Jan 04
This May Be It for the Luxury Rental Boom A seven-year boom in the high-end apartment sector may be nearing an end. Landlords of luxury rental properties likely will need to cut rents and offer concessions as supply starts to outstrip demand across the country, The Wall Street Journal reports. Landlords reportedly in …
Jan 03
5 Home Design Fads That Are Out in 2017 Shiplap and white-on-white kitchens may finally be falling out of favor. The two trends have dominated home design in recent years, but realtor.com® says they’ll be fading fast in 2017. Here are some of the home design trends realtor.com® predicts will fall to the wayside in …
Dec 30
Happy new years to all my friends, family and followers. Hopefully 2016 was a great year for you, and may 2017 be even better.
Dec 29
10 States With Best Economic Prospects North Dakota tops a list of states poised to have the healthiest economies in 2017, followed by Oklahoma and Texas. The list was compiled by business solutions site ExpertMarket.com, which culled data on housing, employment, and other trends in all 50 states. North Dakota had the highest growth …
Dec 28
‘Twas a Good Month for New-Home Sales Sales of newly constructed homes posted a strong increase in November, as the sector gained momentum at the end of the year. New single-family home sales increased 5.2 percent month-over-month in November and reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000 units, the Commerce Department reports. “New-home sales …
Dec 23
Older Kids Are Refusing to Flee the Nest Nearly 40 percent of young Americans lived under the same roof with their parents or relatives in 2015. That is the largest percentage since 1940, Census data shows. The share of young Americans ages 18 to 34 who are living with their parents or other family members …
Dec 22
Why Aren’t Home Builders Building? Home-builder confidence is at its highest level in years. But home building dropped 19 percent in the most recent month. These decreases come at a time when inventory levels are already severely constrained and many in the industry are calling for more new construction to alleviate shortages.With supply short and …
Dec 21
Open House Mistakes to Watch in the Winter If you live in a colder weather climate, holding open houses in the winter can pose plenty of challenges. Make sure your open house is warm and inviting, regardless of the colder temps or snow outside. Here are a few common mistakes at winter open …
Dec 20
Is There an Eviction Crisis Brewing? An estimated 2.7 million people were evicted from rental units in 2015. And one real estate brokerage says it may partially be the high costs of real estate to blame. Redfin’s research team scoured eviction data and they believe that higher costs are fostering an environment of greater evictions. …
Dec 19
HAMP to Be Replaced with ‘Flex Modification’ Mortgage financing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced a new foreclosure prevention program that will roll out next year to replace the Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP), which expires at the end of this month. The new program will be called “Flex Modification.” It reportedly will …
Dec 16
Easy Ways to Enhance the Home’s Entryway The entrance to the home is where buyers often form some of their first impressions of the interior of the home. However, too often, “the entryway gets neglected because it isn’t necessary in the same way that a living room sofa is,” Larina Kase, an …
Dec 15
Lessons the Chicago Cubs Can Teach Investors The Chicago Cubs’ 108-year journey to its World Series championship this year provides some lessons about strategic investment strategies that can be applied to the real estate industry, says David Scherer, cofounder of Chicago-based private equity firm Origin Investments. Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations for the …
