Sustainability is trending, especially among young buyers, and an aesthetically pleasing rain barrel offers cost savings and curb appeal.

Outfitting a house with a rain barrel does more than collect and conserve rainwater: It saves money, too. Well-placed rain barrels help cut utility costs by collecting free water for gardening, lawn watering or even washing the car. And homeowners are taking note.

“There has absolutely been an increase in the popularity of rain barrels in the last decade,” says Francesca Corra, a Los Angeles–based landscape designer(link is external). She says that drought and mandatory water restrictions have highlighted the need for water conservation in California.

A rain barrel might sound like a breeding ground for mosquitoes or a potential eyesore, but it’s surprisingly easy to maintain and to camouflage these cost-cutting green home features. Here’s what to know if your clients want to add a rain barrel or spruce up an existing rain barrel before a home resale.

Benefits of Rain Barrels

Interest in rain barrels is rising, but as with many green concepts, the learning curve is still vast. Real estate professionals have a unique advantage in educating clients who don’t know much about this affordable water conservation solution.

After all, says Corra, homeowners were once concerned that solar panels could detract from a home’s appeal. Now? Fifty-two percent(link is external) of American homeowners have already installed, or given serious thought to installing, solar panels.

Rain Barrels Conserve Water

“One of the most important things everyone should be looking at right now is ways to retain any rainwater that falls on our properties and not send it out into the street. Is one rain barrel the solution to our drought problem? No, it is not. However, it does help,” Corra says.

“I have easily saved at least 500 gallons of water so far this spring and summer,” says Laura Peet, a homeowner and gardener with two 50-gallon rain barrels on either side of her Charlottesville, Virginia, home. Though Virginia is far less prone to droughts than are desert regions in California or Arizona, Peet says the clay soil tends to dry out quickly.

Rain Barrels Keep Landscaping Lush

“Whatever amount [the rain barrel] keeps from going out into the street is water saved for the plants in the garden,” says Corra. “Trees, especially, will always need more water, and they are in danger right now as more and more people are turning off their irrigation.”

Peet uses rain barrel water to keep her raised vegetable gardens lush. Tracey Zeeck, a communications director(link is external) and homeowner outside Oklahoma City, also enjoys using her rain barrel as an accessible, above-ground water source for gardening.

“I think it’s fun to capture it and use it when you want to—free water!” Zeeck says, adding that her husband thinks the plants thrive more when watered with harvested rain versus chlorinated city water.

Rain Barrels Attract Eco-Conscious Buyers

There’s no denying that more and more clients care about going green.

Fifty-one percent of real estate professionals say their buyer clients are interested in sustainability, according to National Association of REALTORS® data. Twelve percent of homeowners cite green home features as a reason for purchasing their current home, and 10% consider “landscaping for energy conservation” to be “very important.”

Rain barrels can play a small but important role in sustainability and water conservation. Saving rainwater “creates an awareness that we are doing something to help our environment,” says Corra.

How to Prevent Problems With Rain Barrels

Conserving water is excellent, but homeowners also need to keep their rain barrels from becoming problematic. Breeding insects can quickly destroy the tranquility of a yard.

Here’s what experienced rain barrel owners suggest for maintenance.

• Drain water regularly. A rain barrel isn’t meant to hold water indefinitely, says Corra. “Identify areas with the most need—i.e., trees, vegetable gardens, potted plants—and let the water out within a few days of the rain,” she adds.
• Install a mesh screen on top. If a rain barrel does not arrive fitted with a fine mesh at the entry point, installing a screen or fine netting is vital to keep debris and mosquitoes out of the water.
• Carefully consider position and elevation. “During a strong storm, the barrels will overflow, and you don’t want a steady stream of water to run against the house,” Peet says. “I have them nestled in gravel to keep any water flow away from the house.”

Conservation Chic: Can Rain Barrels Boost Curb Appeal?

There’s no reason to be concerned about rain barrels ruining the look of a home, according to Peet and Zeeck. And when they’re carefully selected to match the architectural style or disappear into the landscaping, these reservoirs of free water might actually boost curb appeal.

“Water barrels come in many shapes and sizes,” says Peet. “The ones I’ve purchased look like bourbon barrels, and I think they add a nice charm to my Craftsman-style home.”

With an increase in demand comes an increase in options, so homeowners are likely to find a rain barrel that fits the aesthetic of their home. It might also act as a conversation starter among like-minded potential buyers. After all, anyone who buys that home can now clearly signal a commitment to green living—and a lower water bill to prove it.

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

The third quarter may have marked the end of price surges as higher mortgage rates put a damper on projections for property appreciation. Read more from NAR’s latest report.

Home prices continued to climb in the third quarter of this year, but the upward trend may finally be coming to an end, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest quarterly report. Higher mortgage rates are starting to weigh on home price growth, though practically every major metro saw home prices rise in the third quarter. Forty-six percent of the 185 markets that NAR tracks even registered double-digit increases.

The national median price for a single-family existing home was $398,000 in the third quarter, an 8.6% jump from a year earlier. That’s a slower pace than in the second quarter, when the median price was 14.2% higher year over year. More easing is expected over the next few months, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Much lower buyer capacity has slowed home price growth, and the trend will continue until mortgage rates stop rising,” he says. “The median income needed to buy a typical home has risen to $88,300. That’s almost $40,000 more than it was prior to the start of the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home with a 20% down payment swelled to $1,840 in the third quarter, up 50% year over year. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is currently above 7%—double what it was a year ago—prompting house hunters to revisit what they can afford. The typical family now needs a qualifying income of at least $100,000 to afford a 10% down payment on a mortgage in 59 markets, up from 53 markets in the second quarter. Further, a family with a qualifying income of less than $50,000 can afford a home in just 17 of the markets NAR tracks, down from 23 in the previous quarter.

First-time home buyers are struggling with these dynamics. A typical starter home worth about $338,700 would have a monthly mortgage payment of $1,808 with a 10% down payment, an increase of nearly $600 compared to a year ago. First-time buyers typically spend nearly 38% of their income on mortgage payments; most financial experts consider households financially burdened when they spend more than 25% of their income on housing.

Where Prices Are Rising the Most

Some of the priciest markets in the country, like the San Jose and San Francisco areas in California—with a median home price of $1.7 million and $1.3 million, respectively—could see some cooling in the months ahead. “The more expensive markets on the West Coast will likely experience some price declines following this rapid price appreciation, which is the result of many years of limited homebuilding,” Yun says. “The Midwest, with relatively affordable home prices, will likely continue to see price gains as incomes and rents both rise.”

The South not only saw the highest share of sales of existing single-family homes in the third quarter but also the highest year-over-year appreciation in the country, NAR’s report shows. Prices jumped 11.9% in the region, followed by an 8.2% increase in the Northeast, 7.4% in the West and 6.6% in the Midwest.

The following 10 metros posted the largest year-over-year price increases in the country in the third quarter:

• North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.: 23.8%
• Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.: 21.2%
• Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.-N.C.: 21.1%
• Panama City, Fla.: 20.5%
• Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla.: 19.6%
• Port St. Lucie, Fla.: 19.4%
• Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, S.C.: 18.9%
• Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.: 18.8%
• Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.: 18.8%
• Ocala, Fla.: 18.8%

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

How real estate pros can support greater diversity within brokerages and associations.

Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Marki Lemons-Ryhal was considered “Black royalty.” Her family owned the city’s second-oldest Black-owned restaurant, and her grandfather was an inductee into the Barbecue Hall of Fame. Despite Chicago’s well-documented segregation, Lemons-Ryhal, a broker, author and real estate speaker, says her early experience was that her status within the Black community offered her safety.

It wasn’t until her study abroad experience in Reykjavik, Iceland, that Lemons-Ryhal recognized the importance of diversity. “My Icelandic family loved me as if they birthed me,” she recalls. “Living in Iceland changed my heart. It showed me how to feel unconditional love for a person outside their color.” At a session Saturday during NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience(link is external) in Orlando, Fla., Lemons-Ryhal shared insights on how real estate leaders can be more intentional and inclusive in their business.

1. Ask explicitly for help and money. During national unrest following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Lemons-Ryhal posted an emotional plea(link is external) for funds that would benefit The 77(link is external), which is the Chicago Association of REALTORS®’ Diversity Committee. The post went viral, garnering more than 50,000 views and $88,000 in donations. Lemons-Ryhal noted that the post was out of character for her, but she also knew that “closed mouths don’t get fed.” She recognized that she was in a unique position to use her platform and ask for what her community needed.
2. Coordinate with someone who can do the work. It’s equally important to know when you aren’t the best person for the job, Lemons-Ryhal said. For example, if you don’t speak Spanish, you may not be the right person to represent your brokerage when engaging the Hispanic community. “Become the coordinator,” she recommended. “Invite a bilingual lender and REALTOR® to speak on the changes in the industry.” It’s a win-win, Lemons-Ryhal said, to show that you’re an inclusive organization that values all voices while also building referrals to the fastest-growing market of home buyers in the country.
3. Offer accessible experiences. When her brokerage offered a private screening of “Punch 9 for Harold Washington(link is external),” a film about the first Black mayor of Chicago, Lemons-Ryhal noted that her company rented separate theaters near their two offices. “It was the same experience in two different locations. By giving everyone the same experience, we made sure no one was missing out,” she said.
4. Consider diversity outside of race. Lemons-Ryhal noted that while most continue to think of diversity in terms of race, it’s equally important to consider people with disabilities, those who are from different cultures and religions, and those who identify as LGBTQ, among others. You may need to learn and use new terms. (Lemons-Ryhal said she recently called her niece to ask what it meant to be “poly-pan,” a term she first heard from her barber.) To be truly inclusive, “we need to be OK with everything,” she said.
5. Ask about institutional support. One audience member at the session shared that she joined her association’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee, but efforts fizzled out after a few meetings. She asked Lemons-Ryhal for advice on how to proceed. “Go to leadership,” Lemons-Ryhal responded. “You want to know what is the strategic plan of the association and if they are going to support that effort.” She also advised that DEI committees survey members about what is important to them or what is missing from the association’s output. This ensures that the goals are framed around member input rather than assumptions or anecdotes.

Being inclusive is good for business, Lemons-Ryhal said, as it can help identify new leaders with fresh perspectives and help REALTORS® do a better job of servicing their clients. But it will also benefit each person who becomes comfortable with being uncomfortable. “When we become more intentional about bridging all walks of life, we learn what we don’t know. I’m sad for those who only hang out with people who look like them,” she said.

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

This foolproof method for crafting storytelling videos can build deeper connections with your clients or prospects.

You undoubtedly know the power of video marketing, considering that YouTube is the number two search engine. But maybe you don’t feel comfortable in front of the camera, so you’ve avoided trying your hand at creating videos. The purpose of video is to connect with clients more personally and enable them to get a better glimpse of who you are, Robert Kennedy III, a national speaker with Kennetik Kommunications, told attendees Sunday at a session during NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience(link is external) in Orlando, Fla. Kennedy said a simple storytelling approach can help calm your fears around what to say and how to structure your videos.

First, find a topic that will speak to your audience. Kennedy suggested using Google Trends(link is external) to find the most popular searches online and answerthepublic.com(link is external) to identify popular questions being asked online. You also can visit YouTube for video ideas. “Get the questions they’re asking, and then use storytelling as a framework or formula so you’re not just showing yourself as an expert—but as their expert,” Kennedy says. Videos can be as short as 60 seconds or less, and you can post them on numerous platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels or Amazon Live.

Kennedy offered the following formula to move audiences to action:

• Have a hook. The hook should leverage the audience’s emotion, such as by stating something shocking or asking an unusual question. Kennedy offered an example: “Now is the absolute worst time in history to buy commercial property. Here’s what you should do instead …” or, “If you want to grab the absolute lowest interest rates, now is the time to buy. Here’s how I know …”
• Add context. Show that you understand your audience’s challenges, and be relatable.
• Address the conflict. This is the drama and the catalyst of the action you want your audience to take. For example: “Because of this, you should/need to…”
• Have a conclusion. This part of the video should include a call to action, like inviting viewers to a seminar, clicking on a link, downloading a report or visiting a website. Offer a specific step you want your audience to take. “Every video should have a call to action,” Kennedy said. “Your words are less about information, more about transformation” and getting them to do something.

Kennedy also emphasized that your videos ultimately should not be about you but rather the customer or prospect and the challenges they face. “Help them solve those problems,” Kennedy said. “And use video to help them figure out if you’re the one with the personality that will connect with them and help them.”

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

A fourth of Americans are living in multigenerational households, but current housing stock needs to adapt to the population’s changing needs.

Multigenerational housing has become commonplace, and many Americans even show a preference for it, experts said at the Urban Land Institute’s 2022 Fall Meeting in October. In fact, a quarter of Americans in 2021 lived in a multigenerational household, according to a study(link is external) from think tank Generations United. (A multigenerational household is defined as members of three or more generations living under one roof.) This means the market for multigenerational homes is a large and expanding source of business for real estate professionals.

The reasons vary for why people choose to live with multiple generations of their family, said Helen Foster, principal of real estate development firm Foster Strategy. Economic factors and cultural background are main drivers, and the number of multigenerational households is rising with uncertainty in the economy. “As rent pressures continue to increase, we’ll see more of this type of living situation,” Foster said.

Conceptually, communities could be restructured to foster multigenerational living as an answer to the home affordability crisis, said Daniel Parolek, author of Missing Middle Housing: Thinking Big and Building Small to Respond to Today’s Housing Crisis. However, he added, multigenerational housing needs to meet three standards in order to truly meet the needs of the population: accessibility, adaptability and affordability. 

Standard One: Supporting Accessibility

Supporting multigenerational infrastructure means creating communities “where ages 8 through 80 can thrive,” said Michael Spotts, a research fellow at ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Housing. Accessory dwelling units, senior living spaces and adaptable single-family homes need to be available in order for a multigenerational community to work, said Rodney Harrell, vice president of family, home and community at AARP. Right now, the missing link is a focus on the elders’ needs. “By 2034, for the first time in U.S. history, we’ll have more people over 65 than under 18,” Harrell said. “What that means is that every community across the country will have people of all ages, and we haven’t had to wrestle with that before.”

Up until this point, community planners and developers have focused on meeting the needs of younger families without much thought regarding an aging population. This, says Parolek, is where master planned communities need to change. Part of that change requires bringing back housing typologies like duplexes, accessory dwellings and cottage courts.

But accessibility isn’t just about the types of housing available. Mobility is another important factor, said Spotts. Communities need to take into account how various age groups get around. “Some people will need to drive; some will want walkability,” he said. “We must build to suit both.”

Developers also need to think about how transportation affects the people who live in these communities. Spotts used the example of his own neighborhood, which he said is very “automobile-centric.” He said he doesn’t necessarily feel like his child is safe out riding a bike or crossing the street because of traffic. Fully functional multigenerational communities must include public transportation to consolidate traffic, but it shouldn’t be overcomplicated. “Buses work,” Spotts said. “They are adaptable and accessible.”

Location matters as well when planning out multigenerational communities. How close a community is to a downtown core will change the housing typology, Parolek said. “One size does not fit all. Location and context matter. Is public transit or Uber accessible? Parking might drive design. The closer you get to a downtown core, the smaller the space. Is mixed-use necessary?” Demographics, socioeconomics and location should all drive the specifics when designing a community catered to multigenerational living.

Standard Two: More Adaptable Spaces

Multigenerational communities must adapt over time as residents change. Kids grow up and move out. Some of them return home. Older generations pass on. Housing structures need to adapt to meet the need. Parolek used an example of a more versatile single-family home: “The main dwelling houses the core family unit. Then, there’s a wing for the grandparents and a third unit over the garage for boomerang kids or to rent out. The space includes a shared courtyard. So, in this single space, there are three distinct units that function as one unit or close off for privacy.”

Likewise, Parolek said there’s much value in a community that utilizes multiple adaptable housing typologies together. Cottage courts provide each generation with an individual cottage and shared community space, usually a courtyard or patio. Duplexes provide proximity without limiting privacy. Live-work spaces improve accessibility and proximity.

Adaptability isn’t reserved for living spaces, though. Neighborhood design and accessibility to grocery stores, offices and shopping is important, too. One of the big questions that remains in creating a truly working multigenerational community is how office, retail and warehouse spaces can become adaptable to accommodate shifting needs as the community ages.

Standard Three: Addressing Affordability

Multigenerational communities need child care workers, home health aides, housekeepers and grocery store workers to meet the needs of households. But these are lower-paying jobs that often can’t fully support workers. Spotts said recent ULI research(link is external) found that child care providers and home health aides “couldn’t afford to rent a one-bedroom apartment on the median wage anywhere in the country.”

Seniors find themselves facing affordability issues as well, Harrell said, adding that “as of 2019, 10 million adults ages 65 and older were housing cost–burdened.” Communities need to bring back the missing housing types, but it won’t be enough, Parolek said, adding that “zoning barriers [are] the biggest thing that needs to change to make missing typologies a possibility.” Builders and developers need incentives to construct affordable units that works for them and for the end user. Technology needs to expand outside the home and into the community itself, and infrastructure needs to be built in a way that allows for adaptation over time—which reduces costs, the experts said. A concerted, multi-solution approach is necessary to make affordability a reality and, thus, multigenerational living a viable option.

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©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

The third quarter may have marked the end of price surges as higher mortgage rates put a damper on projections for property appreciation. Read more from NAR’s latest report.

Home prices continued to climb in the third quarter of this year, but the upward trend may finally be coming to an end, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest quarterly report. Higher mortgage rates are starting to weigh on home price growth, though practically every major metro saw home prices rise in the third quarter. Forty-six percent of the 185 markets that NAR tracks even registered double-digit increases.

The national median price for a single-family existing home was $398,000 in the third quarter, an 8.6% jump from a year earlier. That’s a slower pace than in the second quarter, when the median price was 14.2% higher year over year. More easing is expected over the next few months, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Much lower buyer capacity has slowed home price growth, and the trend will continue until mortgage rates stop rising,” he says. “The median income needed to buy a typical home has risen to $88,300. That’s almost $40,000 more than it was prior to the start of the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home with a 20% down payment swelled to $1,840 in the third quarter, up 50% year over year. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is currently above 7%—double what it was a year ago—prompting house hunters to revisit what they can afford. The typical family now needs a qualifying income of at least $100,000 to afford a 10% down payment on a mortgage in 59 markets, up from 53 markets in the second quarter. Further, a family with a qualifying income of less than $50,000 can afford a home in just 17 of the markets NAR tracks, down from 23 in the previous quarter.

First-time home buyers are struggling with these dynamics. A typical starter home worth about $338,700 would have a monthly mortgage payment of $1,808 with a 10% down payment, an increase of nearly $600 compared to a year ago. First-time buyers typically spend nearly 38% of their income on mortgage payments; most financial experts consider households financially burdened when they spend more than 25% of their income on housing.

Where Prices Are Rising the Most

Some of the priciest markets in the country, like the San Jose and San Francisco areas in California—with a median home price of $1.7 million and $1.3 million, respectively—could see some cooling in the months ahead. “The more expensive markets on the West Coast will likely experience some price declines following this rapid price appreciation, which is the result of many years of limited homebuilding,” Yun says. “The Midwest, with relatively affordable home prices, will likely continue to see price gains as incomes and rents both rise.”

The South not only saw the highest share of sales of existing single-family homes in the third quarter but also the highest year-over-year appreciation in the country, NAR’s report shows. Prices jumped 11.9% in the region, followed by an 8.2% increase in the Northeast, 7.4% in the West and 6.6% in the Midwest.

The following 10 metros posted the largest year-over-year price increases in the country in the third quarter:

• North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.: 23.8%
• Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.: 21.2%
• Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.-N.C.: 21.1%
• Panama City, Fla.: 20.5%
• Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla.: 19.6%
• Port St. Lucie, Fla.: 19.4%
• Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, S.C.: 18.9%
• Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.: 18.8%
• Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.: 18.8%
• Ocala, Fla.: 18.8%

©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission