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Rent Reporting a Win-Win for Tenants & Landlords! Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

Reporting rent payments to credit bureaus is growing in popularity to help tenants build credit. But it's not just something that helps tenants. According to the media website, Propmodo, it's also a better way to do business for landlords. And there are a growing number of companies offering this service to both tenants and landlords. (1)

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

Having a long history of on-time rent payments speaks well of a renter. That's something every landlord looks for during the screening process. But until more recently, the only option for passing that information along to the "next" landlord is by word of mouth – from one landlord to another who's checking references, typically by phone.

For the renter, on-time rent payments will obviously keep the peace with a current landlord, and help with any phone calls from a new landlord, but it does little to improve a renter's credit score. Although renters can build credit from paying their other bills, rent hasn't been one of things reported to the big three credit agencies because landlords are not considered creditors.

Technology-Based Solutions

The arrival of technology-based solutions or "fintech" is changing the way this information is distributed. Just this week, a company called "Bilt Rewards" announced that it will offer a free rent reporting service for tenants who live in Bilt Alliance multi-family buildings.

Bilt tenants have been able to earn points for paying their rent on time, and then use those points to pay for other things like travel or to help pay next month's rent. And now those tenants can also choose to have those rent payments reported to Experian, Equifax, and Transunion to help build their credit, which they need to possibly eventually buy a home.

As Bilt says on its website: "Rent reporting can help build a credit history, increase the types of credit on your credit report, and may boost your credit score." (2)

Rent Reporting is Valuable to Landlords

This kind of information is also valuable to landlords to evaluate the likelihood that a future tenant will pay his or her rent. It even seems like a glaring omission that rent reporting has not been part of the credit reporting system, but as I mentioned, that's changing.

There are a number of companies now offering the service. FrontLobby and RentRedi are two that come to mind, along with the one I previously mentioned, Bilt Rewards.

Propmodo mentions a company called Piñata that also rewards tenants for making on-time payments. It's a New Jersey start-up with an app that provides currency to tenants with timely rent payments. That currency can then be used to buy things from prominent brands like Costco, Amazon, and Starbucks. Piñata also helps tenants build credit, and hopes to close the credit discrimination gap for renters.

Propmodo says that the "lack" of rent reporting can be a source of frustration for renters. According to a report from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, almost 11 million renters spent more than 50% of their income on housing in 2018. That's a big chunk of a typical renter's income that doesn't build equity, and without contributing to their credit score, provides no additional financial benefit.

Building Credit, Avoiding Delinquencies

As reported by Propmodo, FrontLobby says that tenants have seen their credit scores jump more than 40 points "in a matter of months." And for landlords, it says they can "lower payment delinquencies by 36%."

The Propmodo piece calls it a win-win for both tenants and landlords because "landlords and property management companies can make better screening decisions when they're deciding who to rent to. And, it says that "offering to report a tenant's rent payments to the credit bureaus is its own incentive to attract tenants." For tenants, it helps them build credit, which they might need if they ever want to become homeowners.

Fannie Mae has been using data on rent payments in its underwriting process since last September. And Freddie Mac is reportedly looking into doing it as well. (3)

Check for links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.

And please check out Rich Fettke's new book, "The Wise Investor." It's a book that will help ground you and expand your horizons while teaching you about real estate, financial freedom, and the discovery of your better self. The kindle book is for sale on Amazon. The hard cover and audio versions are coming out in August but you can pre-order them now. You can also read more about the book here.

Also, please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 -https://www.propmodo.com/reporting-rent-to-credit-bureaus-is-better-for-tenants-and-landlords/

2 -https://www.biltrewards.com/

3 -https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/rent-payment-reporting-program-launched-by-bilt-rewards

The Real Estate News Brief: Inflation's 40-Year High, Single-Family Rental Demand, Montana Migration Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 11th, 2022... inflation hits a 40-year high, demand grows for single family rentals, and a popular TV show inspires a Montana migration.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

Economic News

We begin with economic news from this past week, and a report that shows the highest rate of inflation since 1981. The Consumer Price Index was up 1% in May to an annual rate of 8.6%. It was 8.3% last month. The increase is mostly due to rising gas and food prices. If you strip those out, the core rate was up .6% to an annual rate of 6%, which was actually down slightly from 6.2%. (1)

The report is setting off alarm bells. Financial experts are now anticipating a 75 basis point rate hike at the next Fed meeting in June, and further hikes in July and September. The talk so far has been more along the lines of two 50 basis point hikes in June and July, but as one wealth advisor told CNBC, this report was a "doozy." Tom Graff of Facet Wealth says: "The most concerning part of this report was its breadth. The monthly number wasn't driven by a few items. Most of the major categories actually accelerated price increases month-over-month." (2)

As inflation fears grow, so do worries about recession. Now the Atlanta Fed is lowering its forecast for the second quarter from 1.3% to a gain of just .9%. (3)

It's interesting to note that real estate accounted for almost 17% of the GDP last year. The National Association of Realtors says it was 16.9% of the GDP or about $3.9 billion. That's about $113,000 in total economic impact for each home sale. (4)

The Memorial Day weekend may have contributed to a jump in jobless claims. MarketWatch says they were up 27,000 to a five-month high of 229,000. It calls them seasonal "quirks" due to the holiday and not layoffs. (5)

Mortgage Rates

After idling for a few weeks, the mortgage rate seesaw continues. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 14 basis points higher last week to 5.23%. The 15-year was up 6 points to 4.38%. (6)

The average contracted rate of interest was higher. The Mortgage Bankers Association says the 30-year went from 5.33% to 5.40%. That corresponded to a 7% drop in purchase applications. Refinance loans were also down 6%. The MBA says mortgage demand dropped to its lowest level in 22 years. (7)

Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist Len Kiefer said in a tweet that the "U.S. housing market is at the beginning stages of the most significant contraction in activity since 2006." He said: "It hasn't shown up in many data series yet, but mortgage applications are pointing to a large decline over the summer." He also clarified that he expects home sales to slow down quite a bit over the summer, but doesn't expect them to "grind to a complete halt." (8)

In other news making headlines...

Pessimism Among Would-Be Homebuyers

A new survey supports the idea of slower sales this summer. Fannie Mae's Home Purchasing Sentiment Index shows that almost 80% of the participants feel it's a bad time to buy a home right now. Almost as many people feel that mortgage rates will continue to march higher over the next year. (9)

Fannie Mae expects a mild recession next year, but the agency says that inflation and rapidly rising short term interest rates could push us into a recession much sooner.

Demand for Single-Family Rentals

Big landlords are responding to a demand for single-family rentals. The National Association of Home Builders says that builders broke ground on 13,000 single-family rentals in the first quarter. That's a 63% increase from the first quarter of last year. (10)

American Homes 4 Rent CEO, David Singelyn, told CNBC: "There are not enough quality homes for the number of American families." He says the quantity of inquiries, showings, and applications for new rental homes is "two to three times greater today than it was two years ago before the pandemic."

TV Shows Drives Newcomers to Montana

Montana is getting a lot of attention as a great place to live, thanks to Kevin Costner's TV show "Yellowstone." The show features the Dutton family and ranch-style living on large stretches of land with sweeping views of mountains and prairies. (11)

Beartooth investment Group founder, Robert Keith, says his company has received influx of inquiries from all sorts of wealthy families who want to buy a ranch. He says: "They are looking to own really amazing large properties" like you see in the TV show.

The show debuted in 2018 and has already pumped tens of millions of dollars into the Montana economy, but long-time Montana residents are worried it's attracting too many new residents and driving up home prices. The median home price was $500,000 before the pandemic. It's now almost $750,000.

That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

If you're worried about inflation, real estate is a good way to safeguard your money. Real estate values don't fluctuate as wildly as stocks, and your rental income will carry you through any sort of a downturn. You can find out more about single-family rental investing at newsforinvestors.com. Join for free, and get access to experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, and more.

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-consumer-price-index-for-may-11654862886?mod=home-page

2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/catastrophically-bad-inflation-report-is-boosting-chances-of-a-75-basis-point-hike-in-june-or-july-11654876860?mod=MW_article_top_stories

3 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/07/fed-gdp-tracker-shows-the-economy-could-be-on-the-brink-of-a-recession.html

4 -https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2022-state-economic-impact-report-us-04-28-2022.pdf

5 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-unemployment-claims-jump-27-000-to-five-month-high-of-229-000-11654778599?mod=economic-report

6 -https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms

7 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/08/mortgage-demand-falls-to-the-lowest-level-in-22-years.html?__source=realestate%7cnews%7c&par=realestate

8 -https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/the-u-s-housing-market-is-at-the-beginning-stages-of-the-most-significant-contraction-in-activity-since-2006/

9 -https://www.housingwire.com/articles/almost-80-believe-its-a-bad-time-to-buy-property/

10 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/10/big-landlords-jump-into-the-homebuilding-as-demand-for-single-family-rentals-surges.html?__source=realestate%7cnews%7c&par=realestate

11 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/06/08/hit-tv-show-yellowstone-prompts-more-moves-to-montana

Affordable, Climate-Friendly Homes Made of FOAM Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

A Phoenix-based construction company isn't worried about the high price of lumber. It has replaced lumber with another building material that it claims is cheaper, more available, more resistant to natural disasters, and more energy efficient.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

Amazing Building Material

So what is this amazing building material? It's basically a combination of foam and cement in layers. It can be used on all parts of a home including walls, floors, and ceilings. And lowers the cost of building the home by as much as 10 to 50%.

Strata International calls the product SABS which stands for Saebi Alternative Building System. Strata is a green structural engineering company and Amir Saebi (Sigh-EE-bee) is the Executive Operations Manager. (1)

The process involves the cutting of foam slabs into smaller elements of the home design and then gluing them together with a foam adhesive to create a three-dimensional structure. That foam structure is then covered on both the inside and the outside with a thin layer of high-strength concrete.

No Wood. No Nails. No Steel. No Nothing.

Saebi told a local TV station: "Once the panels come together you have a monolithic system completely made out of foam." After that, he says: "We'll take the high-strength concrete and apply it to the exterior and interior and that's all the system uses. No wood. No nails. No steel. No nothing. It's just the foam and the SABS product which goes over it which is the high-strength concrete." (2)

Saebi says it's so strong that you could drive an F150 truck onto a six-inch finished piece without cracking it. He also described the environmental qualities of the foam as "100% breathable, 100% liveable, FDA approved, and 100% recyclable."

There's a chart on the website that shows how this foam can outperform other building materials when it comes to mother nature. (3) It says that houses made of this foam can withstand winds up to 260 miles per hour, making it highly resistant to hurricanes. It's also at the top of its class when it comes to earthquakes, mold resistance, and rodent resistance. It has a moderate reading for fires which is better than wood.

Practical Solution for Green Construction

Strata says the foam is a perfect solution for a building material that is more climate friendly, and the first practical solution for green construction because it checks so many boxes – from affordability to sustainability.

It's also a better insulating material than wood, masonry and other building materials. It has a minimum R-value of 35 with an average R-value of 50 to 65. The minimum R-value alone is more than double the R-value of wood and masonry.

The R-value of a building material indicates how well it resists heat. The higher the number, the higher the resistance.

The foam is also good for soundproofing. Saebi says that energy efficiency is about double what you'd get from a home built of wood, and in places like Arizona, it can cut your AC bill in half.

No Limits on Design

He also emphasizes the design benefits of foam because you have no limits to the kind of shapes you can create. There are also fewer steps to the construction process. Building a home out of foam might require four kinds of sub-contractors while a wood home requires 11.

The company has already built hundreds of foam buildings around the world, and is currently building a 6,000-square foot home out of foam in the Phoenix area. Saebi says the supply chain issues that have haunted builders for the last few years haven't impacted the availability of foam so foam prices haven't really hasn't increased.

Strata first introduced its foam building material more than 20 years ago in 1999 so it's been around for a while. Saebi says with supply chain and climate change issues, it's now becoming more popular.

Check for links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.

Also, please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

You can also join our real estate investor network for free at newsforinvestors.com. That gives you access to the Investor Portal where you'll find information on rental markets and sample property pro-formas. You can also connect with our experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 -https://www.strataus.com/media

2 -https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/as-cost-to-build-home-rises-phoenix-area-company-using-new-material-to-build-houses

3 -https://www.strataus.com/_files/ugd/077c93_088198965db54c829afee29a01d596f8.pdf

The Real Estate News Brief: Inflation as Top Economic Priority, Homebuyer Budget Reduction, Falling Lumber Prices Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending June 4th, 2022... what's being done about inflation, how inflation is impacting homebuyers, and why lumber prices are actually falling.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

Economic News

We begin with economic news from this past week, and lots of talk about inflation. President Biden launched a new effort last week to tackle inflation. As reported by the Washington Post, he was apparently fuming to aides that not enough was being done to control inflation. That turned into a flurry of activity to get the ball rolling and send a positive message to the American people. He met with both Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell and Former Fed Chief Janet Yellen in the Oval Office, and said in a public address that fighting inflation was his top economic priority. (1)

President Biden also published an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal outlining a three-part strategy for fighting inflation. The first part involves the Federal Reserve's responsibility for controlling inflation, which it's now doing with aggressive rate hikes. Biden says he won't meddle with that, but for part two, he says he will do what he can, or with the help of Congress, "to make things more affordable for families." That includes an effort to lower prices for gas, utilities, prescription drugs, and other everyday goods. The third part involves deficit reduction. The Congressional Budget Office projected the deficit will fall by $1.7 trillion this year. Biden wants to see even more of a reduction with what he calls "common-sense" tax reforms. (2)

*Ironically, what was not mentioned was the Fed's stimulus, and the trillions of dollars that were created over the past two years that increased the money supply by nearly 50%. Additionally, the Fed had continued to buy Mortgage Backed Securities to support the housing market, until spring of 2022, when home prices had already increased by 20%. So in my opinion, the Federal Reserve together with the US government contributed to the inflation they are now trying to combat with rapidly rising rates and Quantitative Tightening. If you'd like to hear more about my opinions on how we got here, listen to the new podcast, On the Market, which is sponsored by FundRise. I am a regular guest expert on that show, and we go into detail on what's behind the headlines.

There's a bit of good news about Social Security thanks to the strong job market recovery. The Treasury Department says that Social Security benefits are now fully funded through 2034. That's one year longer than previous estimates. It also says the disability insurance program has enough funds to pay full benefits for the next 75 years, through 2097. Last year, Treasury officials said that funds would be gone by 2057. (6)

Unemployment claims fell for a second week in a row. There were just 200,000 initial claims, and 1.31 million continuing claims. Continuing claims are the lowest since 1969. (7) The unemployment rate in May was at 3.6%. (8)

Now to the housing market: Construction spending was .2% higher in April, mostly due to money spent on residential construction. It was up .5% for single-family homes, .8% for multi-family buildings, and down for non-residential private and public construction. (9)

*The latest Case-Shiller home price report shows that prices hit a new record high in April. The 20-city index was up 3.1% in April for a yearly rate of 21.2%. Keep in mind that April closings probably had rate locks in March, before interest rates increased two points.(10)

Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates didn't move much this last week. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was down just one basis point, to 5.09%. The 15-year was up one point to 4.32%. (11) Purchase applications are now about 14% lower than they were a year ago, thanks to higher rates. The Mortgage Bankers Association says the average contract rate for a 30-year with a 20% down payment was 5.33% last week. (12)

In other news making headlines...

Inflation Impact on Homebuyer's Budget

Inflation is taking a huge bite out of the homebuyer's budget. According to the National Association of Realtors, homebuyers have to chop $40,000 off their budget for a home because they are paying more for everything else. (13)

NAR says the average consumer is paying about $500 more per month compared to a year ago. That's an extra $6,000 a year.

NAR'S chief economist Lawrence Yun expects a 10% decrease in housing demand thanks to higher prices, although he still expects a 5% increase in home prices because of the tight inventory.

Lumber Prices Tumble

Lumber prices are coming back down to earth. The National Association of Homebuilders says they fell 12% this last week to their lowest level so far this year. (14)

The Wall Street Journal reports that prices are coming down because the housing market is cooling off a bit. It says that orders for lumber are slowing down so inventories are building up, and sawmills are slashing prices.

That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

You can also join RealWealth for free at newsforinvestors.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 -https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/31/biden-inflation-frustration/

2 -https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-plan-for-fighting-inflation-joe-biden-gas-prices-economy-unemployment-jobs-covid-11653940654?mod=opinion_lead_pos5

3 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/03/feds-mester-says-inflation-hasnt-peaked-and-multiple-half-point-rate-hikes-are-needed.html

4 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/02/fed-vice-chair-lael-brainard-says-its-hard-to-see-the-case-for-the-fed-pausing-rate-hikes-.html

5 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/01/the-feds-mary-daly-says-rate-hikes-should-continue-until-inflation-is-tamed.html

6 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/02/social-security-trust-fund-will-be-able-to-pay-benefits-longer-than-expected.html?&qsearchterm=social%20security

7 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-unemployment-claims-drop-to-200-000-as-layoffs-fall-to-lowest-level-on-record-11654173646?mod=economy-politics

8 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-u-s-jobs-report-for-may-11654257620?mod=economic-report

9 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-construction-spending-rose-slightly-in-april-271654094325?mod=search_headline

10 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/increase-in-u-s-home-prices-hits-another-record-high-case-shiller-shows-11654004193?mod=bnbh_mwarticle

11 -https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms

12 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/06/02/mortgage-applications-are-falling

13 -https://www.realtrends.com/articles/inflation-cuts-homebuyer-budgets-by-40000/

14 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/06/03/the-lumber-bubble-may-have-just-burst

15 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/06/01/top-cities-for-renting-in-2022

The Real Estate News Brief: Condo Comeback, Wildfire Risk Tool, Low-Tax States Jun 01, 2022

Show notes

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending May 28th, 2022... you'll hear about the "condo comeback," a new wildfire risk assessment tool for your properties, and which states can save you the most money on taxes.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

Economic News

We begin with economic news from this past week and a bit of good news about inflation. The Federal Reserve's preferred method for tracking inflation shows that price growth could be slowing down. The Personal Consumption Index or PCE rose only .2% in April. That brings the annual rate down from 6.6% in March to 6.3% in April. As reported by MarketWatch, it was the first time we've seen a pullback in a year-and-a-half. (1)

The PCE is considered to be more accurate than the Consumer Price Index or CPI because it factors in additional criteria such as consumers substituting expensive products for cheaper ones. The latest CPI shows an annual inflation rate of 8.3%.

The Fed released the minutes of its last meeting which show that most central bank officials are in favor of two more half-percent rate hikes. Some officials believe that inflation has already peaked, but the minutes show that Fed officials feel that two more rate hikes are likely. The bank raised the Federal Funds rate by a half a percent (or 50 basis points) at the last meeting to a range of three-quarters to one percent. Some Wall Street analysts expect the Fed to go as high as 3% by the end of the year. (2)

Meanwhile, unemployment claims went down which is a sign that the labor market is still strong. There were about 8,000 fewer new claims last week, for a total of 210,000. Most companies have positions they are trying to fill, and MarketWatch reports that only a "smattering" of companies have reduced their hiring plans or announced layoffs. The number of continuing claims rose slightly. There are about 1.35 million people collecting unemployment benefits. (3)

New home sales took a bit of a nose dive in April. They were down 16.6% to an annual rate of 591,000. It's the fourth month in a row that they've gone down, thanks to higher home prices and rising mortgage rates. The median price of a home is now the highest on record at $435,000. The average price is even higher, at $570,300 which means there are more homes selling for that higher price point. The slowdown in sales has boosted inventory. It's now at a 14-year high of 444,000. (4)

Existing home sales are also down for a sixth month in a row. The National Association of Realtors says that pending sales dropped to 3.9% in April, which is the slowest they've been in ten years. Compared to a year ago, they were down 9.1%. NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, says higher interest rates have increased the cost of buying a home by more than 25%, and higher home prices have added another 15% on top of that. He's predicting that home price growth will slow down to about 5% by the end of the year, but that home prices are "in no danger of a meaningful decline" because of the housing shortage. (5)

Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rate pain did ease up a little this last week. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped 15 basis points to 5.1%. The 15-year was down 12 points to 4.31%. Lower rates are the result of the housing market slowdown. (6)

In other news making headlines...

Demand Rising for Condos

Builders are responding to a new demand for condominiums. The National Association of Home Builders reports 11,000 starts for condominium units in the first quarter of this year. That's the highest level of condo construction since the third quarter of 2008. (7)

Redfin manager, Chance Glover, in Boston told Realtor.com: "The condo market has bounced back. People are no longer afraid to live downtown, close to the crowds." She says: "Rising prices are pushing single-family homes out of reach for a lot of buyers, so condos are affordable in comparison." (8)

New Risk Factor Tool for Wildfires

The foundation that developed a tool to determine a property's risk of flooding just introduced one for wildfires. The First Street Foundation said in a press release that more than 30 million properties across the U.S. have at least a 1% chance of wildfire over 30 years because of climate change. (9)

The Foundation's new tool helps individual homeowners, buyers, and renters understand the wildfire risk for specific properties. Like you can with the flood risk tool, you can put your address into the tool and get details on the risk of a wildfire. That includes a risk factor on a scale of one to ten, the extent of potential damage, and the impact of recent nearby wildfires. (10)

States with the Lowest Taxes

Do you own property in a high tax or a low tax state? There's a new state ranking from Credit Karma that compares income tax, sales tax, and property tax for all 50 states. When you combine the impact of all three, the five states with the lowest total tax rate are (drum roll):

Alaska

Wyoming

New Hampshire

Nevada

South Dakota

Florida is 6th on that list and Texas is 9th. You can check out the full list of states with a breakdown on the individual tax rates by following a link in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. You'll also find links to the wildfire risk assessment tool as well as the other topics in this episode.

That's it for today. Please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-inflation-rate-slows-to-6-3-pce-shows-in-sign-price-pressures-could-be-near-peak-11653655258?mod=economy-politics

2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-fed-officials-lean-to-1-2-point-rate-hikes-at-next-couple-of-meetings-11653503049?mod=federal-reserve

3 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-unemployment-claims-fall-to-210-000-and-signal-labor-market-still-strong-11653568551?mod=economy-politics

4 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-home-sales-plunge-as-high-prices-and-rising-mortgage-rates-discourage-buyers-11653401523?mod=economy-politics

5 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/26/contract-signings-hit-slowest-pace-in-nearly-a-decade

6 -https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms

7 -https://eyeonhousing.org/2022/05/condo-construction-market-showing-gains/

8 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/27/condo-construction-ramps-up

9 -https://firststreet.org/press/press-release-2022-wildfire-model-launch/

10 -https://riskfactor.com/

11 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/25/20-states-with-the-lowest-taxes-in-2022

Should Energy Costs Be Displayed in Rental Listings? May 31, 2022

Show notes

It's no secret that energy costs have been soaring. That goes for the money we spend at the pump, and the money we spend to heat and cool our homes. Homeowners can do things to increase efficiency, but renters typically get whatever comes with the unit and without knowing the cost for utilities before they move in. One group hopes to change that scenario with research that shows how energy labels in rental listings can be a win-win for both tenants and landlords.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-estate-news-real-estate-investing-podcast/id1079952715

Researchers with the "American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy" conducted a survey recently to find out how energy labels would impact a rental applicant's preferences. They enlisted the help of about 2500 people in different parts of the country who used a fake listing website to search for rentals.

Survey on Tenant Preferences

They were split into seven groups. Six of the groups were able to search through listings with energy cost information that was displayed in different formats. The seventh group was a control group and looked at listings without energy labels.

Researchers say that participants given information about the cost of utilities were 21% more likely to choose energy efficient units. But the results also varied according to the visual presentation of that information.

They say that groups who received the information within a "context" were more likely to respond favorably to the energy cost rating. For example, listings that displayed estimated costs with a minimum and maximum range of typical costs for the area were better at attracting users than the ones with just a figure for estimated costs.

There was also a difference among various sub-groups of tenants depending on what part of the country they were in and their ages. Sub-groups that preferred higher energy efficiency lived in the hottest and coolest climates, which makes sense given the need for more heating and cooling. Age seemed to impact the results with people younger than 45 being a little more interested in the energy efficient units. One curious result was that apartment renters were more interested in energy efficiency than people renting single-family homes. These sub-groups were also willing to pay more in rent, typically within the 1 to 2% range.

Energy Labels Good for Tenants & Landlords

Researchers feel the information is important for landlords who'd like to attract higher-quality tenants. And if energy efficient units command higher rents while reducing what tenants pay for utilities, that's a win-win for tenants and landlords, and, of course, another "win" for the environment.

Researchers suggest that landlords may want to prioritize energy upgrades when they are drawing up their list of improvements, and that local regulators may want to consider policies that require this kind of information in rental listings

Currently, there are no requirements anywhere in the country for the display of this information. But there's growing concern about energy use and summer power outages. We're already seeing headlines about how dire the situation might be this summer.

Energy Emergencies Expected This Summer

Forecasters are expecting a hotter-than-normal summer and regulators are warning about potential energy emergencies when people crank up their air conditioners and large appliances. Just last week, power grid regulator NERC, which stands for North American Electric Reliability Corporation, warned that large portions of the country will be at risk of power outages in the coming months.

The Upper Midwest faces the highest risk of an energy emergency. It lost about 2% of its power generating capacity because of recently retired power plants. A key transmission line is also being repaired.

There's also an elevated risk across the entire Western half of the U.S. thanks to high temperatures, drought, and wildfires. While extreme heat results in more use of

electricity, it also increases the risk of mechanical failures at power plants. Drought reduces output at hydroelectric power plants. Wildfires can destroy major power lines, and smoke reduces power generation at solar facilities. So there are several issues at play across the West.

NERC's John Moura told CBS MoneyWatch: "We've been doing (grid assessments) for close to 30 years. This is probably one of the grimmest pictures we've painted in a while." He says: "As extreme weather continues to plague us, we've really noticed that extreme weather doesn't really mean rare weather. (We're seeing) the extreme happening more often."

What this all means is that property owners of all shapes and sizes will be asked to reduce their energy consumption. When you own rental property, it might be easy to overlook the energy needs of the tenants, but there's a growing trend for energy efficiency, and tenants will probably be paying more and more attention, as will local regulators.

We'll have a link to the full report in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.

Also, please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 -https://www.aceee.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/b2204.pdf

2 -https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-18/vast-swath-of-us-is-at-risk-of-summer-blackouts-regulator-warns

Can We Close the Housing Gap in Just Five Years? May 27, 2022

Show notes

The Biden administration announced an ambitious new goal to close the affordable housing gap in just five years. The plan includes financial incentives to build more housing, along with changes to zoning and land use regulations to potentially make it easier to create new housing. It also includes new financing policies for things like accessory dwelling units and manufactured homes, and solutions for the supply chain crunch that's making it difficult for builders and renovators.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

The White House released details of its Biden-Harris Administration Housing Supply Action Plan on May 16th. (1) It falls under President Biden's effort to tackle inflation as a top priority and the need to address housing costs. According to the Consumer Price Index, housing accounts for about 30% of the prices increases we're seeing today.

Housing Supply Action Plan

With this new plan, the administration hopes to create and/or preserve hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units. The government would not build any homes directly. It would all be done with the help of government policies, financing, and incentives for the private sector. This plan is also in addition to a previous one announced in September of last year, to create 100,000 homes in three years.

There are five main categories to the Biden-Harris plan:

1 - The first category provides incentives for cities and districts to loosen zoning and land-use rules. Districts that do this will rank higher during the competitive process for securing federal grants.

2 - The second category includes new financing programs for the creation or preservation of small-scale housing. That includes ADUs, manufactured homes, and small multi-family buildings.

3 - Third on the list is a plan to expand and improve existing forms of federal financing. That includes more access to so-called "construction to permanent loans," promoting the use of surplus COVID-19 recovery funds for the creation of affordable housing, and reforms to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit which would benefit investors who create affordable housing.

4 - Fourth, is a plan to give priority to homebuyers who plan to live in the homes and non-profits when disposing of federally-owned land and homes, including FHA foreclosures. The idea is to steer these deals away from large institutional investors.

5 - And last, to work with the private sector to fix supply chain issues. The goal is to get supplies moving again and allow builders to finish construction on the most new homes this year than in any year since 2006.

Some of the provisions in this plan will also rely on approval from Congress, which is never a given. But some steps could also be implemented right away, including a policy at the Department of Transportation that grands higher scores during the federal grant process to districts that encourage more housing density.

The Federal Housing Administration and the Federal Housing Financing Agency can also help lenders launch and expand financing programs for the construction of ADUs, manufactured homes, and the renovation of single-family homes. The FHA will also be investigating the Fannie Mae purchase of construction-to-permanent multi-family loans which would help fast track the development of multi-families, and lower the cost for builders.

Affordable Housing Crisis

According to Moody's Analytics, we need at least 1.5 million more homes to meet current demand. As you know, the housing gap grew during the Great Recession and was made worse by the pandemic. Because of this massive shortfall, housing expenses have gone sky-high, making homeownership unaffordable for many Americans. That's creating a bigger demand for rentals, which is great for investors, but rising rents are also becoming more of a burden on tenants.

As reported by CNN, almost eight million Americans are spending at least half of their monthly income on housing. Anything over 30% is considered a burden. (2)

CEO Buzz Roberts of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders says that today's homebuyers are really feeling the impact of inflation. He told HousingWire: "On the nightly news you hear about gas and groceries, and while those things are critically important, when trying to buy a house, inflation is really daunting." He says: "If you get a higher mortgage rate, there's still some change you can refinance out, but the price (of the home) is baked in." (3)

Urgent and Comprehensive Action Needed

The National Association of Realtors is supporting this plan. NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith says that "urgent" and "comprehensive" action is needed to tackle the housing shortage problem. She says: "For too long, land use restrictions have driven up the cost of housing for too many." (4)

Support for the creation of ADUs and manufactured homes is a big part of the plan, and a potential opportunity for investors. You can read more about this topic by following links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.

Also, please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 -https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/16/president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-ease-the-burden-of-housing-costs/

2 -https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/16/politics/biden-administration-action-plan-affordable-housing/index.html

3 -https://www.housingwire.com/articles/bidens-plan-to-fix-housing-supply-depends-on-congress/

4 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/17/biden-administration-takes-aim-at-america-s-housing-shortage

The Real Estate News Brief: Forbearance Levels Drop, Rents Hit New Highs, New "Best Places" List May 25, 2022

Show notes

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending May 21st, 2022… forbearance claims hit a two-year low, rent levels are setting new records, and a new list of the "best places to live".

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

Economic News

We begin with economic news from the past week, and comments from Fed Chief Jerome Powell about the central bank's resolve to fight inflation. He told the Wall Street Journal that "restoring price stability is… something we have to do" and, he says, "there could be some pain involved." (1)

The Fed approved a 50 basis point increase for the federal funds rate at its last meeting. And, it expects to do the same at the next two meetings. The short-term rate is now within a range of .75 to 1%. Raising it another 100 basis points will bring it to 1.75 to 2%.

Powell says it's still possible to avoid a recession, but he's now describing the process as a "soft-ISH" landing. (2) He hopes to control inflation without a big impact on the labor market. He says, if there is a recession he hopes it will be "short and not all that deep."

Many economists are lowering their economic forecasts because of inflation and higher interest rates. That includes Fannie Mae's chief economist Doug Duncan. He says: "Financial conditions have tightened significantly and the economy is slowing faster than previously expected." Fannie Mae now expects a full-year GDP of 1.3%. That's .8% lower than the previous forecast. The Fannie Mae group is predicting a modest recession in the second half of next year 2023. (3)

Jobless claims hit a four-month high last week. There were 218,000 initial claims, which is 21,000 more than the week before. The number of people collecting benefits is still extremely low. 25,000 people dropped off that list last week, for a total of 1.32 million. That's the lowest number of claims since 1969. Economists are watching unemployment numbers closely because they typically rise before a recession. (4)

New home construction hit a speed bump for the second month in a row. Housing starts were .2% lower to an annual pace of 1.72 million. Economists blame rising mortgage rates and higher home prices for the slowdown. Permits were down 3.2% to an annual rate of 1.82 million. A drop in single-family construction brought the numbers down. Starts on those projects were down more than 7% while multi-family starts were higher by almost 17%. Builders have shifted their focus to multi-family rental units as they try to meet the demand for housing. (5)

Existing home sales were down in April. The National Association of Realtors says they fell 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million. If you compare these numbers to a year ago, sales were down almost 6%. As reported by MarketWatch, this is the third straight month that sales have declined. Currently, there's a 2.2 month supply of homes on the market. (6)

Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates came down slightly last week. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down 5 basis points to 5.25%. The 15-year was 4.43%. (7)

In other news making headlines...

Forbearance Claims Hit 2-Year Low

The number of home loans in forbearance has now dropped below 1%. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, forbearance claims dropped from 1.05% in March to just .94% in April. That's about 470,000 loans. The MBA says this is the lowest level since June of 2020, right before the pandemic left many homeowners without a paycheck, and without means to pay their loans. (8)

The five states with the highest number of loans in forbearance include: Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, New York, and Oklahoma.

The five states with the lowest number of loans in forbearance include: Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Oregon.

Rent Levels Are Setting New Records

Scorching hot demand for rentals is pushing apartment rents higher once again. Realtor.com says the U.S. median rental price hit a new high of $1,827 in April. The year-over-year increase for a studio apartment is 17.2%. For a one-bedroom, it's 15.6%. And, for a two-bedroom, it's 15.9%. (9)

Orlando posted the largest rent gains in April at 32.9%. Tampa was next at 27.8%. San Diego, Las Vegas, and Miami were also among the top five rent gainers.

"Best Place to Live" in 2022

When it comes to a great rental market, it doesn't hurt to score a top spot on a list of "best places to live." And that's what you'll find on the latest U.S. News & World Report list which places Huntsville, Alabama at the top. The report analyzes several metrics including affordability, quality of life, health care, employment, and crime. (10)

Editor Devon Thorsby says: "Much of the shakeup at the top of this year's ranking is a result of changing preferences." He says: "People moving across the country today are putting more emphasis on affordability and quality of life than on the job market."

If you're curious about the other 11 cities on the list, here they are: Colorado Springs, Colorado; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Boulder, Colorado; San Jose, California; Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Portland, Maine; Sarasota, Florida; San Francisco; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Naples Florida.

That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 -https://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-powell-to-take-wsj-questions-on-inflation-and-economic-outlook-11652779802

2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/powell-says-a-softish-landing-for-u-s-economy-is-plausible-11652812959?mod=economy-politics

3 -https://www.fanniemae.com/newsroom/fannie-mae-news/rapidly-rising-rates-and-persistent-inflation-further-soften-economic-outlook

4 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-unemployment-claims-climb-to-four-month-high-of-218-000-11652963872?mod=economy-politics

5 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-builders-slow-new-construction-for-second-month-in-a-row-as-demand-softens-11652877792?mod=coronavirus

6 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/existing-homes-sales-fall-for-third-straight-month-in-april-11652969139?mod=economic-report

7 -https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms

8 -https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/mortgages-forbearance-dip-below-1

9 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/19/rents-jump-to-new-record-once-again

10 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/18/best-place-to-live-is-down-south

Why Smart Real Estate Investors Thrive Despite the High Price Environment May 23, 2022

Show notes

As the country deals with high inflation in food, energy, and housing, many real estate investors are pivoting to keep up with changing market dynamics. Smart investors can thrive in challenging times, if they know where to look.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

I recently interviewed John Chang on my other podcast, The Real Wealth Show. John is the National Director of Research at Marcus & Millichap, and he offered some very good insights that I wanted to summarize here on Real Estate News for Investors.

Marcus & Millichap's John Chang

Just to give you some background on John, he leads a team of real estate research professionals and is responsible for the production of the firm's vast array of commercial real estate publications, tools and services. Under his leadership, Marcus & Millichap has become a leading source of market analysis, insight and forecasting, and the firm's research is regularly quoted throughout the industry and in mainstream business media. To summarize, John is well-respected in his field.

During his recent interview, he explained how good investors had it last year, and what they will be up against this year. He says last year was off the charts for commercial real estate. Transaction volume was up about 30% higher than the previous peak, and the dollar volume was up 45%. He says there were more deals, and many of them were also bigger deals, which is why there was a surge in dollar volume.

Changing Real Estate Environment

But as prices and interest rates rise, what are we starting to see now? At the time of this podcast, the overnight lending rate was up 75 basis points. That's triggering the beginning of a slowdown, but John says we haven't really felt the impact yet, because many of the transactions that are closing today were locked in 30, 60, or 90 days ago. He doesn't think we'll see much of a change during the first half of 2022, and in the second half, he expects a little bit of a slowdown, but nothing dramatic.

He says, even with a few more rate hikes, there won't be a huge impact on most real estate investors., because there's a lot of capital out there. After all, the Federal Reserve increasing the amount of that's circulating by nearly 50% in just two years time. This is unprecedented. As those dollars circulate, investors are looking for places to put that money as a hedge against this inflation. There are also tax benefits that investors will be trying to capitalize on. So he expects investors to keep moving forward with their plans, but hopefully with more caution.

The "Value Add Mentality"

John told us a little story about his Dad during the interview. He said that his Dad bought his first rental property in 1971. He took out a loan at 6.5% which is higher than what we are facing right now. John's Dad still owns that property today, and John says the reason it has worked out so well is because of something called "value add." His Dad continued to add value to that property so that the high interest rate didn't matter that much. And over time, it's been a worthwhile investment.

John says that smart investors have a "value add mentality." They will research and analyze a property, and figure out a way to improve it with better management or upgrades or conversions. This mentality is something that new investors may not have developed yet because it's been so easy in recent years. Analysis hasn't really been necessary.

As John put it: "Investors have gotten lazy… because interest rates have been so low you can just buy into a deal and it cash flows right away. You don't have to work as hard." But he says that we are now coming to a time when "investors have to roll up their sleeves, understand the intrinsic value of the property… what they can do differently than the previous owner, and then buy those properties."

Sophisticated investors don't see high interest rates as a game changer. Instead, they look for ways to add value to the property to eliminate that expense. Even properties with a negative cap rate can be good for investors, so long as there's a way to add value.

John points out that the U.S. economy is the strongest in the world. People are working and spending money. Real estate is doing well. There are still supply chain issues to deal with, but when it comes to construction, the winners will be the builders with more experience and connections. This is important for investors also, to work with people who are connected. Successful investors will need to choose their properties and their partners carefully.

Where Are the Deals Now?

As for where investors will find deals in the commercial real estate space, John had several ideas. He mentioned multi-family buildings in smaller cities as a possibility, along with certain types of hotels, although hotel ownership also needs a special skill set. Also, he likes suburban office space in areas where people are moving, and self-storage, to name a few.

If you'd like to hear more about commercial real estate from John, please check out his interview on The Real Wealth Show. You can also find out more about owning single-family rentals at newsforinvestors.com. It's free to join our network. As a member, you get access to the Investor Portal where you'll find information on rental markets and sample property pro-formas. You can also connect with our experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.

Also, please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

On Our Website:

Navigating New Real Estate Challenges w/Marcus & Millichap Analyst, John Chang

On YouTube:

Sage Advice from Top Real Estate Analyst

The Real Estate News Brief: Lumber Prices Headed Lower, New FHA Foreclosure Rules, Google's New Tool for House Hunters May 20, 2022

Show notes

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending May 14th, 2022… why lumber prices are falling, what the FHA is doing to discourage investors, and the new Google mapping tool that could help house hunters.

Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.

Economic News

We begin with economic news from this past week. Inflation appeared to slow down a bit last month. The government reported a slight decline in the Consumer Price Index from an annual rate of 8.5% in March to 8.3% in April. But that's coming off a 40-year high, so we haven't come down much. Plus, the so-called "core rate of inflation" - which omits prices for food and gas - was .6% higher. That was a disappointment on Wall Street because analysts had forecast a lower .4% increase. (1)

As reported by MarketWatch, many economists expect inflation to slow down, but they say it will probably take a while for that to happen. Supply chain issues and the labor shortage are two big reasons that prices keep rising.

The decline was also not enough to put consumer minds at ease. The University of Michigan says its consumer sentiment index fell to a ten-year low as of this month. It went from a reading of 65.2 in April to 59.1. A survey shows that most Americans expect overall inflation to remain at the 5.4% level for the next year and at 3% for the next five years. (2)

Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates also crept a little higher last week. Freddie Mac says the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 3 basis points to an average of 5.3%. The 15-year was down 4 points to 4.48%. (3) The mortgage company says that many homebuyers are continuing with their plans but are paying about one third more per month than they would have a year ago.

In other news making headlines…

Builders Getting a Break on Lumber Prices

Lumber prices are headed lower. They fell below $800 per thousand board feet last week. That's about 30% lower than they were at the beginning of the year, but they are still much higher than they have been historically. The National Home Builders Association says they've been so high that homes were $18,000 more expensive than they were in previous years, just because of high lumber prices. (4)

A recent survey by John Burns Real Estate Consulting shows that prices may be coming down a little because of softening demand for entry-level homes. And, the COO of Sherwood Lumber, Kyle Little, told Insider: "We expect prices in the long term to be challenged with the affordability and rising interest rate headwinds."

Landlords Lose in Appeal to CA Supreme Court

The California Supreme Court rejected a request by landlords to review a lower court ruling that impacts the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. If you haven't heard of Costa-Hawkins, it's legislation enacted in 1995 that prevents California cities from imposing rent control on single-family homes, condominiums, and residential properties built after 1995. (5)

There was concern that San Francisco landlords were circumventing eviction laws by raising rents so high that tenants would move out. The city called them "bad faith" rent increases that were used to evict tenants. The city then passed an ordinance in 2019 to prevent that from happening. It included a way to compare rent increases to market rates, and to check if there had been a recent eviction attempt.

Landlords sued, but lost their case in lower courts. In 2020, a Superior Court judge said: "Costa-Hawkins does not protect a landlord's right to use a pretextual rent increase to avoid lawfully imposed local eviction restrictions." The high court's decision last week, allows the lower court ruling to stand.

FHA Gives Owner-Occupants First Dibs on Foreclosures

The Federal Housing Administration will make investors wait their turn, for a look at foreclosed properties. The FHA announced that owner occupant buyers, government entities, and HUD-approved nonprofits will get first dibs during a 30-day exclusive time period. It will also provide time for buyers to get a loan if they need one. (6)

The FHA says it's doing this to support a goal to reduce the number of homes that investors are buying and turning into rentals, and to help people who want to become homeowners. Buyers must provide a signed statement saying they intend to live in the home. They also have 15 days to back out of a deal if they get "buyer's remorse."

Google Street View Get "Immersive"

Google is adding a new feature to its mapping software that will help house hunters. It combines satellite and street view images so that users can fly over an area and then drop down to street level to take a closer look. Some people say the aerial view looks like you're flying over a property with a drone. Google calls it an "immersive view." (7)

It's being introduced in New York and Los Angeles. Google plans to expand soon to new areas.

That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!

Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.

Links:

1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-inflation-rate-slows-to-8-3-cpi-finds-after-hitting-40-year-high-11652272713?mod=home-page

2 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-sentiment-hits-ten-year-low-amid-high-prices-umich-survey-finds-11652451173?mod=economic-report

3 - https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms

4 - https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/11/lumber-prices-tumble-to-lowest-level-of-2022

5 - https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/State-Supreme-Court-rejects-a-challenge-by-17166499.php

6 - https://caanet.org/calif-supreme-court-snubs-appeal-of-costa-hawkins-case/?mkt_tok=NTU5LVRFTi05NDgAAAGEXbZRUIFaYfDr8n_JnaducPEN7VatF5PpAR34RTKWv7UiK3Y8lW_ce1Ko7WQ8Ot94wKy1cFzjQ3HgtJy6wLdJXjpjwPON50XI1dFc5Q

7 - https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/11/fha-gives-buyers-exclusive-sneak-peek-at-foreclosures

8 - https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/05/11/fha-gives-buyers-exclusive-sneak-peek-at-foreclosures