NEWS
The Fed will "likely announce next month" the sale of some bonds acquired during the recession – a move that would probably push mortgage rates a tad higher.
Most commercial owners, investors and developers recognize the importance of better energy efficiency, but "going green" does more than improve the bottom line.
If approved by Fla. voters in 2018, Amendment 2 would make the state's current 10% cap on annual non-homestead property tax increases permanent.
Congress has work to do in Sept. to keep RE on track. In addition to flood insurance expiring, the U.S. will run out of money on Sept. 29. If the gov't did shut down, it would bog down RE tasks that require fed intervention, such as some FHA functions.
NAR survey: Social media sites are a vital part of real estate today, with 74% of Realtors in a recent survey saying "awareness" is their primary goal.
Two institutional investors – businesses that buy multiple single-family homes to rent out – could merge in a $4.3B deal that controls 82,000 U.S. homes.
The wire fraud scam – criminals hack an email address and, at the last minute, tell buyers to wire closing money to a fake account – is still going strong.
Counteroffers attempt to secure better deals for clients, but "I demand this" is harsh. Propose a package that makes it easier for the other side to say yes.
Shopped for something online only to see ads for it everywhere? Facebook's tool does the same thing, re-targeting users who visited an agent or broker's website.
Demand for easy-care but expensive quartz continues to skyrocket, and consumers seem to be less enamored with granite and marble. Nickel faucets are also becoming more popular, but tubs with jets appear to be on their way out.
With 10,000 boomers retiring each day, builders remain confident. NAHB's 2Q 55+ index not only rose 11 points, it's been in positive territory for over four years.
Some buyers love the idea of farm living providing it's in the heart of the suburbs. Like golf communities, agrihoods focus on nature but also sell organic food.
Buyers who hoped to qualify for a mortgage soon after credit score calculations changed will be disappointed: Fannie, Freddie suddenly postponed the modifications until at least 2019. The changes would have helped some "unscorable" applicants.
Are owners less inclined to sell? The percent who thought it's a good time hit a record high in Fannie's June survey – but it dropped a surprising 11% in July.
According to the magazine, some people pay too much and others pay too little. In many cases, homebuyers get a policy and then ignore it for years unless needed.
"Tiny house regret" is actually a thing. Homeowners who downsize to simplify their lives are discovering that it's not as cheap or as easy as they thought.
A wellness program not only helps keep agents healthier, it also shows concern for workers and can strengthen their loyalty and commitment to the brokerage.
Study: Out of all the very-low income families not receiving public assistance, 8.3 million had to dole out more than half their monthly income for housing.
The average FRM hit 3.90% this week, down from last week's 3.93%. The 15-year loan held steady at 3.18%, and the ARM changed little at 3.14%.
Buyers need more for-sale homes, so Realtor.com conducted a study to find out why inventory remains stubbornly low. The reason? Baby boomers don't want to move yet and new-home construction remains inadequate.
Real estate QandA: A few condos were damaged by a water leak that "just happened" and wasn't a specific owner's fault. Who pays? Individual owners or condo board?
The update will help MLSs and brokerages coordinate better as it improves functions like accessibility, standardized showing data, saved searches and more.
It sounded good: Create passwords with random symbols and capital letters. But it hasn't cut down on cybercrime, so its creator now has updated password advice.
Questions about NAR programs or political involvement? New CEO Bob Goldberg will answer questions during a live meeting on Tue., Aug. 15, at 3 p.m.
While trouble brewed earlier, the meltdown officially began when a French bank started blocking withdrawals from U.S. mortgage-debt hedge funds.
Survey: 58% of U.S. homeowners expect a "housing bubble and a price correction" in the next two years, a 12 percentage-point increase since April.
Florida Realtors data: Single-family home sales up 3.7%, median price up 9.1% year-over-year. Condo sales up 3%, median price up 7.4%
Survey: The number of land transactions for residential is up but so are prices. The big challenge: Finding affordable land on the outskirts of populated areas.
The early-stage delinquency rate – those owners with at least one missed mortgage payment – is 5.2% in Fla., but that varies by metro. In The Villages, it's 1.3%.
Digital marketing through social media can put your name in front of a lot more people, but in-person meetings build bonds and create loyalty.
Many first-time buyers choose to live with Mom and Dad in order to bank money toward a downpayment. It's a good money-saving strategy, assuming there's ample space in the parents' home and a specified savings goal.
Your answer will vary depending on circumstances, but it's important to have an answer if potential buyers start to show an interest.
Foreign investors want to buy in Fla., but they also want to sell Fla. property when the income potential is right – and many Canadians think that time is now.
After a four-point inspection, a buyer's insurance company refused to write a policy because the electrical fuse box brand wasn't acceptable. What now?
For mortgage lenders, it's about competition. They see rising home prices and more qualified buyers, so they're easing standards to attract more business.
A CCIM program offered in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs will cover the CCIM Institute's cost of tuition and fees as a GI Bill benefit.
Also: We can deny clients based on criminal history, but an applicant with a dozen arrests, some felonies, was never convicted. Can we deny his application?
What top risk factors threaten real estate? CRE's annual list of the top 10 also includes technology, generational changes, retail disruption and health care.
It looks less likely Congress will finalize a flood-insurance bill before the program expires Sept. 30, and unless they OK a short-term extension, lenders won't release mortgage money starting Oct. 1 if the property is located within a flood zone.
A survey found that 72% of Americans in smart homes want voice control, so Coldwell Banker rolled out a service that offers company news and real estate trends.
Survey: A top reason 1 out of 3 millennials buy a first home is to provide a yard for their dog. As a motivator, it outranked marriage and raising children.
Calif. Realtors say they're concerned about a federally owned agency lending money that "is essentially a government guarantee to compete with homebuyers."
Taxpayers bailed out the entities during the meltdown and could be stuck again in another financial crisis – but to date they've received $77.6B more than the loan.
Rates were virtually unchanged, though up a smidgen compared to last week's 3.92%. For all of last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.65%.
The short answer: No, according to a JPMorgan study. Sharp housing price corrections are rare, they say, even after a large run-up in home prices.
A metro real estate market's supply and demand can be skewed if international buyers are scooping up a lot of property for investment rather than housekeeping.
Is cold calling dead as a marketing tool? A new study found that more than half of Fla. homes no longer have a landline phone, and many of the homes that still have a landline use Internet-based services rather than traditional phone company plans.
Many small-town residents remain in place as local economies struggle and jobs move elsewhere. For a number of reasons, they no longer believe they can leave.
Most homeowners policies have a commercial-use exclusion clause, meaning they won't pay out if a renting guest is injured – but 63% of homeowners don't know that.
NAR's annual report also found a 19% increase in sales transaction volume, which indicates a growing economy and an uptick in the number of Realtors who choose to specialize in commercial real estate.