Foreclosure Rate Reaches 15-Year Low

Foreclosure activity drops to a 15-year low, Plano is one of the leading cities for office development, and Irving makes the cut for best municipalities to spend the honeymoon phase, and all in this week’s roundup of real estate news.

Foreclosures Down 21 Percent From Last Year

National year-end foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions – are down 21 percent from last year and a whopping 83 percent since the numbers peaked in 2010.

ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of a national property database, issued a report showing foreclosure filings were reported on 493,0066 U.S. properties last year.

“The continued decline in distressed properties is one of many signs pointing to a much-improved housing market compared to the bad old days of the Great Recession,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer for ATTOM Data Solutions. “That said, there is some reason for concern about the potential for a change in the wrong direction, given that residential foreclosure starts increased in about a third of the nation’s metro housing markets in 2019. Nationally, the number also ticked up a bit in December. While that’s not a major worry, it’s something that should be watched closely in 2020.”

Source: ATTOM Data Solutions

Plano Leads Texas In Office Development

Plano is the top “small Texas city” for office development, according to real estate blog CommercialCafé.

With almost 10.6 million square feet of office space added since 2009, and nearly 37.2 million square feet of rentable office space at the end of last year, the North Texas city has become known as the place to be for Dunder Mifflin execs and the like.

Other small Texas cities, with a population of under 300,000, that made CommercialCafé’s top 10 include Irving, The Woodlands, Richardson, Spring, Frisco, Midland, Katy, Sugar Land, and Round Rock.

Source: CommercialCafé 

Pittsburgh Tops List Of Best Places For Newlyweds

Irving and Tyler made the top 10 best cities for newlyweds to live, according to a recent study published by Destify.

Pittsburgh topped the list, followed by St. Louis, Orlando, Atlanta, Columbia, S.C., Baltimore, Little Rock, and Savannah, Ga., with Tyler, and Irving coming in at No. 9 and No. 10.

“Coupled with a reasonable median home value as well as overall affordability, [Pittsburgh and St. Louis] make for great places to settle for those who have just tied the knot,” states the Destify article. “But if you’re looking to find someplace warmer, Orlando may be the perfect city, which comes in at No. 3 on our list. Speaking of the south, several other southern cities dominate the top 10 including Atlanta, Columbia, Irving, Tyler, and Little Rock.”

There’s something for every couple on the list, the article goes on to say, noting that major metro areas are featured as well as mid-size municipalities with a population of under 250,000.

Factors that went into determining the best cities included median household income, median home value, number of newlyweds, cost of raising a child, and the number of restaurants and dining options available.

Source: Destify