Even though some homes are marketed as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, your buyers should do their own research on the property to confirm its sustainable features. “Greenwashing,” a misleading practice in which homes are marketed as green when, in reality, they have few such features, is becoming a growing problem, according to an NBC investigation.“Green is more than just energy efficiency,” Richard Durling, owner of sout
Investors can see big returns on real estate, but the most successful tend to have a strong understanding of how to evaluate their options before purchasing. Forbes.com recently highlighted some winning strategies for profitable real estate investing: Focus on potential income, not personal like and dislikes. Purchasing an investment property is different than buying residential real estate. Investments need to center on the numbers—the combin
Home prices in most U.S. housing markets are reaching their peak, but there’s no need to fear a repeat housing bust, according to a new joint analysis by Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. Throughout the majority of the country, home prices have been rising steadily since 2012, and there are signs the runup may be starting to slow.“Housing markets are slowing, suggesting that we are nearing a peak in housing mar
Realtor.com® has launched a Local Pride College Scholarship that it hopes will help foster the next generation of homeowners. To apply, applicants must demonstrate local pride and pen an essay about their neighborhood.Realtor.com® will award scholarships of $2,500 to the first-place recipient; $1,000 for second place; and $500 for third place.“The ability to afford a down payment and monthly mortgage payment is a steep financial hill to climb
The housing market may not be as robust this spring as some originally predicted, and real estate professionals are pointing to the main culprits as rising mortgage rates, a new tax law, and growing affordability problems among first-time buyers.The spring market will be the true judge of whether the housing market has hit a slowdown. About 40 percent of the year’s sales tend to occur from March through June, according to the National Associa
Wildfires that ripped through Northern California last year left neighborhoods in destruction. Displaced homeowners are now learning that rebuilding can take years. As such, some are being drawn to prefab housing to try to speed wait times. Prefab homes are mass-produced in a factory and then assembled on location. The building style is usually touted for its quick construction times than traditional, stick-built homes that are built complete
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering changing its mission statement to remove what it calls antidiscrimination language. HUD Secretary Ben Carson has been leading the charge and seeking to add in “self-sufficiency,” a major focus of his since taking the helm of HUD.A draft being circulated of the new mission statement reads:HUD’s mission is to ensure Americans have access to fair, affordable housing and opportunit
A third REALTOR® lost a child in the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., REALTOR® Magazine has learned. Mitchell Dworet, a sales associate with Skye Louis Realty in Coconut Creek, Fla., lost his 17-year-old son, Nicholas, in the massacre that killed 17 people. The daughters of two other area REALTORS®, Fred Guttenberg and Shara Kaplan, were also gunned down in the melee, which ranks as one of
Landlords own thousands of single-family homes across the U.S. With housing shortages abounding, some are calling on landlords to start selling. A slowdown in rent growth may convince more to finally unload their inventories.“As new multifamily supply catches up with demand and slows rents, some large investors may begin putting their holdings of affordable single-family homes up for sale, which would be great news, particularly for first-time
A living room is considered essential for first-time home buyers, according to a poll of home shoppers conducted by the National Association of Home Builders. Sixty-one percent called the living room a must-have in the home they plan to buy. A laundry room and dining room also ranked high on the must-have list for first-time buyers.The following are home features that first-time buyers call essential, ranked in order of what they deemed as most
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