I mean great timing by Zuckerberg. The demand for housing is up and Mark is capitalizing! (I wish I could call him Marky Mark… but there is only one man whose earned that nickname)
Enter Rental Beast, an addition to the Facebook marketplace that is using data to profit from not only Millennials but their parents too! I’m not sure why I just took a shot at Facebook, but it feels like the right thing to do these days (Ugh, I’m such a millennial… rolling eyes emoji). I guess I’m just tired of that hearing that sales are down.
An article by HousingWire reports that Rental Beast will control over 70% of the rental listing in United States! If you visit their website, you’ll see them boasting about how they actively manage rental listings and give you access to the best technology. I must be getting old because all I can think is… what happened to Craigslist?! You know, that one website that hasn’t changed its platform in decades?! Craig if you’re reading this, feel free to chime in.
According to Realtor.com, listings in July were down 4% and median price was up 9% so I’m sure Rental Beast will continue to gain traction in some areas. Fortunately, for us our brokers have strong realtor relationships and access to the best rates. So… if you’re a millennial or you’re looking to retire you could either A.) Jump on Rental Beast or B.) Move to Pittsburgh where listings were only down 8% in July and the median home price is a very affordable $180K. If you do choose option B., let me know, I know a guy.
In a recent article, Diane Olick alludes to the possibility that rental demand may drive new home construction. Looks like Mr. Zuckerberg isn’t the only one paying attention to the housing market. In the article, a senior economist at the National Association for Home Builders stressed the importance of managing rising construction costs. I’m just hoping the NAHB is planning on throwing up some more condos for all of these retiree’s (seems like it’s the cool thing to do if you’re 65) so the next generation has some homes to buy.
Thanks for reading,
Frank
The opinions expressed in this post are the sole view of the writer and do not reflect the opinion of Princeton Mortgage Corporation.
Photo by Tim Bennett on Unsplash