Renting With a Dog?

ApartmentAdvisor Report Highlights U.S. Metro Areas with Highest and Lowest Availability of Dog-Friendly Rentals ApartmentAdvisor (www.ApartmentAdvisor.com), an apartment rental search platform, released a report showing the metro areas where dog-owners are most and least likely to find a rental that will accommodate their pooch.  The company studied the availability of pet-friendly rentals in the top fifty most populated metro areas of the United States, analyzing tens of thousands of apartment rental listings. Overall, just under half (49%) of the total units were advertised as “dog-friendly” and only 30% were advertised as “large-dog-friendly.” However, some metro areas had a much higher proportion of availability than others. The Austin, TX area topped the list, with 83% of all available rentals listed as dog friendly. Other Texas metro areas including San Antonio, Houston and Dallas also showed high availability of dog-friendly listings. Among the large metro areas with the lowest proportions of dog-friendly inventory were Washington, D.C., Providence, RI, San Jose, CA and Boston, MA metro areas. A surge in dog ownership was a silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased dog adoption rates at animal shelters, and many people enjoying the companionship of their new canines while staying socially distant from other humans. But for new dog-owners, finding an apartment that is dog-friendly can be extra challenging since not all property managers welcome pets. A recent survey conducted by ApartmentAdvisor of urban renters* showed that the majority (58%) of dog-owning city dwellers described the process of finding a pet-friendly rental as somewhat or extremely difficult. “Since dog policies can vary greatly among property owners, it’s always been a bit more challenging for dog owners to find the right apartment rental,” said Tom Gilmore, CEO of ApartmentAdvisor. “However, it’s clear from our data that dog owners in some areas are facing better odds than others of finding a place that will welcome their pooch. Still, even for dog owners that are apartment hunting in the most dog-friendly rental cities, we recommend building in a lot of extra time for your search, using the right online search tools and budgeting for additional pet fees and pet rent.” ApartmentAdvisor analysts say that while every apartment community has their own specific pet policies, generally smaller properties and individual owners tend to have more restrictive pet rules. Larger and newer apartment communities tend to be more pet-friendly, as property managers seek to attract a larger pool of prospective residents and increase revenue through pet fees and pet rent. Some newer buildings even offer specific pet amenities including on-site dog parks and community dog wash stations. Tips for Renting with a Pet Once dog-owners find their perfect pet-friendly place, ApartmentAdvisor recommends taking the following important steps when signing their lease: Get your pet agreement in writing: Be sure to review the lease carefully to be sure any “no pet” clause is removed. Ask the owner for a pet addendum that includes all pet fees and pet rent details, and any pet-specific policies that you have discussed. Putting everything in writing will protect you and the property owner from any misunderstandings in the future.  Clarify the pet policies: Ask the property owner to outline specific pet guidelines for the building in writing. Are there public areas of the building that pets are prohibited (such as elevators or patios)? What is the policy on cleaning up after your dog when using outdoor space at your building? Having clear written guidelines on pet policies will not only help you but can also be useful when navigating any issues or concerns that arise with neighbors in the future.  Get renter’s insurance: Whether or not you have a pet, renter’s insurance is a good idea. If you have a pet, having an insurance policy with liability coverage becomes even more important. Your landlord might even require it if you have a pet. Contact your insurance company to learn more about your liability coverage, and whether it covers you for damages caused by your pet. In some cases, you may want to consider additional pet liability insurance. Renters looking for pet-friendly apartments can use the pet-friendly rentals filter at ApartmentAdvisor, and they can also find additional tips for finding a pet-friendly rental here. For the full ranked list of all metros, contact pr@apartmentadvisor.com. About ApartmentAdvisor ApartmentAdvisor (www.apartmentadvisor.com) helps renters easily find the right apartment. The company is building a rental search platform that combines rigorous rent price analytics with neighborhood insights from local residents, empowering renters with a more transparent way to compare prices, features and locations of available apartments. ApartmentAdvisor was founded in 2020 by a team of founders and engineers from TripAdvisor and CarGurus, including Langley Steinert (co-founder of TripAdvisor and founder and executive chairman at CarGurus); Tom Gilmore (founder and CEO of VacationHomeRentals, sold to TripAdvisor); Josh Arnold (engineering at TripAdvisor and director of data science for MineralTree); and Oliver Chrzan (former chief technology officer at CarGurus). The company is based in Cambridge, MA.

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Consumers Increasingly Adamant That It’s a Good Time to Sell, Bad Time to Buy a Home

High Home Prices, Limited Supply Continue to Drive the Diverging Sentiment The Fannie Mae (OTCQB: FNMA) Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) was largely unchanged in June, decreasing by 0.3 points to 79.7, despite even greater volatility among its underlying components. The “Good Time to Buy” and “Good Time to Sell” components once again produced the most notable results. On the buy-side, 64 percent of respondents said it’s a bad time to buy a home, up from 56 percent last month; while on the sell-side, 77 percent of respondents said it’s a good time to sell, up from 67 percent last month. The components more closely associated with household finances were largely flat month over month but remain elevated compared to this time last year, particularly the component regarding job security. Year over year, the overall index is up 3.2 points. “The HPSI remained flat this month, although its underlying buy and sell components continued to diverge, setting record positive and negative readings, respectively,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “Consumers also continued to cite high home prices as the predominant reason for their ongoing and significant divergence in sentiment toward homebuying and home-selling conditions. While all surveyed segments have expressed greater negativity toward homebuying over the last few months, renters who say they are planning to buy a home in the next few years have demonstrated an even steeper decline in homebuying sentiment than homeowners. It’s likely that affordability concerns are more greatly affecting those who aspire to be first-time homeowners than other consumer segments who have already established homeownership.” Duncan continued: “Despite the pessimism in homebuying conditions, we expect demand for housing to persist at an elevated level through the rest of the year. Mortgage rates remain not too far from their historical lows, and consumers are expressing even greater confidence about their household income and job situation compared to this time last year when the pandemic had shut down wide swaths of the economy.” Home Purchase Sentiment Index – Component Highlights Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) decreased in June by 0.3 points to 79.7. The HPSI is up 3.2 points compared to the same time last year. Read the full research report for additional information. Good/Bad Time to Buy: The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy a home decreased from 35% to 32%, while the percentage who say it is a bad time to buy increased from 56% to 64%. As a result, the net share of those who say it is a good time to buy decreased 11 percentage points month over month. Good/Bad Time to Sell: The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to sell a home increased from 67% to 77%, while the percentage who say it’s a bad time to sell decreased from 25% to 15%. As a result, the net share of those who say it is a good time to sell increased 20 percentage points month over month. Home Price Expectations: The percentage of respondents who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months increased from 47% to 48%, while the percentage who say home prices will go down increased from 17% to 21%. The share who think home prices will stay the same decreased from 29% to 25%. As a result, the net share of Americans who say home prices will go up decreased 3 percentage points month over month. Mortgage Rate Expectations: The percentage of respondents who say mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months remained unchanged at 6%, while the percentage who expect mortgage rates to go up increased from 49% to 57%. The share who think mortgage rates will stay the same decreased from 38% to 30%. As a result, the net share of Americans who say mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months decreased 8 percentage points month over month. Job Concerns: The percentage of respondents who say they are not concerned about losing their job in the next 12 months increased from 87% to 88%, while the percentage who say they are concerned decreased from 12% to 11%. As a result, the net share of Americans who say they are not concerned about losing their job increased 2 percentage points month over month. Household Income: The percentage of respondents who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago decreased from 29% to 27%, while the percentage who say their household income is significantly lower remained unchanged at 13%. The percentage who say their household income is about the same increased from 54% to 56%. As a result, the net share of those who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago decreased 2 percentage points month over month. About Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment IndexThe Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) distills information about consumers’ home purchase sentiment from Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey® (NHS) into a single number. The HPSI reflects consumers’ current views and forward-looking expectations of housing market conditions and complements existing data sources to inform housing-related analysis and decision making. The HPSI is constructed from answers to six NHS questions that solicit consumers’ evaluations of housing market conditions and address topics that are related to their home purchase decisions. The questions ask consumers whether they think that it is a good or bad time to buy or to sell a house, what direction they expect home prices and mortgage interest rates to move, how concerned they are about losing their jobs, and whether their incomes are higher than they were a year earlier. About Fannie Mae’s National Housing SurveyThe most detailed consumer attitudinal survey of its kind, Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey (NHS) polled approximately 1,000 respondents via live telephone interview to assess their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, home and rental price changes, homeownership distress, the economy, household finances, and overall consumer confidence. Homeowners and renters are asked more than 100 questions used to track attitudinal shifts,

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ATTOM Acquires GeoData Plus, Continuing Its Mission to Increase Real Estate Transparency

Enabling Access to Detailed Property Reports, Valuable Insights and Prospecting Tools; Acquisition Further Solidifies ATTOM’s Position as The One-Stop Shop for Premium Property Data ATTOM, curator of the nation’s premier property database, announced it has acquired GeoData Plus, the leading application for in-depth property research, valuation, and prospecting tools. “ATTOM remains focused on providing our customers with the most comprehensive property data available, while delivering data-driven critical insights and analytics-ready property data solutions addressing a wide range of business needs,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “This acquisition further enhances our value proposition for our customers – and the entire marketplace – by enabling users to obtain in-depth property reports and valuable information for a more accurate property analysis. We are excited to continue our rapid growth, and our mission of increasing real estate transparency.” The strategic acquisition of GeoData Plus will provide customers with greater insight into the marketplace to make more informed and educated decisions. GeoData Plus has served as a trusted source for appraisers, real estate professionals, lenders and more, in providing accurate valuations, comparable sales and public record data. With this acquisition, ATTOM will continue GeoData Plus’s commitment to servicing various industries in the real estate marketplace, further solidifying ATTOM’s unique position as the one-stop shop for premium property data fueling innovation. “The synergy between our two companies further enhances and empowers our combined capabilities in the real estate market,” said Erik Wind, President of GeoData Plus. “Our companies have very different strengths, but incredibly aligned goals to bring transparency and convenience to real estate transactions. I am thrilled about the positive impact this acquisition will have on the customers of GeoData Plus, ATTOM, and the overall real estate market.” Building upon an already existing partnership of sourcing property data from ATTOM, the application includes detailed property reports with features such as sales comps, liens, violations, property photographs, digital maps, zoning maps, aerial photographs, integration with appraisal software and more. The collaboration of the two companies will further strengthen ATTOM’s competitive positioning in the enterprise data licensing marketplace, the consumer, and the investor real estate search market. About ATTOM ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency, and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 20TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, and more. Also, introducing our latest solution, that offers immediate access and streamlines data management – ATTOM Cloud. About GeoData Plus Launched in 2000, GeoData Plus is the nation’s largest property database, offering access to detailed property reports, valuation, and prospecting tools. Appraisers, real estate professionals, lenders, and others depend on GeoData Plus for in-depth property research, uncovering details such as property ownership, characteristics, mortgage data, sales comps and more. Powered by ATTOM, the leading provider of comprehensive property data for more than 155 million U.S. properties, GeoData Plus arms real estate professionals with property insights and customizable tools for a more accurate property analysis.

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U.S. Home Prices Gains Higher Compared to Prior Month, Radian Home Price Index Reveals

Home prices across the United States rose at an annualized rate of 11.5 percent in May 2021 from April 2021, according to Radian Home Price Index (HPI) data released by Red Bell Real Estate, LLC, a Radian Group Inc. company (NYSE: RDN). The company believes the Radian HPI is the most comprehensive and timely measure of U.S. housing market prices and conditions available in the market today. The Radian HPI also rose 9.9 percent year-over-year (May 2020 to May 2021), which was slightly higher than the year-over-year increase of 9.3 percent recorded last month. The Radian HPI is calculated based on the estimated values of more than 70 million unique addresses each month, covering all single-family property types and geographies. “Unlike repeat sales or median price-based indices, the Radian Home Price Index generates an estimated value on nearly all homes that make up the U.S. housing stock, every month, providing us a broader and more realistic view of home price changes,” noted Steve Gaenzler, SVP of Data and Analytics. “While home prices have been growing at higher than typical levels, recent reports of annual home prices being higher by 20 percent or more nationally do not represent the entire housing market, but rather the small segment of properties actually sold. This is an incomplete measure of understanding household wealth and equity. These measures only look at the median price of homes sold, not the estimated price change on all homes, including the majority of homes that are not currently on the market. As such, the changing mix of sales will influence the rates of increase reported in these other measures,” added Gaenzler. NATIONAL DATA AND TRENDS Median home price in the U.S. rose to $280,002 Percentage of lower priced homes sold fell to lowest on record. Nationally, the Radian HPI estimated the median price for single-family and condominium homes rose to $280,002. Across the U.S., home prices nationally rose 11.5 percent over the last three months, slightly higher than the 10.5 percent reported for the three months from February through April. The impact of higher vaccination rates, job growth and more interest in homeownership appears to have increased the rate of appreciation. Moreover, it is common for home prices to accelerate their growth momentum into the summer season. However, the mix of homes sold by price band provides valuable information on what is driving home price growth in median sale indices, and even repeat sales indices. In May, the percentage of homes sold under $250,000 stood at 30.5 percent of all sales. This is the lowest percentage recorded since before the Great Recession began. And in contrast, the percentage of homes sold over $500,000 represented 27.2 percent of all sales, which is more than 3.5 times larger than the 7.5 percent share recorded just a decade earlier. The shift to a larger count of higher priced homes being sold relative to lower priced homes has a beneficial impact on the growth rate of indices that only measure home prices of sold properties. The Radian HPI measures the change in value to properties based on the entire housing stock, not the mix of homes that happen to transact in a given month. REGIONAL DATA AND TRENDS All US Regions appreciated at a faster rate in May Midwest and West see largest increases In May, home price appreciation rose from the prior month in all regions. As the country records lower rates of infections from COVID-19 and higher job growth, the Radian HPI has seen stable growth in home prices broadly across geographies. The weakest regions this month were the Southwest, which was largely unchanged from the prior month, and the MidAtlantic Region, while the Midwest and West regions were the best performing month-over-month. All six regions recorded actual 12-month price appreciation rates between 8.5 and 11.6 percent, signaling a robust market existing in all parts of the U.S. Regional economic indicators are also supportive of these far-reaching gains in home prices. From 1980 until 2010, the average annual number of new privately-owned housing units authorized with building permits averaged more than one million per year. However, over the subsequent decade (2010-2020) the U.S. only averaged a little over 650,000 permits for new homes per year creating a substantial shortage of newly constructed homes. METROPOLITAN AREA DATA AND TRENDS Bay area bounces back from past weakness Slower, but positive, appreciation the norm in most metros While all regions showed increasing appreciation rates, some of the 20-largest metro areas actually recorded lower rates of appreciation from the prior month. In fact, while all of the 20-largest had higher prices in May, only 8 of them grew faster than the month prior. One of the best performers last month was San Francisco. Over the past year, the Bay area has not been a leading metro for price appreciation, however, this month it recorded a double digit annualized one-month growth rate for only the third time since the beginning of 2020. Three metro areas, Riverside, CA, Phoenix, AZ, and Tampa, FL, all showed substantial slowdowns in appreciation rates. In fact, the annualized one-month change for each was down more than 25 percent from the prior month’s appreciation rate. Each of them, however, has 12-month appreciation rates in excess of 10 percent. ABOUT THE RADIAN HPI Red Bell Real Estate, LLC, a subsidiary of Radian Group Inc., provides national and regional indices for download at radian.com/hpi, along with information on how to access the full library of indices. Additional content on the housing market can also be found on the Radian Insights page located at https://radian.com/news-and-knowledge/insights. Red Bell offers the Radian HPI data set along with a client access portal for content visualization and data extraction. The engine behind the Radian HPI has created more than 100,000 unique data series, which are updated on a monthly basis. The Radian HPI Portal is a self-service data and visualization platform that contains a library of thousands of high-value indices based on both geographic dimensions as well as by market,

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ATTOM EVP Kara Taylor Named 2021 Marketing Leader by HousingWire

Taylor recognized for her professional achievements, contributions to the overall housing economy, client impact and personal success over the course of her career. ATTOM, curator of the nation’s premier property database, is pleased to announce that its executive vice president of marketing, Kara Taylor, has been selected as a recipient of the inaugural HousingWire 2021 Marketing Leader awards, recognizing the most creative and influential marketing minds of the housing economy. Kara is featured in the July 2021 issue of HousingWire. The Marketing Leaders are selected by HousingWire’s Selection Committee based on their professional achievements within their organizations, contributions to the overall housing economy, client impact and personal success over the course of their careers. These stand-out professionals are made up of strategic and creative marketing executives who demonstrate leadership by continuously growing, leading and motivating high-performing marketing teams. “This past year presented both challenges and opportunities. At ATTOM, we’ve maintained a clear and comprehensive corporate strategy through strategic acquisitions, rapid organic growth and new product development, which has exponentially multiplied projects, departments, management teams, markets and channels,” notes Taylor. “This laser-sharp focus on corporate strategy has served as a critical component not only in our marketing strategy, but also in quickly rallying existing and new employees around our shared vision, mission and strategic goals.” As EVP of Marketing for ATTOM, Kara leverages over two decades of experience in marketing and product strategy in leading the company’s marketing, creative and public relations efforts, which have earned ATTOM top of mind positioning as the premium property data provider powering innovation across a wide range of industries. Kara’s contributions to ATTOM’s corporate strategy have served as an invaluable driving force in illuminating the overall business vision and providing a streamlined roadmap, which continues to guide employees forward—cohesively and systematically. Kara’s unique approach toward corporate strategy has set the direction and laid the groundwork to ensure alignment on a collective focus toward achieving ATTOM’s mission and objectives. “The housing sector is driven by sales and marketing agility and execution. The successful market-share leaders consistently demonstrate a commitment to marketing strategy, superior communication and a passion for the technology that builds relationships and closes transactions,” said HW Media CEO Clayton Collins. “The Marketing Leaders award recognizes the CMOs and marketing executives who drive outsized business outcomes, transform brands and make everyone around them better.” About ATTOM ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 20TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, and more. Also, introducing our latest solution, that offers immediate access and streamlines data management – ATTOM Cloud

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May Foreclosure Starts Up 36 Percent Year-Over-Year

ATTOM, licensor of the nation’s most comprehensive foreclosure data released its May 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 10,821 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings— default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions—down 8 percent from a month ago but up 23 percent from a year ago. Foreclosure starts, which represent the initial notice of default, grew by 36 percent year-over-year. “While the increase in foreclosure activity is significant, it’s important to keep these numbers in perspective,” said RealtyTrac Executive Vice President Rick Sharga. “Last year’s numbers were extraordinarily low due to the implementation of the foreclosure moratorium and the CARES Act mortgage forbearance program, so the year-over-year numbers look a lot more dramatic than they are. And May foreclosure activity actually declined compared to April.” The ATTOM May 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows that nationwide one in every 12,700 housing units had a foreclosure filing. States with the highest foreclosure rates in May 2021 were Nevada (one in every 5,535 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Delaware (one in every 5,854 housing units); Illinois (one in every 5,903 housing units); Florida (one in every 7,207 housing units); and New Jersey (one in every 7,679 housing units). Among the 220 metro areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in May 2021 were Champaign, IL (one in every 2,420 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Peoria, IL (one in every 3,030 housing units); Cleveland, OH (one in every 3,715 housing units); Bakersfield, CA (one in every 3,774 housing units); and Mobile, AL (one in every 4,174 housing units). Additionally, lenders started the foreclosure process on 5,909 U.S. properties in May 2021, down 7 percent from last month and up 36 percent from a year ago. Counter to the national trend, states that had at least 100 foreclosure starts in May 2021 and saw the greatest monthly increase in foreclosure starts included: Ohio (up 96 percent); Alabama (up 78 percent); Michigan (up 65 percent); Georgia (up 61 percent); and Virginia (up 50 percent). 

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