If your buyers have been frantically searching for a home as the inventory crunch grows tighter, some relief may be on the way. It’s a challenging environment, with homes in July selling at the fastest pace this year, prompting “desperate buyers to bid up prices and move quickly to close,” according to realtor.com®’s monthly housing report.Additionally, realtor.com® reports that homes sold at a record pace in August, as listings moved
A new watchdog program designed to monitor real estate deals involving shell companies has found that the buyers in 30 percent of high-end deals were linked to “suspicious activity,” the Treasury Department reported this week. Federal officials are now expanding the program, which aims to prevent money laundering by overseas buyers who use shell companies to mask their identities.The program, called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network,
At the right price, any and every home will sell, regardless of what it looks like and where it is. With price as the single most important factor in putting a home on the market, it never hurts to tip the scales in your sellers’ favor, increase their bottom line and potentially expedite the home sale timeline with all the levers you’ve got at your disposal as a listing agent.Here are six factors that could be contributing to buyers’ reluct
Fifty-one percent of homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ existing-home sales report, released Thursday.Properties typically stayed on the market for 30 days in July, down from 36 days a year ago.“Buyer interest in most of the country has held up strongly this summer and homes are selling fast, but the negative effect of not enough inventory to choose from and its pr
Upper-level living rooms are becoming a sought-after space among homeowners, The Wall Street Journal reports. Homeowners are finding these second-floor lounges can be cozier spaces than living areas on the first floor—and can offer more privacy, too.Upper-level living rooms—sometimes labeled “pajama lounges”—are usually located right off bedrooms. They may include comfy sofas, a kitchenette, a television, and even a nook to work from.
A string of thefts in Wisconsin is serving as an important reminder for real estate pros to stay on guard during open houses.Wisconsin brokerages are warning their agents about three cases of thefts at open houses and a private showing in Middleton. The suspect allegedly stole laptops and other valuables during the showings.Charlie Wills, a real estate pro with First Weber Realty, told ABC News 18 in Eau Claire, Wis., that his brokerage is rele
Take note, property management professionals: There’s a growing trend among renters who are increasingly amenity-driven, especially if those amenities make residences feel like true homes, according to a report released by Village Green, one of the nation’s largest apartment property management firms.Village Green’s National Renters Index includes data from 1,000 renters of residential properties located in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroi
The federal government is expanding its effort to catch people and organizations that use all-cash purchases of high-end real estate to launder money. Under the expansion, Honolulu will join several other areas in which title agents are required to report purchaser information for specific transactions. The expansion also adds certain wire transfers to the list of reportable real estate transactions, specifically to help the government identify i
Renters are more likely to experience a burglary than homeowners, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Apartment buildings with two to four units are the most at risk of theft.“This is probably because plenty of people come and go from apartment complexes daily, while homes only have a few family members who enter or leave,” according to ADT, a security firm, which recently analyzed data on burglary risks across the countr
Value range pricing, also known as variable range pricing, is when a listing indicates sellers are looking for offers between two suggested prices, such as "$450,000 to $500,000," rather than just one price, such as $475,000. This tactic is still relatively rare, but it’s becoming more popular because it offers advantages to both buyers and sellers, according to realtor.com®.“Once buyers and sellers understand the rhyme and reason of the co
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