SCR News Feed

The REALTORS® Confidence Index (RCI)[1] survey gathers monthly information from REALTORS® about local real estate market conditions, characteristics of buyers and sellers, and issues affecting homeownership and real estate transactions.[2] This report presents key results about market transactions from March 2019. View and download the full report here. Market Conditions and Expectations The REALTORS® Buyer… Continue Reading REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey: March 2019 Highlights

 The origins of Loch Ness, wi-fi, Pickleball, gorilla selfies, and much more, compiled by Anne-Marie Siudzinski, Senior Library Information Specialist. An airport with a garden AND a waterfall. Does “Wi-Fi” actually stand for anything?  Nope. Beautiful fire poppies. What the heck is pickleball? Ron B/flickr/2017 Gorilla selfies.  They sure have a lot of attitude. Dinosaurs… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: April 22-26

If you’ve been following the news you might have heard that FHA is putting up hurdles for higher-risk borrowers to get their home loan application approved. The Federal Housing Administration on March 14 said applicants with a credit score of 620 or lower or debt-to-income ratio of 43 percent would get their loan application reviewed… Continue Reading 43% Debt-to-Income? FHA Imposing Hurdles

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