This spring’s housing mantra: Going, going, gone! “Severe” housing shortages are prompting existing-homes to sell significantly faster this year, and propelling home sales to the highest pace in more than a decade, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Friday.Strong sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest were behind most of the nationwide 4.4 percent month-over-month increase in existing-home sales in March. The West was the onl
A home's landscape provides curb appeal and, if designed smartly, it can also offer wellness and environmental benefits. When your clients undertake a new landscaping project, it's important that they keep the local ecosystem and environmental considerations in mind.Since some areas of the country are still experiencing drought conditions, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) recently created an infographic that shares what your clients l
Renting out a property can always be a gamble, with the risk of a bad tenant who could, for example, smash a hole in the wall or bail on paying rent. In either case, the landlord is left financially liable.But could landlord insurance help investors better protect their property investments?“Landlord insurance is a vital add-on for anyone planning to rent some or all of a property to another party,” insists James J. Whittle, assistant gener
A golf course is no longer the showpiece of a master-planned community. Instead, buyers are showing a greater preference to live near extensive trail networks and shared gardens. Developers are responding with new developments that are pushing out golf courses in favor of other outdoor areas that foster a sense of community.“What we’re seeing is this trend toward helping people interact with each other and helping them interact in natural env
A college town can be a great spot for investors. Rents are usually stable and there’s generally always a pool of tenants to choose from.“It’s always great to invest in a location where there is a large pool of tenants, which is exactly what you get when you invest in a property near a school like Georgia Institute of Technology,” says Rory Haigler, a Redfin real estate professional. The Georgia Institute of Technology topped Redfin’s l
Millennials love to conduct many aspects of their lives online, but a new survey says that’s not always true when it comes to real estate dealings.Seventy-five percent of millennials recently surveyed by financial wellness website CentSai say they prefer the help of a local real estate agent than an online agent. Seventy-one percent would also prefer to work with a local mortgage lender. They cited more desire for face-to-face collaboration, as
Baby boomers are expected to sell their homes in large numbers over the next decade.Arthur C. Nelson, a University of Arizona professor, predicts the “great senior sell-off” will occur in the mid to late 2020s. It's a few years later than what Nelson had originally predicted in 2013 (he originally said by 2020). He says baby boomers are living in their homes longer, holding off on selling in the hopes of netting an even higher price later on.
Design TV shows make it look so easy: Just remove a wall or two and you have the open floor plan you’ve always wanted. But not so fast.Tearing down a wall could open up a host of other problems—some structural, if not done properly. It could also prove unexpectedly costly.To hire a professional contractor to remove a wall could cost you anywhere from $500 to $4,000, according to HouseLogic.com. To that cost, you’ll likely want to add a stru
Nationwide housing starts dropped in March, despite continued high buyer demand, which is adding pressure to overall home prices.Housing starts for single-family and multifamily homes dropped 6.8 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Broken out, single-family production plunged 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 821,000 units in March month over month, following a stro
Which housing markets are emerging as top performers this spring season? Ten X, an online real estate marketplace vendor, factored in pricing, sales, affordability, permit activity, economic and demographic growth, and forward-looking data such as economic and population forecasts, to come up with a list of housing market champs for this spring.They are listed below, along with year-over-year changes in seasonally adjusted median prices and sales
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