Morning Briefing: You wouldn’t want to be a realtor in these cities

You wouldn’t want to be a realtor in these cities… Builder confidence lower this month but future looks bright… Daisy Fuentes renting Malibu home…

You wouldn’t want to be a realtor in these cities
While the national headlines report strong growth for the US housing market there is of course regional disparity. WalletHub.com has analysed which cities are the best for a healthy career as a realtor comparing the 150 most populated cities across 13 key metrics, ranging from sales per agent to annual median wage for real-estate agents to housing-market health index.

The bottom five markets are: Detroit, MI; Columbus, GA; Fayetteville, NC; Jackson, MS; and Brownsville, TX. Meanwhile the best five cities to be a realtor are: Denver, CO; Irvine, CA; Seattle, WA; Austin, TX; and Aurora, CO.

The full report, available at WalletHub.com, reveals a range of stats including:
  • Knoxville, Tenn., has the highest number of sales per agent, 120, which is 20 times more than in Houston, the city with the lowest, 6.
  • Orlando, Fla., has the highest real-estate job density, 32.61, which is 24 times greater than in Detroit, the city with the lowest, 1.35.
  • Indianapolis has the highest annual median wage for real-estate agents, $105,370, which is four times greater than in Wichita, Kan., the city with the lowest, $24,320.
 
Builder confidence lower this month but future looks bright
Confidence among builders in the market for new single-family homes is lower this month than it was in January. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index was down 3 points to 58 from an upwardly-revised 61 in January.

“Though builders report the dip in confidence this month is partly attributable to the high cost and lack of availability of lots and labor, they are still positive about the housing market,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill. He said that builders were optimistic that the coming months will see improvement in the market. Sales expectations for the next six months move 1 point higher in the Index.
 
Daisy Fuentes renting Malibu home
Model and TV host Daisy Fuentes is renting her Malibu home following her recent marriage to singer Richard Marx. The 3-bedroom, 4-bathroom home on Las Flores Beach is available for $25,000 a month. The couple live in Malibu at Marx’s mansion and Fuentes also owns a home in the Hollywood Hills.