High demand for homes for sale mixed with low inventories is prompting bidding wars. Thirty-seven percent of properties that closed in March sold at or above the list price, according to the March 2018 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey. That's higher than a year ago, when 35 percent of properties sold at or above the list price.“Buyer demand continues to outpace the supply of homes being listed for sale in the market, sustaining the upward p
Civil rights advocates have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development, accusing the agency of not following a rule intended to prevent segregation. The federal lawsuit names HUD Secretary Ben Carson.In January, HUD postponed an Obama administration rule—the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule—that required communities that receive funding from the agency to submit fair housing assessments. Those assessment
Homeowners are less likely to get a rude awakening when going through the mortgage process, according to the latest Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index. Owners’ perception of home values are now the closest to being in line with appraisers’ than in more than three years.In April, appraised values were just 0.33 percent lower than what homeowners expected. Further, only five of the 27 metro areas analyzed in the index had appraisals lowe
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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