As anyone who’s trying to buy a home right now can attest, the market favors sellers – big-time. Low housing inventory plays a huge role in the problem, but it appears that the tide may turn soon. According to a residential sales report that was published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development… Read more »
Add to the many Millennial woes: difficulty finding a home. There are a host of explanations for why young people today aren’t opting for the golden retriever and the white picket fence – student loan debt, the preference for the city over the suburbs, getting married later, stricter lending standards. Millennial Woes in Real Estate… Read more »
The suburbs have seen a resurgence in housing demand in recent years thanks to the increased affordability and lower crime rates of these areas. Realtor.com® recently highlighted 10 cities with vibrant and fast-growing suburban areas. While only one of the suburbs in the spotlight falls into our service area, the increase in housing demand for… Read more »
Recent statistics published in the Washington Post indicate that the DC real estate continues to experience a resurgence in demand and home prices. Market analysts point to an almost 20 percent increase in real estate sales for January 2017 over the same month in 2016. Median home prices in many neighborhoods have risen dramatically; some areas have… Read more »
With a meager growth rate of 1 percent for spending, 2016 was a slow year for construction. In 2017, construction industry analysts expect this figure to expand to 5 percent, or $713 billion. According to Robert Murray, the chief economist of Dodge Data & Analytics, the construction industry is preparing for a year of modest… Read more »
Housing Trends for 2017 For better or worse, 2016 was a year of dramatic changes in nearly every level of society. Due to some impressive innovations and cultural changes, the housing market may experience some turbulence in 2017 and beyond. These new housing trends may seem as if they have been pulled from a futuristic… Read more »
In years past, the typical homebuyer displayed a marked preference for move-in-ready properties instead of fixer-uppers — but that may be changing. A recent article on Realtor.com examines the phenomenon of the home improvement project “that never ends,” with buyers increasingly choosing to tweak, personalize and perfect every inch of their new residence over a… Read more »
When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced their proposed changes to the Know Before You Owe rule this summer, it was immediately apparent that the National Association of Realtors had secured a decisive victory. NAR initially reached out to the CFPB in a June letter that highlighted three issues many realtors were experiencing with… Read more »
Conventional wisdom says that it’s wise to refinance a mortgage after interest rates plunge. With the current rate sitting near record lows, borrowers everywhere are rushing to refinance. Here’s five factors you can share with borrowers to help them evaluate whether or not now is the right time and if they’re ready. 1. Your Rate… Read more »