By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine CES 2017 – the annual international consumer electronics tradeshow — kicks off this week in Las Vegas. In this year’s show, home product debuts are taking up even more of the spotlight with smart home technology and household robots taking center stage. Here are a few of the product… Continue Reading Best of CES 2017 for the Home
Thanks for reading the first Five for Wednesday of 2017! Some think smartphones have become a bit, well, boring. But 2017′s crop of smartphones might get us excited again if they deliver on these features. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that Wired magazine is wrong, but here’s their list of the biggest security threats we… Continue Reading New Smartphone Features for 2017 and More in Five for Wednesday
The following status update on mortgage debt cancellation relief, an important federal tax issue for homeowners, is written by Jon Boughtin of NAR Media. The 114th Congress recessed in early December without completing work on a so-called “tax extenders” package needed to continue important tax breaks for real estate. This included tax relief for the… Continue Reading Important Tax Provisions Still Available for 2016 Tax Year
Smart home technology has become increasingly popular with homeowners since the advent of the smartphone. In fact, according to the National Association of REALTOR®‘s 2016 Smart Homes and REALTORS® report, REALTORS® expect this trend to grow and continue with 42 percent of agents claiming interest in being smart home certified, despite only 15 percent of… Continue Reading Smart Home Products You Haven’t Heard of Yet
Field Guides are one-stop resource packages on dozens of subjects of interest to REALTORS®. On each page you’ll find links to articles, books, web sites, statistics, and other material on each subject. The list of the most-used field guides from Information Central for the month of December 2016 was released today: Field Guide to Quick Real… Continue Reading Top Field Guides for December 2016
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine Beige is pushing out gray as the hottest neutral color tone in homes heading into 2017, according to several color forecasters. Beige had once been cast aside in home design as too boring. But the beiges gaining popularity again and some of the newest shades are far from boring,… Continue Reading Beige Is Back: And There’s No Blah About It
New Year, birds, aging, commercial RE, housing solutions, and travel. New Year = new goals. Take these tips to achieve your goals this year! Maybe this will be the year to simplify things. Netflix has a solution for you if you have young kids who don’t want to miss out on the NYE celebrations, but… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: December 26-30
It’s hard to believe 2016 is coming to an end. Three things rose over the past year: mortgage rates, existing-home sales and home prices. What’s in store for 2017? Watch my discussion from earlier this week with NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun: Powered by WPeMatico
WASHINGTON (December 28, 2016) — Pending home sales dipped in November to their lowest level in nearly a year as the brisk upswing in mortgage rates and not enough inventory dispirited some would-be buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors. Only the Northeast saw monthly and annual pending sales gains last month. The Pending… Continue Reading Pending Home Sales Backpedal in November
WASHINGTON (December 28, 2016) – After 36 years of service, National Association of Realtors® CEO Dale Stinton will retire from the association in 2017. Chicago-based executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles has been retained to find Stinton’s replacement. Stinton took over as CEO in November 2005. Previously, he served as chief financial officer and chief… Continue Reading NAR CEO Dale Stinton to Retire, Search Firm Retained