Mar 26
Chinese Buyers See Big Opportunity in U.S. More Chinese home buyers are shifting their focus, which traditionally has been on real estate in Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, and Australia, to snatching up property in the U.S., Yahoo! Finance reports. Chinese buyers were second to Canadians for the largest number of U.S. homes purchased last …
Mar 25
Use Specialized Scents to Entice Buyers Some condo developers are trying to lure buyers by creating customized scents that are aimed at creating positive impressions of a building. Borrowing from the hotel industry, real estate developers are creating memorable signature scents to sprinkle throughout their buildings, from the reception areas to the fitness center to …
Mar 24
Mortgage Rates Fall, But Rises Likely Next Week Freddie Mac says that the drop in mortgage rates this week may be temporary, due to the Fed’s recent announcement that it would begin winding down its bond-purchasing stimulus program sooner than originally thought. The Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday that interest rates could start to rise …
Mar 21
Investors Slowing Down on Buying Spree Big institutional investors are getting away from buying single-family rental homes in bulk and are narrowing their focus to only a few markets for future purchases, CoStar Group reports. The Blackstone Group, the largest institutional investor in the single-family rental market, announced that its acquisition pace has decreased …
Mar 20
More Homes Hit the Market in Time for Spring Inventories of homes for sale have increased 10 percent year-over-year, signaling growing seller optimism and a strong, early start to the spring home-buying season, according to realtor.com®’s latest National Housing Trend Report, which tracks 146 markets. The median list price edged up 76 percent higher …
Mar 19
Gain in Builder Sentiment for Spring Builder confidence in the single-family new-home market ticked up by only one point in March as builders remain concerned about several challenges in the sector, according to the latest reading on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. “The March HMI mirrors last month’s sentiment, …
Mar 18
Fallout to the Refinancing Bubble? Home owners who refinanced when fixed mortgage rates inched in record territory below 4 percent may be less likely to sell their homes as interest rates climb, according to a recent survey of 1,900 Americans by the Seattle-based real estate brokerage, Redfin. If so, tight inventories of homes for-sale may …
Mar 17
Renters Say They’re Eager to Buy en percent of U.S. renters say they want to buy a home in the next year, according to a new survey of renters in the 20 largest housing markets by Zillow. That means if all the renters buy a home in the next year that would amount to …
Mar 14
Despite Price Gains, Homes Still Undervalued Despite double-digit percentage increases in home prices, homes are still undervalued relative to incomes, according to CoreLogic. “Much of the recent house-price appreciation is a result of market correction for the significant undervaluation caused by the price declines in the late aughts,” CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming writes in …
Mar 13
Model Home for Your Tabletop If you sell new construction, you’re probably familiar with the CAD files used by builders to design the home, and you’ve probably experienced the frustration of helping home buyers imagine the look of the home from those files. If one company has its way, you may be able to …
Mar 12
Why Education Will Keep Housing Crisis at Bay Arming today’s youth with greater financial knowledge is the key to making sure there is no repeat of the housing and economic crisis, Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said at a meeting Monday of the President’s Advisory Council for Financial Capability for …
Mar 11
Automation Kills Social Media Campaigns Automating your social media strategy is a good way to save time, but it may not pay off in the long run, according to Melissa Leiter, an independent marketing consultant who specializes in social media strategy. “While I’m all about using social media automation the right way to get …
