Michael Crist

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity this March, fell 4.9 percent from February 2019. Despite February’s gains, sales of existing-homes dropped 5.4 percent from March 2018. March’s existing-home sales reached a 5.21 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $259,400… Continue Reading March 2019 Existing-Home Sales

By Samantha Jones It’s no secret most of our markets rival the uncertainty of a roller coaster ride at an amusement park these days. Buyers expect to pay less; sellers don’t want to drop their prices. Pristine homes that should seemingly sell in hours, sit on the market stalled. Deals falling apart multiple times for… Continue Reading Heads or Tails? Making Sense of a Shifting Market

Photo Courtesy: OPEI By Kris Kiser, President & CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) As the spring selling season kicks into high gear, real estate and staging professionals can help their clients enhance their listings by creating an outdoor space that is attractive to buyers. The family yard not only can expand living… Continue Reading How to Prep a Yard for Spring Buying: 5 Tips

By Dale Swanton You’ve no doubt heard the term “exclusive” or “pocket listing,” referring to a listing that is not promoted on the MLS but is marketed to the listing agent’s brokerage only or to a select group of “in-the-know” agents. Although not illegal or even unethical in and of itself, the practice is rather… Continue Reading Pocket Listings: An Ethical Conundrum

Space photos, supervolcanoes, pickle sandwichs, planting trees by drone, and much more, compiled by Anne-Marie Siudzinski, Senior Library Information Specialist. Goodbye Discovery’s DIY Network, Hello Chip and Joanna Gaines’ new unnamed network to be launched in 2020. Beautiful photos from the International Space Station, taken by Scott Kelly. Scientists are looking out for the next… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: April 15-19

International clients are an important niche market for residential and commercial REALTORS® alike. In the latest 2019 Commercial Real Estate International Business Trends, NAR reported that foreign buyers purchased $4.8 billion of U.S. commercial real estate in 2018.[1] The median value for a buyer-side transaction was $600,000, while the median value for a seller-side transaction was $1… Continue Reading Foreign Buyers Purchased $4.8 Billion in U.S. Commercial Real Estate in 2018

By Kyle Malnati I have handed keys to many people at real estate closings over my 15 year career, but my most memorable career experience happened last week. I was part of a group that gifted a house we built with our own blistered hands to a loving family of three. This experience was part… Continue Reading Real Estate With a Mission

At the national level, housing affordability is up from last month but down from a year ago. Mortgage rates were down from last month at 4.60 percent this February, and up 4.1 percent compared to 4.42 percent a year ago. Housing affordability declined from a year ago in February moving the index down 2.8 percent… Continue Reading February 2019 Housing Affordability Index

Photo Credit: VHT Studios / Chrissy Barrett The real estate professional: Cris Grayson, broker associate at Baird & Warner in Glen Ellyn, Ill. About the home: The five-bedroom home in Glen Ellyn, Ill., was built in 1975. The home has been meticulously maintained, and the homeowners had recently made some updates to the interior as well.… Continue Reading Staged to Sell: A Virtual Transformation