General News - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

REALTORS: The Hottest Cities for a Luxury Market Niche

Million-dollar homes are not too uncommon in some markets, making them prime areas for real estate professionals to build a luxury real estate niche.Where are million-dollar houses most prevalent? The four areas with the highest percentage of million-dollar homes are in California, driven by a high concentration of wealth originating in the tech and entertainment industries, a new study from LendingTree notes. In San Jose, Calif., 47% of homes ar

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4 Easy Ways to Give the Backyard Instant Cachet

Homeowners have focused heavily on making the backyard more functional since the pandemic, but it’s important not to forget about style and aesthetics. Interior stylists Shelby Greene and Kate Leyendecker of furniture retailer Living Spaces offer inexpensive touches that can give the backyard a luxury look.Carving out a seating area creates a focal point for the backyard.1. Pay attention to details. Curate a corner of the backyard with mat

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New Apartments Get Larger, After Years of Shrinking

Apartments have shrunk in size over the past decade. But that is changing. Renters during the pandemic craved more space, and the multifamily sector is responding by expanding the square footage by making units about “one small home office larger,” according to a new study.Thirty-six percent of 92 cities tracked are currently building larger apartments than over the last five years, according to Yardi Matrix data. Most of these multifamily pr

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Awaiting Lumber Price Relief, Some Builders Delay Projects

Lumber prices may soon start to recede from their recent record highs, and some home builders say they may stop taking new orders or delay projects with that expectation in mind.Prices for lumber have surged more than 200% over the past 12 months. That has added an estimated $36,000 to the price of an average new single-family home, according to the National Association of Home Builders.But the sky-high prices may soon back off: Lumber futur

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Homeowners Brace for Severe Weather Ahead

Severe weather events have increasingly been putting households at risk over the years. Many homeowners are taking these weather events seriously, knowing the harsh weather can put their homes and their lives in danger.Nearly 68% of about 1,000 U.S. adults recently surveyed say they considered the potential for severe weather events when moving to a new place, according to a new survey from Helitech, a waterproofing and f

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Where Newer Homes are Coming to Market the Fastest

Builders are building more, even though overall housing inventories still feel tight. Builders in April constructed about 24% more homes than they did in April over the last couple of decades, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. Housing starts are likely to reach 1.6 million for all of 2021 and jump to 1.7 million in 2022, NAR projects.Building permits are viewed as a gauge of future housing inventory. They provide an estimate of the

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7 Top Cities for LGBTQ Home Buyers

The LGBTQ community, estimated to hold the potential for $1 trillion in buying power, has long been regarded as a bright spot for the housing market. But many members of this community have shied away from purchasing a home because they don’t always feel welcome in their neighborhoods, according to reports. The homeownership rate for the LGBTQ population is 49.8%, which is far below the U.S. average of 65.8%.In conjunction with P

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Mortgage Rates Spend Another Week Below 3%

Mortgage rates were on the rise last week but remained just below 3%, offering borrowers another opportunity to lock in historically low rates.Still, the National Association of REALTORS® cautions that borrowers should expect mortgage rates to increase modestly in the following months as the economy continues to recover. NAR forecasts the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 3.20% in 2021.“Home prices continue to accelerate while inventory r

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FHFA Pushes COVID-19 Forbearance to Sept. 30

The Federal Housing Finance Agency—the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—has extended pandemic-related forbearance options for multifamily properties until the end of September. This marks the third extension of the program, which most recently had been set to expire on June 30.Property owners with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac-backed multifamily mortgage can enter a new or modified forbearance if they experience a financial hardship due

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REALTORS: Looking for a Better Brokerage?

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