth with a North Dallas Rental Fund for accredited investors. You can find out more about this fund at growdevelopments.com.   That’s it for today. You can listen to past episodes and check for links to our news sources at newsforinvestors.com. You can also sign up for a free RealWealth membership while you are there to learn more about how and where to invest in real estate. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Follow Kathy on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/kathyfettke/ Purchase Kathy’s audiobook on Audible at: https://tinyurl.com/retirerichaudible   Links:   1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/powell-unsure-of-the-need-to-tighten-further-b43a9d18?mod=federal-reserve   2 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-drop-to-3-week-low-of-230-000-still-no-sign-of-rising-u-s-layoffs-1f1411f6?mod=economic-report   3 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-home-sales-fall-in-july-as-rates-rise-and-listings-fall-33b79a54?mod=economic-report   4 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-new-homes-sales-rise-4-4-in-july-533ab184?mod=economic-report   5 - https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms   6 - https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/housing-market-outlook-recession-home-prices-mortgage-rates-fannie-mae-2023-8   7 - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/house-prices-wont-fall-ndash-195516944.html   8 - https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/new-apartment-construction/ 9 - https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2023/08/18/txdot-greg-abbott-115-billion.html