Entering real estate’s traditionally busiest time of year, the housing market is being buoyed by a stronger economy and consumer confidence. Job creation is 30 percent stronger this year compared to a year ago, unemployment is near a 9-year low, and wages and incomes are growing at the largest levels in about eight years, notes Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist.Some buyers are in more of a hurry this season too. In the last two
Just how large a house really is may depend on whom you ask, The Wall Street Journal reports. That’s because appraisers, developers, builders, real estate professionals, tax assessors, and architects all measure spaces differently. No universal standard exists for calculating a home’s square footage. Further, it can also vary regionally.For example, some calculate space on only the interior dimensions of finished living spaces. Some industry
Do your agents know how to answer the buy-versus-rent question from clients? Essentially, what people are asking is what’s the best way to accumulate wealth, says Ken Johnson, a real estate economist, associate dean of graduate programs, and professor at Florida Atlantic University College of Business. “Historically, housing has won,” he says.Of course, that changed with the onset of the housing bubble in the early 2000s. But brokers can br
The voice-control market is seeing explosive growth in the smart home-arena. From Amazon’s Echo to Google’s Home, more homeowners are taking control over their homes, using their voice to speak commands to their home’s appliances.But some manufacturers are starting to question whether the appeal in the smart-home arena is really voice-controlled or possibly text-controlled.Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg has been working on Jarvis, his own
The practice of sellers renting back their home after the sale is increasing in a number of high-end markets, The Wall Street Journal reports. As housing supplies remain tight, some sellers are finding they may need some extra time to relocate. For home buyers, the deal may be appealing because the seller can help to defray maintenance costs until they are ready to move in.But, real estate agents warn, going from owner to tenant can cause some tr
The flippers are back. The number of single-family homes and condos flipped in 2016 zoomed to a 10-year high, a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions shows.The report shows that 193,009 single-family and condos were flipped in 2016, up 3.1 percent from 2015 and the highest level since 2006. ATTOM Data Solutions defines a flip as a home that was sold twice within a 12-month period.Home flips comprised 5.7 percent of all single-family and condo sale
One million U.S. borrowers regained equity in 2016, according to CoreLogic’s newly released housing report. Further, about 63 percent of all homeowners saw their equity increase last year.Now, 93.8 percent of all mortgaged properties—or about 48 million homes—are in positive equity territory, according to the report.“Average home equity rose by $13,700 for U.S. homeowners during 2016,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic.
It's no secret that referrals are the key source of business for REALTORS®. The National Association of REALTORS®’ 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows that 53 percent of buyers and 64 percent of sellers use a real estate agent or broker who was referred to them by a friend, neighbor, or relative or who they have worked with in the past.But if you want to make a living in real estate, you can't rely on friends, family, and former cli
Homeowners with smart-home devices are ahead of the curve. Connected home solutions are still in the early adopter phase worldwide, according to a survey by Gartner Inc. of nearly 10,000 online respondents in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia.Only about 10 percent of households have connected home solutions, the survey found. The survey considered “connected home solutions” to be devices and services that are connected to one another and to t
The escalating costs of renting are making it a better time to purchase a home in most cities across the country, according to the Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University’s Buy vs. Rent Index."This is great news for homeownership and the financial returns to ownership," says Ken Johnson, a real estate economist and one of the index's authors. "We are not where we were in 2012, when nearly any purchase was a sound financ
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