Upscale Staging Is Key in Luxury Condos Looking to get your listing noticed on the higher end of the market? Condo developers in this segment say they lure affluent buyers with models that feature brand-name goods and high-end finishes. “You want customers to daydream a little bit. Everyone always buys what they see,” Alexander Hovnanian, …
Category: News
Oct 25
How Happy Is Your City?
How Happy Is Your City? How Happy Is Your City? Boulder, Colo., is the happiest city in the U.S., according to the National Geographic Gallup Special/Blue Zones Index. The city’s sense of community, access to nature, sustainable urban development, preservation policies, and its clean mountain air help make its residents feel upbeat, according to …
Oct 24
Battery-Powered Homes Are Becoming Reality
Battery-Powered Homes Are Becoming Reality Your clients may one day live in a battery-powered home, and that’s getting closer to reality for homeowners in New York, California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, and Arizona. Many municipalities in those states are revamping their electrical grids and turning to batteries to make them more efficient. But the average homeowner …
Oct 23
More Neighborhoods Fall Under HOA Guidance
More Neighborhoods Fall Under HOA Guidance Twenty-one percent of the nation’s population now resides in communities governed by an association, which includes planned communities, homeowners and condo associations, or housing cooperatives, according to the National and State Statistical Review for 2016 Community Association Data. The report was published by the Foundation for Community Association …
Oct 20
The Best Places to be a Landlord
The Best Places to be a Landlord Higher home prices and a tight supply of homes for sale may be the mantra nationwide. But certain markets are still offering lucrative options for investors. Real estate sales and auction company TenX released its top picks for investors and Texas had the most markets on its list, scoring …
Oct 19
These Lenders Dominate the Mortgage Market
These Lenders Dominate the Mortgage Market Quicken Loans is commanding the largest share of the mortgage market, according to 2016 data recently released by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. But Wells Fargo boasts the highest origination dollar volume at $126 billion in 2016, compared to Quicken Loans’ $90.6 billion. iEmergent, which compiled the data, …
Oct 18
Childless Buyers Buoy Condo Market
Childless Buyers Buoy Condo Market Home shoppers without children are a growing segment in the housing market, and they tend to desire smaller houses than previous generations. The fertility rate among women 15 to 44 years old is at its lowest level since the CDC began recording such rates 108 years ago. As more couples …
Oct 17
Top Amenities for Relocating Baby Boomers
Top Amenities for Relocating Baby Boomers Baby boomers say they want to move to a home that has a multicar garage and that’s near their grandchildren, according to the latest Del Webb Baby Boomer Survey, sponsored by national home builder PulteGroup Inc. The age at which baby boomers expect to retire is getting younger, down …
Oct 16
Sell Your Listing With the Right Music
Sell Your Listing With the Right Music A little music may be just what your listing needs. Some real estate professionals believe that soft music playing in the background can be just the subtle, emotional pull that welcomes buyers inside your open house or house tour. Tom Hignite, owner of Miracle Home Builders in Milwaukee, …
Oct 13
Buyers Aren’t Spooked by Haunted Houses
Buyers Aren’t Spooked by Haunted Houses With inventories so tight, many consumers say they’re even willing to live in a haunted house. Thirty-three percent of more than 1,000 consumers recently surveyed say they’re willing to live in a haunted house, and another 25 percent said they’d consider it, according to a newly released survey by …
Oct 12
As Rates Rise, Loan Demand Softens
As Rates Rise, Loan Demand Softens Mortgage applications dropped across the board last week as interest rates surged to their highest levels since July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Total application volume dropped 2.1 percent week-to-week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the MBA reported Wednesday. Most of the drop in applications came from …
Oct 11
Easy Maintenance Tips to Boost Value
Easy Maintenance Tips to Boost Value Simple maintenance projects and updates can increase a home’s value by roughly 1 percent each year, according to research from the University of Connecticut and Syracuse University. RE/MAX put together a list of four tips on where home buyers can focus their efforts to help maintain and increase the value …
