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PURE Property Management Completes 70th Acquisition

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Profitable Proptech Now Managing 25,000+ Residential Properties Across 50 Major U.S. Residential Markets PURE Property Management, the fastest-growing residential property management and technology company in the U.S., announced today that it has completed 70 acquisitions since its start in October 2020. “We average about six acquisitions per quarter and aim to do that many, or more, for the foreseeable future,” said PURE co-founder and general partner Michael Catalano. “Our mission is to become the first brand to provide premium residential living experiences and management in major markets across all 50 states.” PURE’s aggressive pace of acquisitions is supported by seller-aligned purchase models managed by the most experienced and efficient acquisitions team in the industry. “Over half of our acquisitions have been with owners who had no initial interest in selling, but were curious about our vision and opportunity,” said Jock McNeill, vice president of acquisitions. “Three years ago, I was in that exact situation myself.  As an owner, it never hurts to have a conversation. At worst, you make a friendly connection and identify what drives value in your business for future planning.” PURE maintains a highly flexible acquisition model designed to fit all types of sellers.  In addition to cash up-front transactions, owners of independent property management companies have the option to convert any portion of the purchase price they choose into preferred equity in PURE, even if the seller decides to exit the business. Knowing that their clients will be well-cared for, and their employees will have access to career growth opportunities and employment benefits, including equity for all full-time employees, PURE creates a unique, win-win scenario for sellers and their employees. “It’s no secret the capital markets in the current economic environment have been unpredictable, and we have seen competitors dramatically slow down or even stop acquisition activity,” said Joseph Polverari, PURE’s co-founder and general partner. “Because PURE is high-tech, high-growth, and operationally, high-profit, we have continued to accelerate, remaining attractive to growth capital partners when needed.” Recent acquisitions have anchored PURE’s presence in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Albuquerque, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Nashville, Ocala, Portland, and Tacoma, while expanding existing services reach in major markets like Arizona, California, North Carolina, and Washington. “Our people-first strategy of acquiring experienced teams while and scaling their operations with next-generation processes and technology is paying off in a big way,” noted Eric Wetherington, vice president of operations and strategy. “By combining over 2,000 years of collective property management experience, we’re optimizing and automating workflows, integrating and improving standardized software, and deploying conformed best practices at all locations in real-time. The resulting experiences for owners, residents, and our property management professionals are simple and satisfying – the way it should be.” Wetherington sold his company to PURE in 2021 and served as the 2019 national president of the 6,000-member National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM). About PURE Property Management PURE Property Management is the fastest-growing profitable residential property management and technology company in the U.S. Led by a team of experienced industry professionals and seasoned technology innovators, PURE acquires single-family residential property management companies and invests in their people and processes. By deploying technology and providing operational efficiencies, PURE enhances resident and investor experiences. For more information, visit https://purepm.co  SOURCE PURE Property Management Author admin View all posts

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First-Time Buyers Need to Earn 13% More Than a Year Ago to Afford the Typical U.S. Starter Home

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The income needed to afford a starter home has risen over 20% in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Miami, more than anywhere else in the country A first-time homebuyer must earn roughly $64,500 per year to afford the typical U.S. “starter” home, up 13% ($7,200) from a year ago, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s due to the one-two punch of higher mortgage rates and higher home prices. The typical starter home sold for a record $243,000 in June, up 2.1% from a year earlier and up more than 45% from before the pandemic. Average mortgage rates hit 6.7% in June, up from 5.5% the year before and just under 4% before the pandemic. Prices for starter homes continue to tick up because there are so few homes for sale, often prompting competition and pushing up prices for the ones that do hit the market. New listings of starter homes for sale dropped 23% from a year earlier in June, the biggest drop since the start of the pandemic. The total number of starter homes on the market is down 15%, also the biggest drop since the start of the pandemic. Limited listings and still-rising prices, exacerbated by high mortgage rates, have stifled sales activity. Sales of starter homes dropped 17% year over year in June. “Buyers searching for starter homes in today’s market are on a wild goose chase because in many parts of the country, there’s no such thing as a starter home anymore,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “The most affordable homes for sale are no longer affordable to people with lower budgets due to the combination of rising prices and rising rates. That’s locking many Americans out of the housing market altogether, preventing them from building equity and ultimately building lasting wealth. People who are already homeowners are sitting pretty, comparatively, because most of them have benefited from home values soaring over the last few years. That could lead to the wealth gap in this country becoming even more drastic.” Home prices shot up during the pandemic due to record-low mortgage rates and remote work, and now rising mortgage rates are exacerbating the affordability crisis, especially for first-time buyers. A person looking to buy today’s typical starter home would have a monthly mortgage payment of $1,610, up 13% from a year ago and nearly double the typical payment just before the pandemic. Average U.S. wages have risen 4.4% from a year ago and roughly 20% from before the pandemic, not nearly enough to make up for the jump in monthly mortgage payments. Many prospective first-time homebuyers are between a rock and a hard place because rents remain elevated, too. The typical U.S. asking rent is just $24 shy of the $2,053 peak hit in 2022. San Francisco, Austin and Phoenix are the only U.S. metros where starter-home buyers need less income than they did a year ago First-timers and other lower-budget buyers in a few metros are getting some relief: San Francisco, Austin and Phoenix buyers don’t need to earn quite as much as they did a year ago to afford a starter home, as those are the only three major U.S. metros where prices have declined. A homebuyer in San Francisco must earn $241,200 to afford the typical “starter” home, down 4.5% ($11,300) from a year earlier. Austin buyers must earn $92,000, down 3.3% year over year, and Phoenix buyers must earn $86,100, down about 1%. Those are also the metros where prices of starter homes have declined most, with median sale prices down 13.3% to $910,000 in San Francisco, down 12.2% to $347,300 in Austin, and down 9.7% to $325,000 in Phoenix. Starter-home prices are falling in those three metros after skyrocketing in 2020 and 2021. Bay Area prices soared because buyers used record-low mortgage rates as an opportunity to jump into the expensive market, and Austin and Phoenix prices went wild because of the influx of remote workers moving into those places. Now that mortgage rates have more than doubled, the initial surge of remote-work relocations has passed, and new listings are scarce due to homeowners locked in by low rates, the housing markets in Austin and Phoenix have fallen back down to earth. Demand in San Francisco dropped because rising rates made ultra-expensive homes even more expensive, and many tech workers aren’t as incentivized to live near city centers as they once were. Starter-home prices are down year over year in 13 other metros, mostly expensive West Coast markets, with the next-biggest declines in San Jose, CA (-8.7% to $925,000), Sacramento, CA (-7.3% to $417,000) and Oakland, CA (-7.3% to $630,000). Starter-home prices also dropped in Las Vegas, Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, OR, Anaheim, CA, San Diego, Riverside, CA, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis. But the income necessary to buy a starter home has still risen because in those places lower prices don’t make up for higher mortgage rates. Miami first-time homebuyers need 25% more income The income necessary to buy a starter home has risen most in Florida. Fort Lauderdale buyers need to earn $58,300 per year to purchase a $220,000 home, the typical price for a starter home in that area, up 28% from a year earlier. That’s the biggest uptick of the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Next comes Miami, where buyers need to earn $79,500 (up 24.8%) to afford the typical $300,000 starter home. Rounding out the top three is Newark, NJ, where buyers need $88,800 (up 21.1%) to afford a $335,000 home. Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Newark also had the biggest starter-home price increases, with prices up 15.8% year over year, 13.2% and 9.8%, respectively. Even though starter-home prices have risen most in Florida, they’re still less expensive than a place like Austin or Phoenix, where home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic and have since come down some. Prices are rising in Florida because despite increasing climate risks, out-of-town remote workers and retirees are flocking in. That’s largely due to warm

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CHALLENGING CASE SHILLER AND THE TWO-MONTH DELAY IN TRACKING NATIONAL HOME PRICES

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Newly Available Data Science Reduces the Reporting Time to Days Instead of Months Quantarium, a Seattle-headquartered national real estate AI technology firm, is challenging the assumption that the U.S. housing market needs to wait two months to reliably find out how home prices are changing. When a seven-month-long home price depreciation trend suddenly reversed at the end of February of this year, Case Shiller Home Price Index (HPI) users had to wait until April 25, almost seven weeks later, to get the news, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. By comparison, followers of Quantarium’s TerraIndex™ HPI would have found out about the reversal on March 8—only eight days after it happened. Quantarium’s TerraIndex™ HPI is not new. It has been around for years, supporting the company’s proprietary Automated Valuation Model (QVM), an AVM that is used by lenders and other institutions across the country and provides estimates for more than 100 million U.S. residential properties. After having observed the ups and downs of the national, state and local real estate markets since 2020, the company decided to start releasing its HPI to the public this year. “Certainly, Quantarium is not saying that Case Shiller is not a good model. Indeed, it is,” said John Smintina, Ph.D., Chief Analytics Officer and Quantarium Co-Founder. “But, with the volatility in housing markets, lenders, financial managers and consumers alike need to know the direction in which they are headed a lot sooner.” What makes the difference in reporting time, according to Smintina, are the methodologies used. The Case Shiller index, for example, measures repeat sales data and reflects a three-month moving average. The company reports the HPI results for a given month with about a two-month lag. Conversely, Quantarium recomputes at least weekly the estimated values for the entire national footprint, along with HPIs at various geography levels–from State, County, CBSA, down to Zip Code and Census Tract. Furthermore, the HPIs produced on any given date are based on proprietary valuation data science which include over 90% of all sales transactions that will have been reported through a four-week rolling period ending on that date. In so doing, Quantarium takes advantage of its industry-leading Data Services Platform (QDSP) to reduce the processing time lag to an absolute minimum. The TerraIndex™ HPI report for a given month is typically made available on the second Wednesday of the following month. For example, HPIs for the months of May and June were published on June 14 and July 12, respectively. The TerraIndex™ HPI report bears many similarities to other national HPI-based reports that track house prices and trends, such as the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, the Black Knight Mortgage Monitor Report and the Core Logic indices. These approaches all use hundreds of millions of mortgage and public records and MLS data records as the foundation for their reports. As the charts illustrate, these national home price indices are showing a similar pattern throughout Q1 2023; namely, that year-over-year prices are increasing, albeit at a slower and slower rate each month, while month-over-month non-seasonally adjusted prices broke from their seven-month-long negative trend in February 2023 and then accelerated their growth in March. As evidenced by chart 2, all four HPIs correctly detected the critical inflection point that occurred in February 2023. However, these HPI providers didn’t report their results at the same time. Case Shiller required two months to identify the inflection point, Core Logic and Black Knight over a month, while Quantarium was able to report the inflection point within only eight days. (see chart 3) To some, it might seem like “old news” focusing on HPI results from Q1 when we are already in Q3; it is simply not possible to make “apples to apples” comparisons (as of the date of this report) since Case Shiller will not publish its full Q2 results until late August. “This reality of having to wait for Q2 results reinforces our perspective on lost business and consumer informed decisioning, and underscores our decision to release this data,” said Quantarium’s Smintina. “While these four HPIs generally end up telling the same story, one of them is clearly doing so much, much earlier. In that sense, consumers of our TerraIndex™ HPI are ‘always the first to know’.” Quantarium’s latest TerraIndex™ HPI report, including state and MSA-level data for the month of June, can be read here. This report again proves the importance of recency in the current, ever-changing market by detecting yet another inflection point in national home prices. Behind a seemingly small year-over-year increase of 0.2%, the June report  for the median value of combined single-family properties shows that the housing market has entered new, record-high territory by surpassing the June market peak reached a year ago—a finding reported by Quantarium a mere 12 days later. For more information, visit quantarium.com. Author admin View all posts

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EQUITY IMPROVES FOR U.S HOMEOWNERS AS HOUSING MARKET BOOM SHOWS SIGNS OF REVIVAL

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Equity-Rich Portion of Mortgaged Homes Rises Back Up Amid Home-Price Rebound; Half of all Homeowners Paying Mortgages are Equity-Rich; Seriously Underwater Level of Mortgages Also Sees Improvement ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, released its second-quarter 2023 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report, which shows that 49 percent of mortgaged residential properties in the United States were considered equity-rich in the second quarter, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than half of their estimated market values. The portion of mortgaged homes that were equity-rich in the second quarter of 2023 increased from 47 percent in the first quarter of 2023, to the highest point in at least four years. With home prices rebounding across the U.S., the report found that the level of equity-rich mortgage-payers went up from the first quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2023 in 45 of the nation’s 50 states. The gains followed two straight quarterly drop-offs caused by a temporary slowdown in the U.S. housing market that had threatened to end a decade-long run of price and equity growth. The second-quarter upturn marked another sign of how the market shift has helped homeowners, as home-seller profits also spiked. While equity-rich levels rose in the second quarter, the report also shows that less than 3 percent of mortgaged homes in the U.S., or one in 36, were considered seriously underwater in the second quarter of 2023. That meant they had a combined estimated balance of loans secured by the property of at least 25 percent more than the property’s estimated market value. Just 2.8 percent of mortgaged-homes were seriously underwater in the second quarter of this year, also the lowest point since at least 2019. The latest figure was down from 3 percent in the prior quarter and 2.9 in the second quarter of 2022. “The second-quarter market revival bestowed immediate benefits on homeowners around the nation in the form of better profits for sellers and rising equity for those staying put. Equity levels were high even during the recent downturn, and now they are going back up and better than ever,” said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. “It is well worth nothing that the market remains in flux and the recent improvement could easily be temporary. Lots of changing forces are at work affecting whether boom times are really back, especially amid a recent increase in mortgage rates. But with the 2023 peak buying season still underway, it seems that homeowners can reasonably expect their household balance sheets to grow a bit more in the near future.” Equity for U.S. homeowners improved in the second quarter as prices for single-family homes and condos nationwide rose throughout most of the country, reversing a market slowdown that had run from the middle of last year to the early part of this year. Nationwide, the median home value shot up 10 percent in the second quarter to yet another all-time high of $350,000, after dropping 7 percent over the prior three quarters. The rebound came amid multiple factors that combined to put more financial resources in the hands of house hunters during a time of rising demand and tight housing inventory. Home mortgage rates were down by one-half to three-quarters of a point for a 30-year fixed loan during the second quarter, after more than doubling in 2022 to about 7 percent. At the same time, consumer price inflation dipped down under 4 percent, the stock market improved after a year of ups and downs, and unemployment remained less than 4 percent. That happened as the peak annual buying season revved up during a time when the supply of homes for sales around the U.S. remained historically low. With several months to go in the 2023 home-buying season, the potential for more gains remains in place. But that will depend heavily on whether key market drivers continue to improve or decline. Largest increases in equity-rich share of mortgages spread across Midwest The portion of mortgages that were equity-rich grew in most states around the U.S. from the first quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2023, commonly by up to four percentage points. The biggest gains came in the Midwest region, led by Wisconsin (portion of mortgages homes considered equity-rich rose from 41.6 percent in the first quarter of 2023 to 47.1 percent in the second quarter of 2023), Michigan (up from 42.5 percent to 47.7 percent), South Dakota (up from 41.4 percent to 46.4 percent), Ohio (up from 36.7 percent to 41.3 percent) and New Jersey (up from 38.9 percent to 43 percent). At the other end of the scale, the South and West regions had the only states where the equity-rich share of mortgaged homes decreased from the first quarter to the second quarter of this year. They were Nevada (down from 49 percent to 46.8 percent), Louisiana (down from 24.1 percent to 23 percent), Arizona (down from 56.4 percent to 55.3 percent), Florida (down from 61 percent to 60.4 percent) and Utah (down from 58.1 percent to 57.8 percent). Largest decreases in seriously underwater mortgages also in Midwest The portion of mortgaged homes considered seriously underwater dipped, and remained historically low, during the second quarter of 2023 in most of the nation. The rate declined in 37 states, with the biggest decreases clustered in the Midwest, a region that has some of the higher levels of seriously underwater mortgages. The improvements were led by Missouri (share of mortgaged homes that were seriously underwater down from 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023 to 4.8 percent in the second quarter of 2023), Illinois (down from 6.4 percent to 5.1 percent), South Dakota (down from 4.8 percent to 4 percent), Kansas (down from 3.7 percent to 3 percent) and Ohio (down from 5 percent to 4.3 percent). States where the percentage of seriously underwater homes increased the most from the first to the second quarter of this year

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GREAT GULF GROUP LAUNCHES BEACON RESIDENTIAL BRAND AS ITS BUILD-TO-RENT PORTFOLIO SEES GROWING SUCCESS IN U.S. SUN BELT

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Active since 2020, Beacon Residential builds on Great Gulf’s existing build-to-rent portfolio, spanning seven U.S. markets and representing 16 communities and over 2,300 homes Great Gulf Group is pleased to announce the launch of the Beacon Residential brand, the company’s purpose-built, single-family-rental community division. The unveiling of the brand comes at an opportune time as the build-to-rent portfolio continues to experience tremendous success in the U.S., with a total of 16 communities, nine currently for lease and several more expected to launch this year.  Since 2020, Great Gulf Group has been a catalyst in bringing an innovative approach to rental housing to the U.S. Sun Belt with quality construction and curated designs. In less than three years, the company, along with its LP investors, have already committed $260 million of their $400 million target to over 2,300 units across 16 projects. With communities in the metropolitan areas of Charleston, Orlando, Austin, Houston, Tampa, Dallas, and San Antonio, Beacon Residential’s portfolio satisfies an incredible demand for quality, well built homes for lease in both stand-alone and master-planned communities within rapidly growing submarkets.  “The launch of Beacon Residential could not have come at a better time. While we’ve had an active portfolio in this asset class for over three years, we recognized the opportunity to formalize our activities with the launch of a dedicated brand. With demand driven by strong job growth, low taxes, high affordability, low unemployment, and the desirability for homes in warmer climates, we recognize the Sun Belt’s appeal to a new wave of renters who prioritize flexibility and an array of other turnkey options over homeownership,” says Kiel O’Sullivan, President, Beacon Residential. Beacon Residential is a subsidiary of Great Gulf Group, an international, award-winning, innovative real estate developer with 48 years of experience. The company has built more than 30,000 homes in Canada. Through its U.S. sister company, Ashton Woods Homes, the group also has delivered more than 70,000 homes across eight American states. Drawing on the expertise and innovation of these companies, Beacon Residential is well positioned to deliver exceptional value to its residents, while adding to the much-needed housing stock within the areas it serves. Beacon’s professionally managed communities offer a maintenance-free lifestyle, along with a wide array of amenities such as smart home technology, lawn care, pest control, and 24/7 emergency maintenance. Residents also enjoy access to community amenities including pools, dog parks, playgrounds, and more. “In the last couple of years, our communities have helped bring the benefits of apartment-style living to a single-family home setting, a market that has been underserved,” continues O’Sullivan. “The growing demand for new, quality purpose-built rental housing is driven by factors such as affordability, changing life stages, and the increasing trend of ‘renters by choice’. At Beacon, we believe the renter’s experience should be at the forefront when developing our build-to-rent communities.” For more information about Beacon Residential, please visit www.beaconresidentialcommunities.com  About Great Gulf GroupEstablished in 1975, the Great Gulf Group includes Great Gulf, a premier real estate organization that develops and constructs low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise communities across North America; First Gulf, a commercial developer specializing in industrial, life sciences, data center, and mixed-use properties; Tucker HiRise, focusing on the construction of high-density, mixed-used projects; H+ME Technology, a precision-engineered panelization manufacturing facility; a new recreation and resort division responsible for Taboo and Lora Bay in Ontario, and Killington Mountain in Vermont; and Beacon Residential, a single-family build-to-rent division with a growing presence across the U.S. Sun Belt. Ashton Woods Homes, a sister company, was founded in 1989 by principals of the Great Gulf Group. Ashton Woods has delivered more than 70,000 homes across the U.S. Southeast and Southwest and is the largest privately held homebuilder in the United States, based on closings. Learn more at www.greatgulfgroup.com About Beacon ResidentialBeacon Residential, a subsidiary of Great Gulf Group, is a leading build-to-rent company specializing in single-family communities. With a focus on sustainable construction, award-winning design, and a customer-centric approach, Beacon Residential aims to redefine rental living across the U.S. Sun Belt. Learn more at www.beaconresidentialcommunities.com. Author admin View all posts

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Redfin Reports Home Prices Climb 2% From a Year Ago, With Low Supply Fueling Competition

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Prices posted their biggest increase in over seven months, with more demand than supply as high mortgage rates deter sellers The typical U.S. home sold for $382,500 during the four weeks ending July 16, up 2.1% from a year earlier. That’s the biggest increase since December 2022 and the second straight price uptick after nearly five months of declines, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Prices are rising substantially in some metro areas, including Milwaukee, where the housing market remained relatively steady throughout the pandemic. But they’re declining in other parts of the country, with the biggest drops in places where prices soared during the pandemic, including Austin and Phoenix. High home prices and mortgage rates pushed the typical homebuyer’s monthly payment up to a record $2,656. Daily average mortgage rates are inching down thanks to cooling inflation, but housing payments are likely to remain elevated because even slightly lower rates may escalate competition for the few homes on the market and push up prices for the foreseeable future. Prices are rising because there’s more demand than supply. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—which measures early-stage demand by tracking requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents—is up 2% from a year ago. Pending home sales are down 15% year over year, but new listings are down 25%, with homeowners handcuffed by relatively low mortgage rates. The total number of homes for sale is down 16%, the biggest dip in a year and a half, and inventory also posted an unseasonal monthly decline. “Even though buyers are trepidatious about high mortgage rates, we’re seeing bidding wars in several pockets of the market because there are so few options and even fewer good options,” said Raleigh, NC Redfin Premier agent Jordan Hammond. “Condos, townhouses and new construction homes are selling quickly, partly because they don’t require much work and people can’t afford to fix up a home when they have such high monthly mortgage payments. After over a year of high rates, buyers are getting used to lowering their budgets, searching for smaller homes, and thinking outside the box to reduce their monthly payments, doing things like rate buydowns or large down payments.” Leading indicators of homebuying activity: Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas: Unless otherwise noted, this data covers the four-week period ending June 16. Redfin’s weekly housing market data goes back through 2015. For bullets that include metro-level breakdowns, Redfin analyzed the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center Author admin View all posts

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