The retirement boom is on for baby boomers so expect a lot of downsizing in the years ahead as older homeowners replace their suburban house with a condo. Now, how do you respond if you have clients who want to use a reverse mortgage to buy their new place? It’s not your job to be… Continue Reading Should Your Older Clients Buy a House Without Having to Make Monthly Payments?
WASHINGTON (February 1, 2017) — Existing-home sales increased 3.8 percent to a 10-year high in 20161, but affordability pressures, student debt and possible confusion about down payment requirements prevented many aspiring homeowners from reaching the market, according to recent consumer insight from the National Association of Realtors®. NAR's Aspiring Home Buyer Profile analyzed 2016 quarterly… Continue Reading NAR Finds Real and Imaginary Barriers Holding Back Prospective Homebuyers
Can a groundhog and his shadow predict the strength of the housing market? Here is what happened the past 20 years in real estate when Punxsutawney Phil climbed out of his hole; does seeing his shadow extend to real estate? You decide. *Averages based on YoY median sales price and median existing home sales increases… Continue Reading Infographic: Groundhog Day and Real Estate
It wasn’t so long ago that I was a teenager spending free time socializing with my friends at our local, bustling mall. Our mall was shaped like a wagon wheel with an anchor department store at the end of each spoke, and kiosks and a carousel in the hub. We would browse store by store,… Continue Reading Death of Malls
NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that December’s pending home sales made a comeback and are up 1.6 percent from last month and also up 0.3 percent from a year ago. Pending sales are homes that have a signed contract to purchase on them but have yet to close. They tend… Continue Reading December Pending Home Sales
It’s an oldie but a goodie, tip-wise: If you use ctrl+F (or command + F on Macs) to find specific words on a webpage, there’s a simple technique for doing the same thing on your mobile device. Facebook now supports USB security keys. Lots of information here if you want to make sure your Facebook… Continue Reading One Search Tip and Several Security Warnings, This Week in Five for Wednesday
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 January 2017 was released today: Field Guide to Quick Real… Continue Reading Top Field Guides for January 2017
Lee Davenport By Lee Davenport What were your sales goals last year?I… I didn’t have any. Were you happy with your sales results?No, I wanted to sell more! What are your sales goals this year?I… I don’t have any. How are you going to have a better sales year?I’m so frustrated because I just don’t… Continue Reading Get Off the Hamster Wheel
With 2017 underway there is still time for homeowners to commit to making this year their home’s most productive year yet! Here are few ideas for quick and easy home improvement projects from the National Association of REALTORS®. Powered by WPeMatico
On January 10th, the FHA lowered its annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by 25 basis points. That decision was put on hold pending a review on January 21st. This alteration to the FHA’s fee structure was unique as it made many borrowers in the current pipeline eligible for the fee reduction. NAR Research surveyed a… Continue Reading FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium Flash Survey