History, dirt, duality, home improvement, architecture, 2020 Olympics, fidget spinners, housing, and rankings. This is an interesting long read about the heavily cloaked development of the iPhone. Who could use this when showing their listings? With this house, you don’t have to choose between the US and Canada! Chris Connelly/flickr/2011 Summer is an opportune time… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: June 12-16
Realtors® know first-hand that real estate closings are a complex process that’s often slow and confusing for their clients. Consumers want simplicity and transparency, and Realtors® say electronic closings have the potential to deliver on that demand, but widespread acceptance of so-called “e-closings” has yet to take hold. National Association of Realtors® 2017 President-Elect Elizabeth… Continue Reading Electronic Closings a “Business Imperative,” but Hurdles Remain Before They’re Widespread
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to this morning’s U.S. Commerce Department report on the dip in residential construction in May: “Housing shortages look to intensify and may well turn into a housing emergency if the discrepancy between housing demand and housing supply widens further. The falling housing starts and housing permits… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: May Housing Starts
Commercial market fundamentals marched to a steadier beat during 2016 compared with the investment environment. Demand for properties remained solid throughout the year, leading to declining vacancies and rising rents. There were, however, variations in each property sector. As professional and business services contributed the highest number of net new jobs in 2016, office-using industries… Continue Reading Net Operating Income Accelerates in REALTORS®’ Commercial Markets
Despite reports of a rise in non-QM lending, participants in NAR’s 1st quarter Survey of Mortgage Originators indicated that the non-QM share of the market was anemic. While the non-QM market shrank the share of loans that fall under the “rebuttable presumption” rose modestly. As originators retool in the wake of a declining refinance market,… Continue Reading Reach of New Risky Loans Still Modest
Commercial real estate investment trends mirrored the global economic slowdown and broader uncertainty in 2016. Sales of global large capitalization (cap) transactions—over $2.5M—declined 15 percent year-over-year, with volume totaling $826 billion, based on data from Real Capital Analytics (RCA). Investors took a pause from the strong pace of investments recorded in 2015, ascertaining the impact… Continue Reading Smaller Banks Are Main Lending Providers in REALTORS®’ Commercial Markets
Powered by IBM’s natural language technology, a new earpiece (available now!) is said to be able to translate between seven languages within three to five seconds. It’s hard to think that the real estate industry couldn’t benefit tremendously from technology like this. Hashtag WhatTookThemSoLong: A new mousepad from Logitech will wirelessly charge a computer mouse.… Continue Reading Language-Translating Earpieces, Wireless-Charging Mouse Pads, and More in Five for Wednesday
Below is the following statement from NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun on the Federal Reserve’s decision today to hike short-term interest rates: “The latest rate hike is partly justified from ongoing economic expansion and also a steadily falling unemployment rate. However, the Federal Reserve should be mindful of the lower than expected rate of inflation… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: Lawrence Yun on Today’s FOMC Statement
In the monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey, the National Association of REALTORS® asks members, “What are your expectations for the housing market over the next six months compared to the current state of the market in the neighborhood(s) or area(s) where you make most of your sales?” With spring and summer rolling in, REALTORS® expect… Continue Reading REALTORS® Expect “Strong” Market Conditions in the Next Six Months
A couple of weeks after the release of the Housing Price Index for the first quarter of 2017, we updated the median home price per county[1]. Applying the price change in the related metropolitan areas to every county, it seems that, compared to a year earlier, home prices continue to rise in 98 percent of… Continue Reading County Median Home Price: First Quarter 2017