According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254k in September, 2024 with the unemployment rate coming in at 4.1%.  Interestingly, the BLS says employment in government continued its upward trend in September (up 31K) with an average monthly gain of 45k over the past 12 [...] The post Unemployment Rate Remains Above 4% in September appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

A recent report from the NAHB’s Eye on Housing says that in 2023, the majority of new home starts featured laundry connections on the first floor (72%), second floor or higher (26%) and the basement, garage, and other locations came in at a 1% or lower share.  The data was from the Census Bureau’s Survey [...] The post Preferred vs. Actual Home Laundry Room Locations appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

We have continued to see rising shelter costs in the inflation data we’ve posted.  Now a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau says over 21 million renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2023, representing nearly half (49.7%) of the 42.5 million renter households in the United States [...] The post Census Bureau Says Nearly Half of Renter Households Are Cost-Burdened appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in August, 2024 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,131.9 billion, which is 0.1% lower than July’s revised number.  However, August’s revised estimate is 4.1% higher than one year ago.  Residential construction came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $899.9 billion in [...] The post U.S. Construction Spending Down Slightly Again in August appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

The U.S. Census Bureau reminds us that Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) celebrates the contributions of Americans tracing their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean.  Indeed….they are part of the fabric of what makes America culturally rich nation and reinforces our motto – [...] The post America’s Growing Hispanic Population appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

Rental information site Zumper recently released their latest monthly National Rent Report for September, 2024.  According to their data, median rent for 1-bedroom apartments was $1531 (up 0.1%) and $1,912 (down 0.2%) for two-bedrooms.  Be sure to check out their entire list of the top 100 metro areas. “September signaled a cooling off in the [...] The post Zumper’s National Rent Report for September ’24 appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

Four Fall Projects to Tackle Now for Year-Round Property Protection By Brian Aguirre, The Home Depot Fire emergencies, unwanted intruders or even inadequate insulation can all pose threats to your property and its tenants. Fortunately, a mix of the right products, devices and technology can help you monitor a property and minimize risks to your [...] The post Four Fall Projects to Tackle Now for Year-Round Property Protection appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), home prices were up 0.1% in July, and up 4.5% from July 2023 to July 2024.  The FHFA HPI is the nation’s only collection of public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from [...] The post FHFA Says Home Price Up 4.5% from Last Year appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

National Fire Prevention Week runs October 6-12, 2024 and one of the best ways to celebrate is to check all your properties’ smoke alarms for functionality and age.  If you find one that’s more than 10 years old, it’s time to replace it.  And when you do, National REIA recommends both ionization and photoelectric technologies [...] The post Fire Prevention Week is October 6-12, 2024 appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more

The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 5.4% annual increase for June, 2024.  Their 10-City Composite increased 7.4% and their 20-City Composite increased 6.5%, year-over-year. “We continue to observe outperformance in most low-price tiers in the market on a three- and five-year horizon…The low-price tier of Tampa was the [...] The post S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Says All-Time Highs Continue appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today ..read more