Millions of households are mortgage-ready but don’t even try to buy because they can’t come up with a downpayment. And yet, remarkably, hundreds of downpayment assistance programs around the country are largely untapped. Why the disconnect? Small To be sure, many households won’t qualify for downpayment assistance, because they simply earn too much money. But… Continue Reading Money’s Available to Buy But Many Renters Don’t Know It
A hip-looking website and a realistic-looking payment invoice. Real estate professionals in Florida were recently hit with a scam in which they were instructed to pay a fee to maintain their membership listing with the Florida Board of REALTORS®, but there is no such organization. What’s concerning about this latest scam to hit the real… Continue Reading In Real Estate, Scammers Are Getting Unbelievably Tricky
WASHINGTON (March 15, 2017) — Multiple years of uninterrupted job gains and hope that the best is yet to come in 2017 are igniting consumer confidence across the country, and especially in rural and middle America, according to new consumer survey findings from the National Association of Realtors®. The survey additionally found a growing disparity… Continue Reading NAR HOME Survey: Economic, Financial Optimism Surges; Renters Lukewarm About Buying
Stop me if this is too meta, but sometimes the struggle is real when it comes to creating content for your website or blog. It takes a lot of time to brainstorm topics, research said topics, and craft a cohesive post that draws the audience’s interest with well written content and eye-catching photos. I have… Continue Reading REALTOR® Content Resource
Google’s Project Sunroof has surveyed 60 million buildings in the United States and has determined that 80 percent of them are “solar viable,” meaning they receive enough sunlight to be worthy candidates for solar energy installations. Co-developed by The Washington Post and Google’s Jigsaw division (that works on technology safety issues), the Sideways Dictionary uses… Continue Reading 4 of 5 U.S. Buildings Have Solar Potential; A Tech Dictionary for Everyone; More in Five for Wednesday
Below is the following statement from NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun on the Federal Reserve’s decision today to raise short-term rates for the first time in 2017: “Rising inflation will predominantly dictate the next monetary policy decision, but another short-term rate hike should be expected by the end of the summer. Right now, rents and… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: Today’s FOMC Meeting
Existing-home sales rose 3.3 percent in January from one month prior while new home sales increased 3.7 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 (January 2017)
The NCAA Basketball Championships are upon us, and NAR President Bill Brown has caught bracket fever. Think you’ve got the prognostication chops to top NAR’s President? Then head to the links below to make your picks, for both the Men’s and Women’s 2017 NCAA Tournament Brackets. Men’s Tournament Challenge – http://bit.ly/2nhAs5o Women’s Tournament Challenge – http://bit.ly/2mlrct5 To enter… Continue Reading Beat Bill Brown’s Brackets
Economic activity continued on an upward trend in the last quarter of 2016, but at a slower pace, as the first estimate of real gross domestic product (GDP) from the Bureau of Economic Analysis documented. Preliminary figures indicated that GDP rose at an annual rate of 1.9 percent, on par with the average 1.9 percent… Continue Reading Retail Rent Growth Enters 2017 on Upward Swing
Last Wednesday, REALTOR® Magazine announced the 50 finalists vying for a seat in the 30 Under 30 class of 2017. Now, this Friday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day!), you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about these young entrepreneurs in profiles that will be published at noon Central Time on REALTOR® Magazine Online. This group of… Continue Reading Meet the 2017 30 Under 30 Finalists & Vote