Jan 27
Life for Closed Hospitals: Condos As hospitals across the country close down, developers are seeing unexpected new purpose for these now vacant spaces. Developers in New York City have increasingly reenvisioned shutdown hospitals as luxury condominiums – believing they can make “hospital buildings hospitable for full-time residents,” The New York Times reports. For example, …
Jan 26
Home Staging Evolves In the age of HGTV, real estate professionals say home staging is growing in importance and becoming more sophisticated, according to a recent article in The New York Times, which highlighted the value of home staging. “It always makes a difference, and is essential in this market,” says Richard Balzano, an …
Jan 25
6 Ways to Protect Your Home From Snow Just when it seemed like Old Man Winter would be a lamb instead of a lion this year, 73 million people across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are on high alert as a massive snowstorm bears down on them. Some areas are being threatened with more than two …
Jan 22
Topping Home Buyers’ Shopping Lists Home buyers are looking for storage, energy efficiency and outdoor space, according to the latest preference survey released by the National Association of Home Builders and Better Homes and Gardens during the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas this week. Some of the top new-home desires cited by …
Jan 21
Poor Decor Choices New Home Owners Make When your client finally closes on their home, they’re going to be excited to start making the place their own. But going overboard with decorating concepts or placing furniture in the wrong configurations can make a home look cramped and uninviting. Help guide your client’s eye for …
Jan 20
Fannie: Affordability Woes Expected in 2016 Housing affordability will likely be a challenge in many markets this year as home prices continue to escalate, according to a new report by mortgage-financing giant Fannie Mae. The main struggle for the economy and the housing market this year will be the “challenge of housing affordability coupled …
Jan 19
U.S. to Start Tracking ‘Secret’ Luxury Buyers The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will begin tracking all “secret buyers” of luxury properties as concerns mount about money laundering in high-end real estate. The initiative requires shell companies that make all-cash real estate purchases to expose the buyers’ identities. The Treasury is asking title …
Jan 18
This Lender Says It’s Going FICO-Free SoFi, an online lender, is making a bold move: Eliminating FICO scores from its consideration when reviewing borrowers’ for a mortgage. It claims to be the first large lender to embrace the “FICO-Free Zone.” The company says it plans to use three other factors instead to determine …
Jan 15
How to Celebrate 100 Years of REALTORS® This year marks the centennial of the REALTOR® mark. The National Association of REALTORS® adopted the term “REALTOR®” 100 years ago to identify that its members are committed to protecting property ownership. To celebrate, NAR has launched a website for REALTORS® to submit pictures and stories that …
Jan 14
Things to Never Say When Selling a Home It’s a lesson worth remembering: Home sellers need to watch what they say to home buyers and their real estate agents. Real estate professionals recently shared with realtor.com® the phrases they say sellers should never utter: 1. “Our house is in perfect condition.” “The home inspection may …
Jan 13
5M Buyers Could Save Big Mortgage rates have been near record lows for years, but still more than 5 million borrowers who could qualify and benefit from refinancing have not taken advantage, shows a new report from Black Knight Financial Services. Mortgage rates have recently fallen back below 4 percent. That means about 2.4 million …
Jan 12
Foreign Investors See Big Opportunity in U.S. Foreign investors are expected to pour more money into U.S. real estate this year than they did last year, according to a newly released survey by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate of about half of the group’s 200 members. The survey showed that …
