Nearly One-Third of NAR Members Have Less Than Two Years’ Experience
Despite tight housing inventories and tough competition, more and more people are jumping into real estate as registered realtors. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR)’s 2018 member...
View ArticleTexas Federal Court Warns FHFA Leadership Structure Could be “Unconstitutional”
The leadership structure for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which was created in 2008 to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is under fire from a Texas appeals court. The court, which is...
View ArticleMany Property Owners Lack Sufficient Disaster Insurance
Hurricane season is underway in the United States, and a lot of homeowners who could get hit by bad weather are not adequately insured against potential damages. According to a Wall Street Journal...
View Article3 Cities Paying New Residents to Relocate
While the national housing market has been officially “in recovery” from the housing crash and Great Recession for quite some time now, some cities are facing a serious population shortage that is...
View ArticleChinese Investors Buying Real Estate with Bitcoin
Chinese bitcoin tycoons are actively working to sell off their cryptocurrency in the United States in order to use the cash to purchase real estate investments. For example, one early adopter recently...
View ArticleInternational Real Estate Wire Transfer Scheme: 74 Arrested
74 people were recently arrested in the United States and overseas for alleged wire transfer fraud. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a “coordinated law enforcement effort” resulted in the...
View ArticleFHFA Gives Up on Credit-Scoring Overhaul
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced this week it will suspend an initiative dedicated to updating a credit-score model used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The updated model would, the...
View ArticleToday’s Home Buyers Will Sacrifice All Amenities for This Feature
Many homebuyers have an extensive “wish list” for their new home and a few “must-have” items as well. However, according to a survey from Realtor.com of people who closed on a home in 2018, only one in...
View ArticleRising Home Values Hitting Pre-Recession Peaks
New research from Zillow indicates that seven out of 35 of the largest U.S. housing markets have regained all value lost during the recession, and that could signal a looming turning point in those...
View ArticleThink Realty Taps Nationally Recognized Risk Management Expert as Newest...
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Shawn Woedl, Senior Vice President of National Real Estate Insurance Group (NREIG) and a sought-after industry speaker and educator, has been named Think Realty’s newest investing...
View ArticleBuyers’ Kitchen Preferences are Changing
Current homeowners who are planning to buy a new residence within the next decade say their kitchen preferences are changing. According to southeastern homebuilder Ashton Woods’ research, buyer...
View ArticleNational Flood Insurance Program Extended
Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through November. The program is the only option for many homeowners who live in areas threatened...
View ArticleSmoking Can Decrease Resale Value by Nearly a Third
Most real estate investors know that a “smoking home” can be a bear to clean up. However, the issue may go far beyond the cost of smoke and stain removal. According to a new report from Realtor.com,...
View ArticleInvestment Company Faces Negative Press After Investigative Report
The investment company holding the most single-family homes in the United States, Invitations Homes Inc., has received negative press and is now being accused of improper maintenance with its rentals....
View ArticleHome Renovation Returns are Falling
As a real estate investor, to take on a home renovation there is an art to “forcing appreciation” or, as it is more commonly described, “adding value” to a property. The process usually involves a...
View ArticleCapital One Lays Off More Lending & Mortgage Sector Employees
Capital One announced last week it will lay off nearly 300 employees from its Plano, Texas campus as part of its ongoing termination of the company’s mortgage lending and home equity operations. These...
View ArticleFannie Mae Warning: Generational Housing Bubble Forming
Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group recently published a new report in conjunction with University of Southern California researchers in regards to generational housing. According to the...
View ArticleInventory Climbing in One-Third of Largest U.S. Cities
According to new data from Realtor.com, high-priced local markets around the United States are showing signs of inventory climbing for the first time in months. Since the inventory “turnaround” is...
View ArticleZillow Expands Direct-Buyer Program for Second Time This Summer
Zillow announced last week it would expand its direct-buyer program, Zillow Offers, into a fourth market: Denver, Colo. This is just one month after announcing it would expand its direct-buyer program...
View ArticleEvite Debuts Real Estate Invitations
Electronic invitation website Evite.com recently introduced real estate invitations with themes intended to promote open houses and other industry-related events. The designs, which feature headlines...
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