Real Estate - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

BROKERS: 5 Commercial Tech Companies to Know

For years the commercial real estate market remained relatively unchanged when it came to technology, lagging behind the rest of the real estate industry during the Dot Com Boom and the more recent rise of automation and cloud-based technologies. But commercial real estate recovered following the recession and profits began to grow, attracting younger brokers with different needs than their predecessors.These shifts in the industry have led to a

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You May Not Be Saving Enough for Retirement

Two-thirds of Americans fail to contribute anything to a 401(k) or other retirement account available through their employer, according to the Census Bureau.The latest data is alarming financial experts, who say Americans are not saving enough for retirement. Only about a third of workers are saving in a 401(k) or similar tax-deferred retirement plan, according to researchers Michael Gideon and Joshua Mitchell, who analyzed W-2 tax records from 2

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Where FHA Loans Are the Most Popular

In 2016, 15.5 percent of home purchases were completed using Federal Housing Administration loans, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. For many borrowers, the FHA requires a down payment of just 3.5 percent of the purchase price of a home.The following are the eight metros with populations of more than 200,000 that had the largest percentage of purchases using FHA-insured loans in 2016.1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas FHA sales: 35%2. Ogden-Clea

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Existing-Home Sales Reach Decade High

Existing-home sales in January reached their fastest pace in nearly a decade, with all major regions except the Midwest posting gains last month, the National Association of REALTORS® reports.Total existing-home sales—completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—rose 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million in January. That's 3.8 percent higher than a year ago and marks the st

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Minimum Salaries Needed to Buy in 27 Cities

An increase in interest rates means home shoppers likely will need a higher salary in order to afford a median-priced home in 27 of the largest metro areas, according to mortgage data provider HSH.com's fourth-quarter 2016 salary-homeownership analysis.Couple that with higher home prices, which are rising year over year, and it takes more to afford the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance payments on a median-priced home. Take a look at the

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REALTORS: 4 Ways to Capture More International Business

Some of your clients may be dreaming about buying a home on foreign shores, particularly in countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Colombia, and Canada. In fact, about 14 percent of REALTORS® say they had a client in search of property abroad last year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® 2016 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate. That number has more than doubled from the previous yea

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Loan Demand Sluggish Heading Into Spring

As real estate heads into its busy spring season, consumers aren't showing typically large demand for mortgage loans just yet. Total mortgage application volume, which includes refinances and home purchases, dropped 2 percent week over week for the week ending Feb. 17, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. Total mortgage volume has plunged nearly 21 percent from a year ago.Refinancing applications has shouldered most of the blame for the decr

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Fortune Reveals 'Most Admired' Home Builders

If your home buyers are looking to buy new, you may want to share the latest list of home building’s “most admired companies” from Fortune.They named these five companies as the top most admired brands in home building: Toll Brothers Lennar D.R. Horton CalAtlantic Group NVRIn the general real estate category, Fortune also named these five companies as most admired: Simon Property Group Host Hotels & Resorts Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) CBRE

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Even Renters Say NIMBY, Study Shows

Usually it’s existing homeowners who are associated with blocking new lower income construction, due to fears that their property value could be affected, neighborhood aesthetics, or local protectionism. But a new study shows that renters in high-cost cities may hold that same NIMBYism—not-in-my-back-yard—mentality too.Renters in high-rent cities are showing NIMBYism toward market-rate housing at a level that matches homeowners, finds new r

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These Cities Boast the Cleanest Air

Some of the cleanest cities in the U.S. are usually in agricultural communities that have a natural forest or natural reserve nearby, according to realtor.com®’s data team. On the other hand, the most polluted cities tend to be located in former industrial hubs, such as in the Rust Belt and along the Gulf of Mexico.Pollution in the U.S. has been declining. For instance, in 2015, the nation’s industrial facilities released 25 percent less tox

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