As students return to class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., more than a week after a gunman opened fire in the hallways, killing 17 people, two young girls who won’t reunite with their friends and teachers are the daughters of local REALTORS®.Jaime Guttenberg, 14, and Meadow Pollack, 17, were among the dead in the Valentine’s Day shooting. Guttenberg’s father, Fred Guttenberg, a sales associate at Charles Rutenb
Forty-eight percent of the country has recently been covered in snow, according to the National Weather Service. If the cloudy skies and muted winter landscape have your listing looking ho-hum, try some greenery to get potential buyers thinking about spring.According to a Harvard University study, seeing flowers first thing in the morning provides people with a boost of energy. Flowers can be used as a design tool to inspire emotion and connect
5G’s lightning-fast network speeds are coming, and many cities are hoping to be the first in line. Dallas; Waco, Texas; and Atlanta will be among the first cities to receive AT&T’s 5G mobile network, while Sacramento, Calif., is slated to be Verizon’s first pick to get the fifth-generation wireless technology.Just how fast is 5G? It’s said to be 100 times faster and five times more responsive than the current 4G and 4G LTE, the techno
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage shows little signs of stopping its gradual move upwards week to week. This marks the seventh consecutive week for higher mortgage rates, and rates continue to be at a four-year high.“Fixed mortgage rates increased for the seventh consecutive week, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate reaching 4.40 percent in this week’s survey; the highest since April of 2014,” says Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s chief economist
Home prices in ZIP codes with the highest environmental hazard risk are appreciating at a faster pace than the overall housing market in the past year and over the last decade, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2017 Environmental Hazards Housing Risk Index.Researchers analyzed more than 8,600 ZIP codes in the U.S. looking for four environmental risks: Superfund sites, brownfields, polluters, and poor air quality. They found that median home pr
Taxpayers can continue to deduct the interest they pay on home equity loans when the funds are used for home improvements, the IRS confirmed in a statement on Wednesday. The status of home equity deductions has been in question following the limits on the mortgage interest deduction included in recent tax reform legislation. The IRS says it has been fielding more questions from taxpayers and tax professionals on whether the interest on home equit
Consumers across the globe tilt in favor of homeownership, despite steady gains in renting. Twenty-nine of 30 countries recently analyzed have a majority of homeowners, with Switzerland being the sole exception, according to a new analysis by RentCafe, a nationwide listing service for renters.While the number of renters is on the rise in 21 of the 30 countries, homeownership still prevails. The number of renters in the United States, for example
Townhouse construction continues to post gains. Over 2017, townhome starts totaled 104,000, a 7 percent increase over 2016, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the National Association of Home Builders.Further, townhouses or single-family attached housing numbered 29,000 of the starts during the fourth quarter of 2017, which is 21 percent higher than a year ago.The market share of new townhouses accounts for 12.4 percent of all
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that it is awarding $34.9 million to help low-income residents become more self-sufficient. The money will be allocated to public housing authorities, public housing resident associations, Native American tribes, and nonprofit organizations across the country. It will be used to hire or retain service coordinators to help low-income residents find jobs, educational opportuni
A shortage of homes and surging prices are hitting first-time buyers particularly hard heading into the spring season. The share of first-time homeowners dropped to 29 percent of all existing-home sales in January, down from 33 percent a year ago, according to the latest housing report from the National Association of REALTORS®.“First-time buyers are typically people with a tighter budget,” says Joseph Kirchner, realtor.com®’s senior eco
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