In a decision that has the potential to change the landscape on marketing service agreements between a real estate brokerage and settlement service providers, the DC Court of Appeals ruled today that payments for bona fide services provided and made at fair market value do not violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. NAR President Tom… Continue Reading Salomone: PHH Decision Offers “Much-Needed Clarity”
Nico Hohman By Nico Hohman The fourth quarter of 2016 just started, and in my world that means getting ready for a great 2017. To do that, there is one business activity that I need to practice more than any other if I want to succeed in real estate: prospecting. Last year, I wrote a… Continue Reading 7 Ways to Improve Your Prospecting for 2017
When considering a remodeling project, most homeowners think of renovating their kitchen or redoing a bathroom, but maybe they should be looking to the outdoors for an upgrade. According to research by the National Association of REALTORS® outdoor remodeling projects not only add value to a house on resale, they also increase the amount of… Continue Reading Story Idea: Deciding which outdoor remodeling project should you take on
By Patti Stern, PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating Thinking about remodeling but not sure it will pay off when it comes time to sell? According to Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report, most room remodels and additions may only recoup up to 80 percent of the cost. And since time and money is… Continue Reading How to Reinvent a Room to Attract Buyers
Existing home sales dropped 0.9 percent in August from one month prior while new home sales slipped 7.6 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… Continue Reading Raw Count of Home Sales (August 2016)
Baseball, privacy, nature, safety, bees, coffee, TV, home buying, and bathrooms. The Chicago Cubs are having a record season — how did Theo Epstein put this team together? Let’s hope the Cubs can put this mess behind them! No one deserves an ordeal like this, but can oversharing information on social media make you a… Continue Reading What We’re Reading: October 3-7
The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to today’s September jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The latest jobs report shows a softening monthly trend with 156,000 net new jobs in September. Nonetheless, the year-over-year gains have been fairly steady, now showing 2.45 million new jobs over the past 12 months. The… Continue Reading Instant Reaction: September Jobs Report
The following Field Guides have recently been updated in the Library: Cell Phone Towers Cell phone towers may bring extra tax revenue, greater reception, and security to a city or town. Despite these benefits, many remain skeptical of towers due to potential health risks, environmental aesthetics, and the impact on property values.. Home Owners Association… Continue Reading New and Updated in the Library – October 2016
If the American League and National League’s wild card games are any indication, there’s no doubt we’re in for an unpredictable Major League Baseball postseason. Just as you would never consider buying or selling a home without a Realtor®, a baseball manager would never not put in his best relief pitcher – one that hadn’t… Continue Reading Predicting the World Series Champion by Home-Price Movements
Every month NAR produces existing-home sales, median sales prices and inventory figures. The reporting of this data is always based on homes sold the previous month and the data is explained in comparison to the same month a year ago. We also provide a perspective of the market relative to last month, adjusting for seasonal… Continue Reading August 2016 Existing-Home Sales Over Ten Years