The economy is quite strong. Job gains for 91 consecutive months have brought the unemployment rate to its lowest level since the year 2000. The latest unemployment rate of 3.8% in May corresponds to 155 million Americans with jobs and only 6.1 million without one and still searching. A very rare event is occurring in… Continue Reading No Breakout in Home Sales Despite Good Economy
In a monthly survey of REALTORS®, respondents are asked “Compared to the same month last year, how would you rate the past month’s traffic in neighborhood(s) or area(s) where you make most of your sales?” Respondents rate buyer traffic as “Stronger” (100), “Stable” (50), or “Weaker” (0) and the responses are compiled into a diffusion… Continue Reading Strong Employment Growth Continues to Underpin Homebuyer Demand in April 2018
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine Color forecaster Pantone cited geometric patterns as one of the top home design trends to watch in 2018. Shapes and, in particular, circular ones are being showcased in more home decor. Greater use of bold, circular patterns are being infused into everything from accent pillows and rugs to wall… Continue Reading Hot Home Trend: Geometric Patterns in Décor
NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that April’s pending home sales pace was down 1.3 percent last month and fell 2.1 percent from a year ago. Pending sales represent homes that have a signed contract to purchase on them but have yet to close. They tend to lead existing-home sales data… Continue Reading April 2018 Pending Home Sales
Dog whistles are intended to be silent for everyone except for a select few listeners. But in his best-selling book, Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class (Oxford University Press, 2014), Ian Haney López seeks to transmit a message all real estate professionals should be listening for.… Continue Reading Learning to Hear the Dog Whistle
Volcanic activity, savings, privacy, population, math, How incredibly unlucky was this? This week in Questions We Didn’t Know Had to Be Asked… Phillippe Put/flickr/2014 We are always looking for ways to increase our savings, but there are a lot of ways to save that we miss. Cartwheel, for example. If this service hits Chicago, we can… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: May 28-June 1
After modest increases in February and March, pending home sales dipped in April to their third-lowest level over the past year, according to NAR. The Pending Home Sales Index declined 1.3 percent to 106.4 in April from an upwardly revised 107.8 in March. With a decrease in March, the index is down on an annualized… Continue Reading Pending Home Sales Fall in April, Third Lowest Level Since 2017
The pace of historic change can be at once laborious and swift. The passage of the U.S. Fair Housing Act in 1968 is a case in point. As a response to generations of discriminatory practices condoned by government, business, and societal norms of a different era, legislation protecting buyers, renters, and borrowers from exclusionary treatment… Continue Reading A Deeper Understanding of the Scourge of Racial Inequality
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to this morning’s S&P/Case-Shiller release on March home prices: “The solid gain home prices of 6.5% in March added roughly $150 billion to housing wealth during the month. But the continuing run-up in home prices above the pace of income growth is simply not sustainable. From the cyclical… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: S&P/Case-Shiller March Home Prices
By Julea Joseph, guest contributor The keys are in your buyer’s hands! They’ve gone through the process … the search, deciding, inspection, stress, closing, and finally, the elation of buying a new home. Now, they have to make it their own. Here’s how. Color – Paint is the least expensive, easiest way to update a space. It can… Continue Reading How to Make a New House Your Own