Real Estate - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Remodelers Worry Over Labor Shortages

Remodelers report that growing labor shortages are delaying projects and increasing the amount they have to charge homeowners, according to the National Association of Home Builder’s Remodeling Market Index survey for the third quarter of 2017. Those needing a carpenter may find the most trouble; 91 percent of remodelers reported shortages of labor in carpentry work.More than half of remodelers surveyed reported shortages in 12 of the 15 remode

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Young Buyers Are Skipping the Starter Home

Millennials who delayed homeownership following the Great Recession are now finally entering the market in bigger numbers. They comprised 36 percent of home buyers last year, up from 32 percent in 2013, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. But they’re trying to make up for lost time by skipping over the starter, entry-level home and heading right into buying larger, pricier homes that they plan to stay in longer, USA Today rep

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Should Sellers Pay for Their Own Inspection?

For homeowners considering a move, some experts are recommending they get a home maintenance inspection before they list their home for sale. Such an inspection can provide a full picture of any repairs that need to be done before they become negotiating points in a transaction. A home maintenance inspection is similar to a home inspection that is done by buyers, says Frank Lesh, president of the American Society of Home Inspectors. A licens

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How Much Longer Is It to Find a Home?

Prospective buyers actively looking for a home say it’s taking them a considerable amount of time. More than half—51 percent—in a recent survey say they’ve been trying to find the right home for three months or longer, according to the Housing Trends Report from the first quarter, conducted by the National Association of Home Builders.Buyers say the main reason their searches are taking so long is because they can’t find a home the

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Volcanic Eruptions Threaten More Homes in Hawaii

About 1,700 homeowners in Pahoa, Hawaii, have been forced to evacuate as the lava flow from a volcano inched closer to their properties. Most of the evacuations were centered in the Leilani Estates area on Hawaii’s Big Island.So far, 21 homes have been destroyed following the eruption of the Kilauea volcano, which reportedly has spewed lava more than 200 feet into the air. “That number could change,” Hawaii County spokesperson Janet Snyder

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Why You Should List in the Middle of the Week

If you want to sell a home for the most money, list it on a Wednesday. If you want to sell it in the fastest amount of time, list on a Thursday. These are the findings from a recent Redfin study, which analyzed a sample of 100,000 homes that sold in 2017.Redfin researchers found that homes listed on a Wednesday sold for an average of $2,023 more than homes listed on a Sunday—the worst day of the week to list. They also found that homes listed o

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REALTORS: The 12 leading listing sources of top producers

Tom Ferry reveals where to find listings todayWhere’s your next listing coming from?The certainty with which you can answer this question says a lot about the state of your business.If you can name several likely sources, that’s great.If you have absolutely no idea — Uh oh! It means you’re operating without a strategy.How certain are you?We advise our coaching members to use a variety of listing generation strategies. Those who run those

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Twitter Urges Users to Change Passwords Now

Twitter is warning its 336 million users that it has discovered a glitch in the system that stores users’ passwords. The social media giant is urging users to change their passwords immediately, as well as to change their passwords on any other service where they may have used the same one to login.“We have fixed the bug, and our investigation shows no indication of breach or misuse by anyone,” Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief technology of

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Freddie Incentivizes Landlords to Keep Units Affordable

Mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac has announced it will offer low-cost loans to multifamily property owners who keep their buildings affordable to middle-class families. Landlords will receive lower interest rates if they agree to make the majority of their units affordable for tenants who earn 80 percent or less of the area’s median income. The units also must remain affordable for the term of the loan, which typically spans about a decade.

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‘White-Boxing’ Turns Luxury Homes Into Raw Space

“White-boxing,” where homeowners strip out all of their property’s finishes and amenities—including high-end kitchens and bathrooms—is a growing trend in hot luxury markets. Much like neutralizing paint color, the move is believed to make homes more appealing to a wider audience of buyers. “White-boxing is really just having a blank canvas,” Jade Mills, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker in Beverly Hills, Calif., told CNBC. “S

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