Photo Source: Instagram via @landschute

Nationally speaking, “homes are the most affordable they’ve been in the last 40 years.” How is this recent claim by Trulia possible when multiple reports contradict it? Home prices may have outpaced income growth but as we’ve seen, there’s great wage growth and job stability—economy is good—and buying a home has remained more affordable now compared to history due to the still low mortgage interest rates. In 1980, they were at 16%. CRAZY! Five percent is looking pretty beautiful.

Over 207K homes were flipped in 2017, the highest in eleven years. However, this is no “flipping frenzy” like we saw between 2004 and 2006. Flippers saw an average return of 50 percent over the last few years compared to only 31 percent before. Hottest market: Buffalo, New York.

Now, we’re seeing investors take an interest in student housing after it slowed in 2017 (but was still at a historical high despite its drop from 2016). These properties are typically viewed as a steady investment because they can retain their value in all economic times. Not to mention, there’s quite a demand.

The labor market is strong and yesterday’s ADP Employment report came in much stronger than expectations at 235K and the previous month’s report was revised even higher by 10K to 244K. Employers are holding onto their people as the number of firings remain very low—we like this but it also means job openings are getting tight.