Borrowers saw a little relief from recent increases. Mortgage rates dropped slightly this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.59 percent, Freddie Mac reports.“This stability is much needed for home sales, which have crested because of the multiyear run up in prices, tight affordable inventory, and this year’s higher rates,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Going forward, the strong economy will support
Finding real estate clients today, especially sellers, can be challenging. The hot market has made fierce competition for housing leads. Here are four tips from Desare Kohn-Laski, broker-owner of Skye Louis Realty, to give you and your team leverage on finding the right clients for you.1. Create your own circle of offline connections and influences.Widening your offline connections and influences is essential, Kohn-Laski says. Consider getting
The IRS on Wednesday published proposed rules on the 20 percent business income deduction that was created as part of last year’s tax reform law. The rules are a win for real estate because they make clear that broad limitations included in the law will not apply to real estate professionals.Under the new law, individual owners of sole proprietorships, including independent contractors and owners of S corporations, LLCs, or partnerships, can ta
Home buyers are increasingly being swayed by their pets when choosing which property to purchase. Three-quarters of home buyers say they would even pass up an otherwise perfect home—their dream home—if it did not meet their pets’ needs, according to a new realtor.com® survey of more than 1,000 consumers who’ve closed on a home in 2018.“It’s heartwarming to find that people will put their pets’ needs first, even when it comes to one
You may be able to judge a neighborhood by its name. Some neighborhoods containing certain names tend to attract the wealthiest residents and boast the highest home values, according to a new study by Porch.com, a home improvement resource.Neighborhoods that include names like “Hills,” “Island,” and “Village,” for example, tend to report some of the highest average household incomes in the country. On the other hand, the lowest home v
The iconic home depicted in the 1970s family sitcom, "The Brady Bunch," has a new owner and is likely headed back to television. Home design channel HGTV triumphed in a bidding war, revealing itself this week as the new owner of the Studio City, Calif., home.The network is quiet on its plans for the 2,500-square-foot home, but David Zaslav, CEO of HGTV’s parent company Discovery, said HGTV intends to restore the home to its “1970s glory.”
The median price nationwide for existing single-family homes broke another record in the second quarter of the year, reaching $296,000 and increasing 5.3 percent year over year, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. Low inventory and high buyer demand continue to put upward pressure on home prices.“The ongoing supply crunch affecting much of the country worsened for most of the second quarter, as the growing number of interested buyer
Even as California battles the largest wildfire in state history—a blaze known as the Mendocino Complex has scorched about 454 square miles in Northern California and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes—no reports have surfaced of real estate professionals or brokerages in the area being affected, according to the California Association of REALTORS®. Other brokerages, such as Keller Williams Realty, say they stand ready to act in ca
Similar to the concept of rent control, Freddie Mac announced a new program to incentivize rental property owners to ease their continuous rent hikes. The mortgage giant is offering discounted financing to owners who agree to cap rent increases for the life of their loans. Owners who take part in the program must limit rent increases on 80 percent of their units. “Maybe there’s a way we can help change incentives,” says David Brickman, an e
Three Pacific Union real estate agents were among the five victims of a fatal twin-engine plane crash that nosedived into an upscale Santa Ana, Calif., shopping center on Sunday. All five victims were on board the aircraft.Courtesy of Pacific UnionREALTORS® Lara Shepherd, 42, Floria Hakimi, 62, and Nasim Ghanadan, 29, were identified as among the victims on the plane.REALTORS® Lara Shepherd, 42, Floria Hakimi, 62, and Nasim Ghanadan, 29, were i
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