Fewer retirees own their home free and clear, as 32 percent of homeowners ages 60 to 70 say it will take them more than another eight years to pay off their mortgage, according to American Financing’s Retirement and Mortgages survey.However, many say they intend to age in place, with 64 percent indicating they plan to remain in their current home. Seventy-one percent say they would prefer to make home renovations rather than move, even if a hea
Many commercial projects may face delays in 2018 due to rising demand, particularly for warehouse and office space. A shortage of skilled construction workers and rising construction costs—two items that are also plaguing the residential market—are expected to push back timetables on many commercial projects in the pipeline, according to the CoStar Group.The labor shortage may mean developers will have to pay more to get their buildings const
The majority of buyers who obtained a mortgage last year made a down payment of less than 20 percent, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. The median down payment in 2017 was 10 percent, according to the report.The bulk of buyers’ down payments came from their personal savings, but a fraction also came from the sales proceeds of a previous residence or assistance from family or friends
Luxury homes sold at a slower pace in 2017, as more properties in the high-end market were put up for sale, according to a new realtor.com® report. The number of million-dollar listings grew by an average of 3.9 percent.Luxury properties—defined as those with a sales price in the top 5 percentile—took 5.4 percent longer to sell in 2017 than in 2016, spending an average of 116 days on the market. Prices of luxury homes also increased 5.1 perc
Open house visitors generally fall into four main categories: The snooper, the confirmation seeker, the aspirational buyer, and the serious buyer. How can you tell them apart? Here are the characteristics of each type: The snooper: They often live in the neighborhood, and they’re curious about competing properties. The confirmation seeker: They recently purchased a home and are looking for validation that they didn’t make a mistake. The asp
Home shoppers are embracing virtual reality, saying they believe the technology will make the buying and selling process simpler and quicker, according to a new Coldwell Banker survey. The survey, which was released Monday—a day before the kickoff of CES 2018, the technology industry’s most prominent tradeshow—also shows that smart-home features are at the top of buyers’ wish lists. Coldwell Banker is sponsoring the Smart Home Marketplace
A pair of CPU flaws known as Meltdown and Spectre can allow hackers to access protected information on your computer’s memory. This could make your passwords, personal photos and email, or anything else you have saved on your computer vulnerable. The flaws could impact phones, PCs, and servers.Apple on Thursday was the latest company to announce that its devices aren’t immune either. Apple said all of its computers, iPhones, and iPads are aff
It’s an unfortunate reality that not all prospective clients you’ll come in contact with are legitimate buyers or sellers. Some are exaggerating their interest in buying a property, perhaps to take advantage of your expertise—or, possibly for more nefarious reasons.REALTOR® Magazine recently asked real estate professionals across the country what they wish they had known before starting their sales careers and learned some of the reasons
Consumers say that they are most often introduced to smart-home technology by receiving it as a gift, according to a survey of more than 600 U.S. homeowners conducted by Scripps Networks Interactive. And once they own it, they love it. They say they like smart-home tech to be “camouflaged” into the background so it’s essentially forgotten but can help with family tasks or add an element of fun when called upon, according to the survey.Nearl
A greater number of structural fires occur in the winter months. In colder weather, homeowners crank up the heat, using space heaters and electric blankets. But leaving them on too long or placing them too close to flammable objects can spark fires quickly, realtor.com® warns.“A substantial portion of the structure fire increase is caused by heating fires,” according to a study by the United States Fires Administration, “The Seasonal Natu
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