An improv class is not just for comedians. It may help you better your sales and customer relationships. That’s why business professionals across the country are signing up for improv classes.“I believe improvisation and stand-up comedy classes can be a tremendous supplement to traditional sales training,” Troy Piekarski, an advocate for standup comedy training, told Forbes.com. “The quick thinking, engagement, and connection required hel
Homeowners today are focused on making changes to their front yards so they're markedly different from their neighbors' yards and easier to maintain, finds the 2017 U.S. Houzz Landscaping Trends Survey.Homeowners want their yards to look distinct. Only 6 percent of homeowners reported front yards that were nearly identical to those in the neighborhood after their outdoor project, compared to more than a third before the update (36 percent), the H
Spring sprang early in the housing market this year. The buying season’s annual start came about a month earlier than usual. Homes in March are expected to sell 22 days faster than last month, or in 69 days, according to realtor.com®’s latest data release.“Calendars might say this is the first week of spring, but we’re already right in the thick of the most frenzied spring home-buying season on record,” says Javier Vivas, manager of ec
Longtime Jersey City, N.J., homeowners say they’ve been harassed by real estate solicitations in recent months. They’re hoping the city’s new “No Knock” registry will put an end to the door knocks inquiring if they want to sell their home.The Jersey City Council recently unanimously passed a resolution creating an antisolicitation program, dubbed the “No Knock” registry. Residents who sign up will receive “No Knock” decals for t
Time is ticking for the National Flood Insurance Program. In just six months—on Sept. 30—the NFIP is set to expire, and REALTORS® are warning that could pose a major threat to home owners and property sales.“When the NFIP expired in 2010, over 1,300 home sales were disrupted every day as a result,” says NAR President William E. Brown. “That’s over 40,000 every month. Flood insurance is required for a mortgage in the 100-year floodpla
Pending home sales posted a strong rebound in February, soaring to the highest level in nearly a year and the second highest level in more than a decade, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. All major regions saw an uptick in sales contracts last month.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.5 percent month over month to an 112.3 reading in February. The index is now 2
While the national homeownership rate decreases, ownership rates among Hispanics are defying the trend with steady rises.The Hispanic homeownership rate grew to 46 percent last year, topping previous highs of 45.6 percent in 2015 and 45.4 percent in 2014, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals’ 2016 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report.More than 7.3 million Hispanic households owned their homes in 2016, 3
Big cities may grab most of the headlines when it comes to housing, but gains in smaller cities shouldn’t be ignored.One key behind many small towns' growth: a nearby college. Several smaller cities nabbing a spot in Smartasset’s top 25 list for rising housing values are college towns, such as Auburn, Ala.; Fayetteville, Ark.; and Bowling Green, Ky. “In many smaller cities, universities act as economic hubs supporting the whole community an
Many households are mortgage-ready but don’t try to buy a home because they can’t come up with a down payment, according to Rob Crane, CEO of Down Payment Resource in Atlanta.And yet there are hundreds of down payment assistance programs around the country that many households could tap if they only knew about them.To be sure, many households won’t qualify for down payment assistance, because they simply earn too much money. But many of the
Some of the nation’s once hardest-hit housing markets are now among some of the healthiest.Notably, over the past decade, Tampa, Fla., had lost thousands of homes to foreclosure. Now, it is the healthiest housing market in the country, according to TenX, a real estate auction and analytics firm.TenX rated the locations based on several factors, including population and job growth, the unemployment rate, wage growth, and inventory and constructi
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