Rook and Industry News

Over the past few years, an inventory shortage, coupled with high housing demand, has fueled rising home prices.

The title says it all. First-time homebuyers are caught in a vise. Or in coarser terms, they are "screwed."

Even with all the doom and gloom in housing, homes are still priced very high- too high for millions of families who just need a bit of help to get into homeownership.

The smart folks at @HousingWire got it right- affordability indeed remains a challenge. The income required to buy the same house has doubled over the past two years, pushing more families out of homeownership.

Even if rent growth is slowing, do you really want to be a permanent renter? Probably not. You probably want a good path to homeownership but the rates and rules keep changing on you.

The title says it all. Businesses that do well when normal people suffer-- is that what we want?

Hard to argue with polymath Adam Tooze on Housing. As he notes, we have deep problems in housing and little sign of abatement on the way.

With volumes about 40% down from their 2022 peak, increasing numbers of families are opting out of homeownership. High prices and high interest rates coupled with tight supply make life tough if you are looking to buy.

Affordable Housing and Housing Affordability are different things. Affordable Housing refers specifically to housing that is within the financial reach of families of low to moderate income.

A recent report by Harvard outlines the problem well- BOTH housing prices and rental prices have risen sharply since the start of the pandemic. So what is a family to do?

Imagine if your costs went up 60% practically overnight--most families would be broken by that rise. But that's exactly what's happened with housing!

Adaptability is the hallmark of Generation Z'ers who are coming of age in a time of flexible work, housing crises, and high-prices.

Buying a home is stressful. As heck. We get it. Even more stressful, however, is being "this close" to homeownership only to see prices, interest rates, and the traditional methods of financing conspire against you.

There you have it. Housing has gotten to the point in the US that half of all renters can't become homeowners.

Talk about a crisis in housing! People are caught in a vise- higher house prices and rising rents. No wiggle room! The American Dream is on hold for some and seeming impossibility for others.

Homeownership rates in the United States have hovered at about the 65% mark for decades. Still, the new generation of potential homebuyers thinks of homeownership as a nice but distant dream.

Homeownership is still considered to be the biggest gauge of wealth in the US but the "American Dream" appears out of reach to many American families.

The headline says it all. Generation Z fears that homeownership is a hopeless dream. Let's be blunt- that is a bad sign because homeownership is both the foundation for community but also a massive element in generating wealth.

Soaring mortgage rates and high sales prices are putting homeownership out of reach for an increasing number of Americans.

PropTech innovator Rook has assembled a high-powered group of executives, industry experts, and luminaries to join its Advisory Board as it continues to build its presence as a leader in home affordability solutions.

Everyone's talking about how the Fed's rate hikes have sent mortgage rates skyrocketing.

Buying a home for the first time is an anxiety-laden process. Now, we find people who want to buy being locked out of the market.

After a long stretch of record-high rents, Americans are renting fewer apartments as demand in the third quarter fell to its lowest level in 13 years.

Join Clayton Collins and Ed Messman for a 30-minute conversation that’s focused on one of the biggest topics in housing right now: home affordability. With millennials and Gen X looking to move from renting and into homeownership, this conversation will explore solutions for the affordability crisis.

Oct 19th Boulder CO-- PropTech innovator Rook Capital partners with Keller Williams Northern Colorado to expand home ownership and solve the home affordability problem.

We celebrate all moves to build affordable housing. That is one way of doing it and one we applaud. Another way is to help families get into houses they otherwise couldn't access in a way that costs them NOTHING more per month. Enter @Rook's Shared Value Investment. Check us out. Homebuyer (rook.capital)

This article ties the lack of homeownership to being on "the wrong side" of financial inequality. Yes, homeownership is the most reliably proven method to build wealth and to pass wealth on from generation to generation.

More tumultuous times in the housing market. At @Rook, our sympathies and our best wishes for all people who are being cut at this moment.

Housing has an affordability crisis. Absolutely. For working people, young families, and several minority communities. This is ridiculous. So we did something about it. We brought heart, soul, innovation, and sweat to the matter. @Rook Capital. Check us out.

"Cooling" house prices might be offering a false narration to pundits in the Housing Market. a 3-10% cooling with high-interest rates does NOT help the typical prospective home buyer in a historically difficult market.

Home ownership is the American Dream. An eroding dream for an entire generation. We need real change, based on new principles and ideas.

That even after the cooling, house prices appear to make homeownership unattainable to millions of families in the US is a testament to the difficulties in this market.

More institutional money flowing into real estate- this bodes ill for *normal* people who are simply trying to get into a house and build a community. Yes. Home-ownership now can appear to be a fantasy for the next generation.

Boulder, CO Sept 22, 2022- PropTech innovator Rook announced a $4.1 million capital raise and access to a warehouse credit facility as it looks to grow its “Shared Value Investment” program.

We've all heard of a one-two punch but what about a one-two-three punch? That is what prospective homebuyers are facing today.

Market pundits oscillate between exuberance and pessimism but whatever period we are in, one thing is for sure- home ownership has become increasingly difficult for an increasing numbers of Americans.

Thank you @MikeLoftin for this insightful article that suggests that the biggest antidote to the home affordability crisis is home-ownership. At @Rook, we agree with this hypothesis.

Real estate is indeed local. According to JP Morgan, "Where the property is located may be critical in the next one to two years. We find significant disparities in short-term, potential price drops among major metro areas."

What does the Housing crisis in the US have to do with life expectancy? A lot. As people have to move farther away from work, they spend more time in cars.

"Zoom Towns" were all the rage during the Pandemic as industry pundits opined strongly on the death of the main-metros. As always, the pendulum swung too far.

Interesting analysis of Housing + Commuting in Sante Fe. As communities aren't able to form and people are forced by price to live far from work, climate change is exacerbated.

Prospective homebuyers are caught in a real witching hour. Stratospheric prices, and an interest rate regime that has gone up partially to fight inflation. Still, most people are subject to the "normal" process when it comes to financing a home and, as a result, we are turning into a generation of perma-renters.

Even with the recent cooling, house prices are at or near historical highs. Couple this with high interest rates and then couple that combination with low inventory and you have a sort of triple-witching for prospective home-buyers.

The American Dream of homeownership was never supposed to be ONLY for the wealthy. But trendlines over the past decade have been downright scary in this regard. Low and Middle-income families have been literally squeezed out of the market. This has to change.

Though there is a lot of talk about housing inventory being back on-line, in the "affordable" segment, inventory is still very tight.

The unremitting rise in rents is creating havoc for American families. Impossibly high house prices and volatile interest rates have relegated folks to permanent-renter status and rents keep going up.

Yes, we might be in a housing recession, but almost 5M houses will sell this year and- to be frank- the numbers would be higher if all the families that wanted to buy could manage the economics.

Great analysis by Zillow on what they call "Housing Market Rebalances." Great data and interesting analysis. But even with the *small* decrease, house prices are at all-time highs.

While home sales indeed fell, it's important to remember that after a decade of boom, house prices are still near their historical peak, rendering it almost impossible for *millions* of families to own homes.

US Home prices hit a record high in Q2. And while they have come down minimally in Q3, the prices are still close to historical records. Tens of millions of US families are priced-out of homeownership and millions have given up hope of finding their American Dream.

Housing affordability is a real issue and it is important to understand that it is not a fringe problem. It is very much a mainstream problem for over 30 million families in the US. Perhaps more.

Housing cannot be an afterthought. For "the next generation", over two-thirds find themselves in the unenviable position of being unable to purchase a house and by extension unable to realize the American Dream.

We have to think beyond traditional instruments that prove onerous for homeowners to tap into their equity. There is more to the game than HELOCs.

The headline says it all. For generations, homeownership in the US was considered default (for most, not all) people in the US. Now, as the headline reads, it seems "out of reach."

Do real estate investing platforms hurt housing affordability? Tech startups are making it easier for people to invest and manage property.

House prices and interest rates have a relationship but not always the one we believe them to have. Ultimately, high house prices and *higher* than recent interest rates deliver a one-two punch for prospective homeowners.

Homeownership is no doubt an amazing way to build wealth but with rising prices, high interest rates, and other factors in a complex economy, it is not an option for everyone.

Though there has been some recent cooling-off of hot house prices, mortgage rates coming down might spur demand to exceed inventory. Anyway you slice it, home affordability remains a serious and systemic issue. @Rook can help. Check us out at www.rook.capital

Housing affordability is a crisis in the US. With prices going up over 30% in the last two years and with other elements of economic turmoil, hard-working families are forced into "transience".

Millennials are not just the victim of a clever tagline. They are real people with real life concerns. Housing is near the top of the list.

Depending on where you live, owning a home may seem like a far off dream or it could be fairly realistic.

"The American Dream of Homeownership Fades for Some"-- well-put indeed. But there are ways to restore it. #Rook

Though there is a significant cooling in the housing market, prices are still high and a vast swath of the American population cannot afford to buy homes.

Housing Affordabilty in Colorado at a three-decade low. 720,000 Colorado households are renters. @Rook can help Coloradans comfortably afford to be homeowners with an innovative approach to affordable housing.

With average mortgage rates near 6% for a 30-year-loan, some lucky home buyers are snagging rates at half that. Their secret?

Young people's ability to find a home is not simply a function of house prices but also of the rising costs of all other aspects of life- gas, food, healthcare, child-care and so on.

I recently had the pleasure of hosting Techstars’ co-founder, VC, entrepreneur, author and blogger Brad Feld in two Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions on how to respond to the financial crisis from both a founder and investor perspective.

Read this. Carefully.. After adjusting for inflation, the median rent payment rose 61% between 1960 and 2016 while the median renter income grew only 5%.

Over the last decade, one tech sector that affects everyone’s quality of life — from where we live to what we put in our homes — has come a long way.

According to literary theorist Christopher Booker, there are only seven master plots that define all novels: rags to riches, the quest, rebirth, overcoming the monster, comedy, tragedy, and voyage and return.

Total U.S. home equity reached a record high of $27.8 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.

In real estate, certain phrases resound. Everyone knows the most famous of these — “location, location, location.” An important — but perhaps distant second — is “Real Estate is Local.”

The double whammy of surging mortgage rates and skyrocketing home prices has led to “collapsed” housing affordability in America, according to Chris Flanagan’s team at Bank of America Global Research.

The old conservative economist’s adage that “a rising tide lifts all boats” was quickly called-out by activists who didn’t see the trickle down effects of a “booming economy” benefit the working people of America.

Will starter homes become extinct? That is the question posed today, but there is more. There are a number of institutional investors in the US who want homeownership for the new generation to NOT exist.

This week we have an interview with Ed Messman and Kevin Cawley of Rook Capital – where traditional real estate finance meets DeFi.

Home prices rose 18.8% in 2021, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, the biggest increase in 34 years of data and substantially ahead of 2020's 10.4% gain.

Picture this: you're driving around, furiously checking the GPS on your phone clipped to the air vent and pulling over at various points to check the laptop next to you, which is linked to your phone's hotspot.