We first posted about this back in June;  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently finalized a rule they say will remove around $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of nearly 15 million people.  The CFPB says medical debts provide little predictive value to lenders about borrowers’ ability to repay other debts.  The new rule amends Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) The CFPB’s action will ban the inclusion of medical bills on credit reports used by lenders and prohibit lenders from using medical information in their lending decisions. The rule will increase privacy protections and prevent debt collectors from using the credit reporting system to coerce people to pay bills they don’t owe. The CFPB has found that medical debts provide little predictive value to lenders about borrowers’ ability to repay other debts, and consumers frequently report receiving inaccurate bills or being …

About CoreLogic Data Research CoreLogic develops this report using up-to-date materials and labor costs. CoreLogic’s team of analysts continuously researches hard costs such as labor, material, and equipment, including mark-ups. CoreLogic updates its database every month accordingly. Our research also covers soft costs, such as taxes and fringe benefits, for reconstruction work performed as part of the insurance industry. CoreLogic monitors demographics and econometric statistics, government indicators, and localization requirements, including market trends from thousands of unique economies throughout the U.S. Other factors in this process include the following: Wage rates for more than 85 union and non-union trades Over 100,000 construction data points Productivity rates and crew sizes Building code requirements and localized cost variables Additionally, we validate cost data by analyzing field inspection records, contractor estimates, phone surveys, and both partial and complete loss claim information. Please complete the online form to provide feedback or request information on any …

Statista says “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) services have gained popularity as an alternative to credit cards or other “traditional” payment methods.  In fact, they say 41% of U.S. adults have used Buy Now, Pay Later services in the past 12 months with another 22% saying they haven’t but could in the future.  Indeed…. Stay safe and have a Happy Friday!!! Hat tip to Statista.   The post Share of Americans Taking Advantage of Buy Now, Pay Later appeared first on Real Estate Investing Today.

The median asking rent fell 0.3% year over year in December to $1,594, the lowest since March 2022.  Austin, TX posted the biggest decline, with asking rents down 16%, followed by Tampa and Jacksonville. Rents rose most in Providence, RI, Virginia Beach and Louisville. Property owners are lowering rents to attract tenants as an influx of new supply drives up vacancies; apartment completions surged 58% in the third quarter to the highest level in half a century. The median U.S. asking rent fell 0.3% year over year in December to $1,594—the lowest level since March 2022. It was down 0.1% from a month earlier, and down 6.2% from its August 2022 record high of $1,700. The median asking rent per square foot dropped 1.9% year over year in December to $1.78, and fell 0.1% month over month.  Asking rents have been inching down because an influx of supply has left …

More house hunters are hitting the pavement as the new year starts, but pending home sales are down as daily average mortgage rates hit a seven-month high.  More house hunters are starting their home search as the new year kicks off. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index–a seasonally adjusted measure of tours and other buying services from Redfin agents–posted a small 2% increase from a month earlier during the week ending January 5, and it’s also up 2% year over year.  There are several reasons a few more buyers are out there: Some have accepted high mortgage rates; daily average mortgage rates hit a seven-month high this week and they’re unlikely to decline significantly soon. Some are jumping into the market now that the holidays have passed and a new year has begun, and some are taking advantage of the fact that there are more homes on the market than there have …

The federal ban will have far-reaching consequences for real estate, retail, and telco Banning a social media app may seem like a trivial matter compared to the country’s larger challenges of home affordability, inflation, and economic uncertainty, but a ban on the most popular social media platform frequented by 170 million users will be anything but trivial.   TikTok has become more than just entertainment—it’s an influential tool for discovery, customer connection, retail, real estate, and marketing.  Removing TikTok means losing a resource that has made buying a home or finding a local business an accessible and engaging process. It also means losing digital communities built around similar tastes and spheres of influence. Without TikTok, the narrative around real estate and retail could shift back to more traditional gatekeepers, leaving everyday consumers with fewer opportunities to participate and shape their environment.  What Can You Expect From the Property Market in …

Each year, Zumper’s Annual Rent Report takes a deep-dive into past year of data, knowledge of economic trends, Zumper surveys, internal data on renter search, and ongoing conversations with clients, experts, and others in the industry.  They say this intel gives them a comprehensive view of 2024 and a look at what’s to come in 2025. 2024 was the year of the renter. Record high levels of supply came online and many markets that saw dramatic rent spikes in 2022 and 2023, such as cities in Texas, Florida, and Arizona, finally experienced some softening. Renters who moved into new properties this year likely enjoyed considerable bargaining power. Facing pressure to fill vacancies—particularly in newly constructed buildings—property owners and leasing teams have employed concessions, move-in incentives, and even lowered rents to stay competitive. Click here to read the full report at Zumper.   The post Zumper’s Annual Rent Report for 2024 …

According to U-Haul’s annual Growth Index, the trend of southern states netting larger numbers of one-way U-Haul rentals continued in 2024, with South Carolina topping U-Haul Growth Index for the first time.  In addition, Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee round out their five top growth states.  Not surprisingly, California had the greatest net loss of U-Haul equipment and ranks 50th for the 5th year in a row.  U-Haul’s Growth Index was compiled from over 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and moving container transactions.  Indeed… “State-to-state transactions from the past year reaffirm customer tendencies that have been pronounced for some time…Migration to the Southeast and Southwest continues as families gauge their cost of living, job opportunities, quality of life and other factors that go into relocating to a new state. Out-migration remains prevalent for a number of markets across the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast — and particularly California.”  …