The pace of rising rents is slowing in many of the priciest markets and is now spreading to other parts of the country. That’s good news for renters, especially those who are looking to save more to buy a house one day.Rents nudged up by 0.4 percent from February to March, according to data from Apartment List. Data from Abodo shows rents increased only 0.2 percent on one-bedroom apartments from March to April.“There’s a large number of new
Builders like to spotlight the latest trends in their model homes to entice buyers. These are some of the trends they’re featuring lately.1. Quartz countertops: Buyers are showing willingness to spend the most in upgrading their kitchens, and one of their first targeted upgrades tends to be the countertop, says Lesley McCarthy, Builders Design regional vice president. They’re opting for quartz over granite. Granite has become the standard in
The housing crisis may also have sparked the increase in student loan default rates, according to a working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research.The study says the drop in home prices during the Great Recession also coincided with a 24 to 32 percent rise in student loan default rates. Researchers looked at administrative student loan data along with ZIP code home price data for about 300,000 student loan borrowers in repayment during
Homeowners are tapping into equity at the fastest rate in eight years, thanks to rising home prices. And millennials are leading the pack of those who are cashing in.In 2016, the number of homeowners with potentially “tappable” equity rose to 39.5 million—those are borrowers who have at least 20 percent equity in their homes, according to Black Knight Financial Services.Millennials, in particular, are turning to HELOCs—home equity lines o
Featuring 16-plus marketing testimonials for harnessing the social media giant, real estate agents’ biggest mistakes and advice from the expertsKey Takeaways Video engages Facebook audiences the most, followed by property listings and images and infographics. If a Facebook ad does well, keep investing in it and ride the wave.How many of Facebook’s 1.86 billion users could be a real estate agent’s next lead?The social media top dog is a well
The homeownership rate of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders was 55.6 percent in 2016, possibly the first accurate data in the U.S. of this rapidly growing segment of the population. It lags behind the national homeownership rate of 63.5 percent and is significantly below the 59 percent recorded for this group in 2015.The 2016 count is more accurate, says the Asian Real Estate Association of America, because it was the first year the Census Bu
The seven-year legal battle over President Donald Trump's real estate education venture known as Trump University has ended with a federal judge approving a $25 million settlement for the plaintiffs. Trump University students had filed a class-action lawsuit claiming they were misled by failed promises of teaching "success in real estate." About 3,730 students who took part in the program could potentially get at least 90 percent of their money b
Record-high home prices do not necessarily indicate a housing bubble, and while real estate in some areas of the U.S. is seeing rapid appreciation, those markets are also showing signs of stability. Realtor.com®'s research team sought to identify metros where home prices are soaring but a housing bubble is most likely not a threat."These are the Goldilocks of today's housing market," says Javier Vivas, manager of economic research for realtor
Even as real estate professionals across the country grapple with a persistent shortage of homes available for sale, some agents are facing a different kind of challenge: convincing buyers to consider existing properties when builders are briskly turning out new homes a short distance away.That’s the situation in the coastal South Carolina city of Myrtle Beach, where a strong supply of new homes is prompting many buyers to shun properties that
The decor scheme in a bedroom often gets personal, and that personality may be turning off some home buyers when it's time to sell. When listing a home, personal taste is best minimized, especially in bedrooms. Real estate and design experts offer their tips of design trends to avoid in bedroom decor:1. Bright paint colors: “Can we please get over the bright colors—pink, lime green—especially in kids’ bedrooms?” says Reba Haas, a real
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