Michael Crist

Manhattan traffic. Four-season weather. Tests of self-driving cars are about to get really real. If you’re the kind of phone owner who cares about the camera on your phone more than any of its other features, you’ll like reading this Battle of the iPhone 8 vs. Pixel 2 cameras. Got some smart home tech and… Continue Reading Self-Driving Cars Take On Manhattan; iPhone8 and Pixel 2 Cameras Battle It Out, and More

The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to this morning’s U.S. Commerce Department release on September housing starts: “The one month fall in new home construction, especially in the South region in light of Hurricane recovery, is understandable. What is frustrating and hard to comprehend is the drop in total permits in the… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: September Housing Starts

At the national level, housing affordability is up from last month but down from a year ago. Mortgage rates increased to 4.19 percent this August, up compared to 3.74 percent a year ago. Housing affordability declined from a year ago in August moving the index down 8.4 percent from 163.7 to 149.9. The median sales… Continue Reading August 2017 Housing Affordability Index

Amid improving macroeconomic conditions, residential lending continued to increase in 2016, based on the recently released 2016 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. [1] [2] The number of first-lien loan originations for the purchase of one-to-four unit properties intended for owner occupancy rose to 3.46 million in 2016, a 10 percent increase from 3.12 million… Continue Reading Home Purchase Originations Rose by 10 Percent in 2016, But are Still Below Pre-Housing Crash Level

Photo credit: Blinds.com By Katie Laird, guest contributor When staging a home for an open house, you can transform a space from an unimpressive, run-of-the-mill property to one with a “wow” factor. But without a little extra attention to detail, even the most professionally staged homes can leave something to be desired. Don’t let staging… Continue Reading 7 Secrets for Adding a Finishing Touch to Your Staging

Famous locations, social media addiction, financial education, cleaning, energy, pets, internet shopping, names, security, and nail houses. Shut up and take our money. Ugh, look at those crowds! We’d close it off, too. How addicted are you to the “bright dings of social pleasure?” Recently dubbed Nobel Laureate, Richard Thaler, has a bleak outlook on… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: October 9-13

The following References have recently been updated in the Library: Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Traditionally, real estate industry disputes rely on negotiation for solutions. If negotiation fails, litigation is often initiated. Mediation involves the skillful intervention of a third-party professional to help resolve disputes that arise between two or more parties. Arbitration, a form of… Continue Reading New and Updated in the Library – October 2017

Lee Davenport By Lee Davenport I’ve seen it before: accounts are blocked, business drys up, and worse yet, a job is lost, fines are imposed, or licenses are revoked—all from a social media post. That’s a mess…a hot mess. It’s no secret that social media can grow your business—or destroy it. Keep social media from… Continue Reading Mess-Free Social Media: Don’t Get Blocked

Ryan Fitzgerald By Ryan Fitzgerald Last month, Lee Nelson wrote a great article for REALTOR® Magazine on how to build office culture in a virtual world, and it made me wonder…is a physical real estate office still necessary in 2017? So, I decided to dive into the pros and cons of having a physical real… Continue Reading The Pros and Cons of a Real Estate Office

In a little less than one month, over 20,000 Realtors®, industry experts and guests will flock to the Windy City for the 2017 Realtors® Conference and Expo (Nov. 3-6) at the McCormick Place – West Building. Housing affordability and supply, commercial real estate flood insurance, tax reform and more are some of the key topics that will be… Continue Reading Register Today: 2017 REALTORS® Conference & Expo