WASHINGTON (May 12, 2017) – When inventory is low, home prices tend to go up. Attempting to purchase a house in this type of market can make the already complex process of buying a home even more overwhelming. To help buyers successfully get through the buying process in a tight inventory market with as little… Continue Reading 5 Tips for Buyers in a Tight Housing Market
At the national level, housing affordability is down from last month and down from a year ago. Mortgage rates increased to 4.28 percent this March, up compared to 3.87 percent a year ago. Housing affordability declined from a year ago in March moving the index down 8.2 percent from 172.3 to 158.2. The median sales… Continue Reading March 2017 Housing Affordability Index
Homeownership, contests, technology, enviroment, sandwiches, allergies, and archives. How far would you go to own in an expensive real estate market? Would you co-own your property? Spixey/flickr/2009 It seems silly to improve upon perfection, but there’s $500k at stake. What don’t you do anymore now that technology does it for you? So there has been… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: May 8-12
WASHINGTON (May 11, 2017) — After a slip in business in 2015, the National Association of Realtors® Member Profile found that the income and sales volume of Realtor® members increased in 2016. The median gross income of Realtors® increased 8 percent in 2016 as the typical member had the highest number of transactions in recent… Continue Reading Survey Reports 12 Percent Jump in REALTOR® Business Activity
Existing-home sales rose 4.4 percent in March from one month prior while new home sales increased 5.8 percent. These headline figures are seasonally adjusted figures and are reported in the news. However, for everyday practitioners, simple raw counts of home sales are often more meaningful than the seasonally adjusted figures. The raw count determines income… Continue Reading Raw Count of Home Sales (March 2017)
The Echo Show — the long-rumored marriage of a touch/video screen and Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa — has been officially announced. It ships June 28; learn more at Amazon’s official Show site. If you’re skeptical of self-driving cars, consider this: research suggests it takes very few of them to drastically improve traffic flow (and make… Continue Reading Here Comes the Echo Show; How Many Self-Driving Cars Does It Take to Improve Traffic? More in Five for Wednesday
Did building permit activity rebound at your county? How many new housing units should be added to the market? While tight housing inventory pushes home prices upward, we look at building permits to see how many new housing units are expected to come on the market. Building permits are an important leading indicator for developments… Continue Reading Building Permits and Inventory
In the wake of the housing crisis, vacation and investment buyers played an important role in sopping up excess inventory. As their participation wanes, the impact will vary around the country. Furthermore, deception and poor lending practices to some investors played a key role in fomenting the last crisis, so the robustness of their participation… Continue Reading Investor Soundness
Nearly 1 million residential properties utilize solar power to produce energy, reduce costs or even generate monthly income. That fact has led to questions from real estate professionals regarding how solar systems should be appraised, how they affect real estate transactions, and more. But Realtors® who have committed to learning the ins and outs of… Continue Reading VIDEO: Solar Energy, and What Realtors® Need to Know
Taking care of a home’s landscape in the summer heat can be a daunting task for many homeowners. However, if a homeowner is looking to sell his or her home in the warmer months, maintaining or creating a beautiful lawn can mean selling a home faster and for more money. According to the National Association… Continue Reading Story Idea: The Importance of Lawn Care