Real Estate - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

‘No Knock’ Registry Is a Jab at Real Estate

Longtime Jersey City, N.J., homeowners say they’ve been harassed by real estate solicitations in recent months. They’re hoping the city’s new “No Knock” registry will put an end to the door knocks inquiring if they want to sell their home.The Jersey City Council recently unanimously passed a resolution creating an antisolicitation program, dubbed the “No Knock” registry. Residents who sign up will receive “No Knock” decals for t

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REALTORS® Warn of Doomsday if Flood Insurance Expires

Time is ticking for the National Flood Insurance Program. In just six months—on Sept. 30—the NFIP is set to expire, and REALTORS® are warning that could pose a major threat to home owners and property sales.“When the NFIP expired in 2010, over 1,300 home sales were disrupted every day as a result,” says NAR President William E. Brown. “That’s over 40,000 every month. Flood insurance is required for a mortgage in the 100-year floodpla

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Contract Signings Jump to Near Decade High

Pending home sales posted a strong rebound in February, soaring to the highest level in nearly a year and the second highest level in more than a decade, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Wednesday. All major regions saw an uptick in sales contracts last month.NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.5 percent month over month to an 112.3 reading in February. The index is now 2

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Hispanics Are a Growing Buying Force

While the national homeownership rate decreases, ownership rates among Hispanics are defying the trend with steady rises.The Hispanic homeownership rate grew to 46 percent last year, topping previous highs of 45.6 percent in 2015 and 45.4 percent in 2014, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals’ 2016 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report.More than 7.3 million Hispanic households owned their homes in 2016, 3

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10 Smaller Cities With Surging Markets

Big cities may grab most of the headlines when it comes to housing, but gains in smaller cities shouldn’t be ignored.One key behind many small towns' growth: a nearby college. Several smaller cities nabbing a spot in Smartasset’s top 25 list for rising housing values are college towns, such as Auburn, Ala.; Fayetteville, Ark.; and Bowling Green, Ky. “In many smaller cities, universities act as economic hubs supporting the whole community an

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Webcast to Explore Down Payment Financing

Many households are mortgage-ready but don’t try to buy a home because they can’t come up with a down payment, according to Rob Crane, CEO of Down Payment Resource in Atlanta.And yet there are hundreds of down payment assistance programs around the country that many households could tap if they only knew about them.To be sure, many households won’t qualify for down payment assistance, because they simply earn too much money. But many of the

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Comeback Markets Among Housing's Healthiest

Some of the nation’s once hardest-hit housing markets are now among some of the healthiest.Notably, over the past decade, Tampa, Fla., had lost thousands of homes to foreclosure. Now, it is the healthiest housing market in the country, according to TenX, a real estate auction and analytics firm.TenX rated the locations based on several factors, including population and job growth, the unemployment rate, wage growth, and inventory and constructi

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Homeownership rate is near its lowest level in more than 50 years

Homeownership remains a “critical part” of the national economy and “ongoing weakness in the single-family housing market, represents a substantial hurdle limiting the pace of economic growth,” according to a newly released study by the Rosen Consulting Group and Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics for the National Association of REALTORS®.Homeownership not only helps individuals build personal wealth but is also vital for

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REALTORS: Why Your Agents Still Need a Website

As a broker-owner or manager, you may be getting the question from agents as to whether having a personal business website is still relevant today, and worth the time, money, and effort. Beyond providing a profile for your agents on your company’s site, it is still wise for independent sales associates to establish their own websites, says Desare Kohn-Laski, broker-owner of Skye Louis Realty in Coconut Creek, Fla., as long as agents keep these

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You’ll Spot More Construction Cranes Here

More than 378,000 new apartments are expected to be built nationwide this year, a 30-year high, according to data from the firm Axiometrics. That means a lot more construction cranes filling skylines.Chicagoans will see the most. Chicago has more cranes for residential projects than 11 other major U.S. cities recently analyzed, according to the Crane Index, a biannual survey of crane activity conducted by Rider Levett Bucknall North America.Chica

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