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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

Economic activity slowed in the first quarter of 2017, despite a milder-than-usual winter. Based on the second estimate of real gross domestic product (GDP) from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the United States economy rose at an annual rate of 1.2 percent. Payroll employment advanced in the first quarter of 2017, with a net… Continue Reading Apartment Supply Outpaces Demand in Q1.2017

At the national level, housing affordability is down from last month and down from a year ago. Mortgage rates increased to 4.11 percent this April, up compared to 3.89 percent a year ago. Housing affordability declined from a year ago in April moving the index down 6.0 percent from 166.1 to 156.2. The median sales… Continue Reading April 2017 Housing Affordability Index

Millennials locked out of their homeownership dreams by high debt-to-income ratios and student loan debt will soon have reason to take another look at purchasing, thanks to a number of policy changes at Fannie Mae. First, Fannie Mae recently announced that beginning July 29, they will accept borrowers with debt-to-income ratios, or DTI, as high… Continue Reading Fannie Mae Policy Changes to Aid Millennial Homebuyers

Existing-home sales dropped 2.3 percent in April from one month prior while new home sales decreased 11.4 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 (April 2017)

By Julea Joseph, guest contributor Make sure you show off the living room in your listings. Here are some simple lessons in staging your living room to give a great impression. Choose an on trend color palette that will appeal to buyers and showcase your home’s amenities. Tone on tone creates flow and space. A… Continue Reading Insider Tips on Staging a Living Room