Jul 06
Do Ultra-Clean Homes Appraise Higher? Some home owners are beginning to see value in spick-and-span listings. But are appraisers on board? Jennifer Chateauvert of San Jose, Calif., insists that two weeks of deep cleaning is what helped her home appraise higher than she’d predicted. However, appraisers say—while they appreciate clean properties—this work won’t result in …
Jul 05
Downside to Buying in a Gated Community Homes in gated communities command a much higher price — nearly $30,000 on average — than other properties, according to a new study published by the American Real Estate Society. However, the added costs of upkeep for amenities may offset some of that premium. Home buyers are …
Jul 01
Home Ownership by Age 25? It’s Possible Despite being saddled with student debt and dealing with the repercussions of the 2008 financial crash, it’s still possible to become a home owner by age 25. In order to accomplish the goal of owning a home, 26-year-old Emily Brown decided early on that she wanted to …
Jun 30
Get Ready for a Baby Boomer Sell-Off Baby boomers and others aged 55 or older, comprising up to several million current home owners, say they plan to move to rental units in the next few years, according to Freddie Mac’s newly released 55+ Survey of housing plans and perceptions of those born before 1961. …
Jun 29
A Tiny Controversy Brews Over Tiny Homes The tiny home movement is gaining steam. These small housing options are being featured on TV shows touting the cost and environmental benefits, and more buyers are being swayed to go small. But now cities are sparring over which one has earned the title as tiny house …
Jun 28
Beware of These Home Inspection Red Flags A home inspection not only allows buyers to learn more about their home, it also helps them uncover any potential problems. Curbed.com recently featured a 14-point checklist to help home buyers during a home inspection. Here are a few items they suggest to investigate further during a …
Jun 27
Good Time to Lock in Mortgage Rates Borrowing costs stayed low for yet another week for home buyers and refinancers. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continues to hover near its lowest average in three years. “Mortgage rates have been slow to adjust to the 10-year Treasury yield, which has increased 12 basis points since last …
Jun 24
Top Housing Preferences Depend on Your Age What you want in a home largely depends on which generation you come from. Lesley Deutch, a principal at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, studied the top housing preferences by age and revealed insights that can help builders figure out what types of homes to build …
Jun 23
FAA Finalizes Rule for Commercial Drones Using a drone to capture listing photos and videos or inspect properties is about to become significantly easier now that the federal government has finalized its long-awaited regulations over the commercial use of unmanned aerial systems. The final rule issued Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration paves the …
Jun 22
Your Website’s Two Most Valuable Pages Do you know how to optimize your website for conversions? You don’t have to be an expert in conversion rate optimization to make a big difference in your website’s performance. It just comes down to applying a few basic principles to the two most valuable pages on your …
Jun 21
Where to Live by Personality Type Could your personality fit better in a different city? Realtor.com®’s research team used Myers & Briggs Foundation data (you know, the creators behind the Myers-Briggs popular personality test) to look at the most popular personality types in various American locales. Their research team took into account the …
Jun 20
Real estate pro Jessica Arnett wanted to attract more viewers to her listing in Spring, Texas, and she knew of one sure-fire way to do that: Wear a panda costume and take photos in the home in it for the listing ad. Her gimmick may have worked too. Arnett is selling a four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom …
