Your Daily Digest for Real Estate Investing, 9/16/21
Retail sales rebound, smaller retailers spinning like a big box, California wildfires and the IRS, student debt hindering home buying, Feds easing GSE limits.
In today’s news
US retail sales recover in August despite Delta variant
Sales at the country’s retailers rose 0.7% in August, the Commerce Department said today, despite a sharp decline in auto sales due to product shortages and shipping issues. Excluding cars, sales rose a robust 1.8%, reports the Wall Street Journal [subscription required].
The Millionacres Takeaway: The WSJ report says the US economic recovery is resilient despite the recent wave of viral infections, with Americans encouraging shopping and employers resisting layoffs. This is good for all types of investments, including real estate.
Regional specialist retailers are joining the big box rivals
Smaller retailers are joining their big competitors in reinventing e-commerce operations to improve efficiency and, most importantly, to keep up with consumer technology and expectations, Bisnow reports today.
The Millionacres Takeaway: This is an interesting look at how some companies are integrating physical stores with digital capabilities, and this trend could prove to be critical to occupying these commercial properties and paying rents.
Today on Millionacres
Affected by California forest fires? This is a tax regime you should know!
More than 1,968,326 acres of land have been burned to the ground and approximately 3,050 buildings have been damaged or destroyed that year. Some of the buildings that have existed since the California gold rush have now been destroyed.
The Millionacres Take Away: Our Lea Uradu, a tax attorney in her other life, says the IRS has brought some relief to the victims of the California wildfires. She says fire victims should consider taking advantage of the application extension and the Accident and Theft Claims Scheme.
Does Student Debt Keep People From Buying Houses?
The National Association of Realtors reports that 29% of all student loan borrowers report that their loans affected their decision or ability to buy a home. And if you ask people who don’t currently own a home, it’s worse.
The Millionacres Takeaway: Our Matt Frankel says that at the end of the day Congress will take steps to resolve the US student debt crisis, this could create a huge backlog in the real estate market. But right now, it appears that the $ 1.6 trillion student debt held by Americans is actually holding back home ownership for millions of people.
Feds put new limit on federal mortgages for investors
With the demand for second homes at an all-time high during the pandemic, peaking at 118% year-over-year for mortgage loans in September 2020, it made absolutely no sense for a consumer to regulate the number of those loans that could be taken-powered Perspective. Creditworthy people wanted to buy things – why didn’t they let them?
The Millionacres Take Away: Our Kristi Waterworth writes that there is a serious need for affordable housing that investors can provide (if they can get the funds they need) and the Treasury Department now seems to be realizing this.
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