Consumers who’ve bought a home before know what they want the second time around, but some may be surprised to learn that the laundry room is ranked so highly. Seventy-two percent of second-time buyers called the room an essential home feature, the top ranked item in a new survey from the National Association of Home Builders. Here are the top 14 features ranked in order of importance: Laundry room Living room Walk-in closet in master bedroom 2
The National Association of REALTORS® has expressed support for the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, S. 2155, a banking reform bill the Senate plans to take up this week. The bill could open up more lending to households aspiring to become homeowners, NAR says.The bill balances consumer protections with changes that could make home lending more readily available to people who need it, including renters struggling t
In some markets, homes are selling at record speeds. Realtor.com®’s research team scoured the listing data to find which markets are seeing the quickest sales, based on the median number of days on the market.The number of days spent on the market is important for sellers and prospective buyers to know, says realtor.com®’s chief economist Danielle Hale.“That info can give home buyers an idea of how much competition they face, how limited
Could more future homes be 3-D printed? A San Francisco–based charity called New Story has partnered with construction technology company ICON to design a 3-D printer for building affordable homes across the globe in developing countries. The company is also showing off its 3-D construction progress in the U.S.The companies have a 350-square-foot home in Austin, Texas, which they are touting as the first 3-D printed house in the country that h
The happiest city in America is Fremont, Calif., according to a new analysis of more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities. WalletHub measured cities using 28 “happiness indicators,” including low divorce rates, amount of leisure time, income growth, low depression rates, and more.Why are residents so happy in Fremont? Researchers posit that the nearness to San Francisco and Silicon Valley may have something to do with that. Job opportunities a
The number of real estate transactions involving cryptocurrency—like bitcoin and ethereum—have been on the rise, but real estate brokerage Culture Estate in Scotch Plains, N.J., wants to take digital transactions one step further. One of its agents, Manuela Londono-Osorio, recently accepted her commission check from the brokerage in the form of cryptocurrency.Manuela Londono-OsorioBroker Luis Leiva with Culture Estate says this is just the ne
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Fifty-eight percent of homeowners plan to spend money on home improvement projects this year, according to a recent survey by LightStream Home Improvement, a national online lending division of SunTrust Banks Inc.Outdoor improvements, including decks, patios, and landscaping, remained highest on owners’ to-do lists for the fifth consecutive year. Interior renovations also are popular: Nearly a third of homeowners say they plan to remodel a bath
Developers have built thousands of senior housing units in many markets, but the glut is outpacing demand and causing the sector to slow, CoStar Group reports. The overbuilding is most prevalent in suburban areas, notes JLL’s Year-End 2017 Senior Housing Investor Survey.More than 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day, and many economists predict that senior housing will be a strong market. While the long-term prospects for the sector are strong,
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
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