One of the definitions of the word phoenix is a renewal after a calamity, and that is so appropriate for the real estate markets and economy of Phoenix, Arizona. I had the opportunity to again make the annual journey and speak in Phoenix this week… Read more

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the U.S. is adding 2.8 million people each year (and that is predicated on an assumed low net-in migration scenario). New residential building permits have averaged less than 600,000 per year for the past 48 months. Admittedly, there was… Read more

The Mortgage Bankers Association each quarter assembles a vast array of real estate, lending and economic data and makes these invaluable time series and research available at the click of a mouse. Did you know: • Q1 2012 multi-family vacancy rate was 4.9 percent, down from… Read more

Each quarter, Dr Glenn Mueller at Dividend Capital updates his outstanding report on commercial real estate market cycles.  He segments his reports to five separate commercial property types in more than 50 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).   Property types include: Office Industrial Apartment Retail Hotel His… Read more

What do you get when you cross information and statistics from www.careerbuilder.com (the largest online job site in the U.S.) and www.apartments.com  (a premier national online apartment guide and relocation resource) and then throw into the mix recent college graduates?   You get the fifth annual list… Read more

The dearth of residential construction in the past four years and a growing (albeit sputtering) economy, has set the stage for several years of rising rents—and in some locations SIGNIFICANTLY rising rents.  One of the mega themes I have addressed this past year in my… Read more

Every once in a while we need to lighten things up and this news report fits right in there the day following Valentines.  CNN reports the findings of a study conducted by Trulia that singles  prefer to date homeowners rather than renters.  Trulia commissioned Harris… Read more

CoStar, a premier provider of commercial real estate information, has just released 2011 commercial real estate sales volumes. Sales of commercial real estate rose 32 percent in 2011 to $291.6 billion—up 32 percent from 2010.  The 12-year average commercial real estate sales volume was $254.2… Read more

Apartment asking rents increased 2.8 percent last year according to Rents Marcus and Millichap while effective rents (after consideration of all discounts, giveaways and specials) jumped 4 percent.  At the same time, median U.S. home values declined 3.9 percent.  Marcus and Millichap expects 2012 to see… Read more

In my economic forecast presentations this year one of the mega themes is that people that graduated from a technical school, college or university in the past three years or the coming three years will be more pre-disposed to be renters than home owners.  Literally,… Read more