The MReport Webcast: Monday 12/22/2014

The majority of investors who bought homes at auction last month intend to hold onto them as a source of rental income, according to a report from real estate marketplace Auction.com. Out of all the investors surveyed by the company in November, 50.5 percent said they're going to rent out their properties, while 46.6 percent plan to flip them to another buyer. The preference toward renting was more evident among one-time purchasers, 72 percent of whom said they plan to rent out the auctioned home.

Meanwhile, flipping was the strategy of choice among investors purchasing multiple properties per year, being favored by 52.8 percent of smaller-scale investors bidding online and 60 percent of institutional investors. Renting is slightly more favorable among live event bidders, though flipping was still the more popular choice, preferred by half of smaller firms and 55.4 percent of institutional investors.

Homes across the country gained an additional $1.7 trillion in value in 2014, leveling off slightly from last year's increase as appreciation lost momentum in most markets. Looking at the past year of growth, Zillow estimates U.S. homes will be worth a combined $27.5 trillion by the end of 2014, a 6.7 percent increase over 2013. With home values posting continual increases in the last few years, another recent report from the company shows more than seven million U.S. homeowners have recovered to a positive equity position, leaving the national negative equity number at less than nine million. Less encouraging is the fact that more than one-third of homeowners nationwide are either underwater or close to it, leaving them unable to afford the cost of trading up to a new home.