This Week in Rental Property

[Jiwon Park]

This week in rental property, mortgage rates climbed up to the highest levels for the year. We take a look at some of the reactions towards the last week’s controversial Supreme Court ruling on Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. More and more studies are showing the age shift will affect the housing market. This week, Fannie Mae found that millennials favor living in single-family homes. On top of this report, Moody’s Analytics tells that the growth in single-family home rentals will be accelerated. According to Axiometrics, annual effective rent growth and occupancy rate for U.S. apartments are strengthening up. Realtor.com announced the 20 hottest U.S. real estate markets for June. Lastly, several brokers and developers are trying to boost their leasing and sales with high-tech virtual-reality tours.

TWiRP

Average US Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Rises to 4.08 Percent

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week, reaching high levels for the year. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.08 percent this week from 4.02 percent a week earlier. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.24 percent from 3.21 percent. Mortgage rates have increased in recent weeks, in the midst of the spring home buying season, as the economy has shown signs of improvement. A year ago, the average 30-year rate was 4.12 percent; the 15-year average was 3.22 percent: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/average-us-rate-30-year-mortgage-rises-408-32182467

Affordable Housing, Racial Isolation

Justice Anthony Kennedy delivered this timely message in the majority opinion, ruling that the law allows plaintiffs to challenge housing policies that have a discriminatory effect — without having to prove that discrimination was intentional: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/opinion/affordable-housing-racial-isolation.html?_r=0

The Supreme Court’s Disastrous Misreading of the Fair Housing Act

A decision endorsing ‘disparate impact’ analysis will turn a law meant to prohibit discrimination into a vehicle for race-conscious housing decisions: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-supreme-courts-disastrous-misreading-of-the-fair-housing-act-1435707270

More Millennials Are Living in Single-Family Homes

Fannie Mae report and commentary find that millennials favor living in single-family homes, whether they buy or rent: http://www.inman.com/2015/07/01/more-millennials-are-living-in-single-family-homes/

Moody’s Analytics: Single-Family Rental Growth Will Accelerate

Single-family home rentals since the housing bubble burst nearly a decade ago have seen massive growth, according to a new look from Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics’ chief economist. Some 7.5 million households will have lost their homes and nearly all of them have since become renters – many of single-family homes similar to the ones they owned previously: http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34369-moodys-analytics-single-family-rental-growth-will-accelerate

Apartment Market Strength Continues in Second Quarter With 5% Annual Effective Rent Growth and 95.2% Occupancy

Annual effective rent growth for United States apartments reached 5.0% for the first time in four years, according to early second quarter 2015 numbers from Axiometrics, the leader in apartment market and student housing research and analysis: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2600931

The 20 Hottest U.S. Real Estate Markets in June 2015

Summer is officially here, and just like the heat waves sweeping through much of the country, the real estate market shows no sign of cooling off any time soon, according to a preliminary analysis of June data for realtor.com®.

Based on data for the first three weeks of June, the median list price increased to $233,000, up 7% year over year and 2% over May. Median days on market is still at 66 days, down 7% year over year and flat month over month. Helping create more opportunities for buyers, the listings inventory is now growing faster, at 4% over May but still down over last year: http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/hottest-housing-markets-june-2015/

Virtual-Reality Tours Come to Commercial Real Estate

Using virtual reality, commercial tenants can tour buildings that don’t yet exist. Though the commercial-real-estate sector has a reputation for being slow to embrace new technology, several brokers and developers are hot on virtual-reality tours—to boost leasing and sales, especially to technology firms and tech-driven media and advertising companies: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-office-space-in-your-head-1435541344