Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips - Michael Lebeda - iPro Real Estate

Largest Institutional Landlord Merger Proposed

Two of the largest institutional landlords announced Thursday that they plan to merge in a $4.3 billion deal. Invitation Homes, the rental home wing of private equity firm Blackstone Group, and Starwood Waypoint Homes will own about 82,000 single-family properties in more than a dozen major markets under the merger, which still needs to be approved by stockholders. The combined company will operate as Invitation Homes.Other institutional investor

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New Twist Revealed in Beverly Carter Case

The couple that kidnapped and killed Arkansas real estate agent Beverly Carter in 2014 used an app to give a false impression of where they were calling from. According to Carter’s son, Carl Carter Jr., the couple made it seem like they were calling from out of town and were looking for a home because they were relocating. “In fact, they were just calling from right down the road,” says Carter Jr., who shared several details about his mothe

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Welcome to the Team Tom Dunlap out of San Diego

About TomYou have questions and concerns – Tom Dunlap is the San Diego REALTOR® with the answers and solutions.You can count on him for: Extensive knowledge of the San Diego real estate market: Tom and his team have covered every corner of San Diego County, working with both buyers and sellers… and they study the sales statistics and inventory carefully, so they can tell you when the price is right – or wrong. Years of experience in help

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REALTORS: How to become the ‘Un-Realtor’ in your community

Scott Stratten of UnMarketing on how to stand out from the crowdKey Takeaways "If you are your unique self, if you are your authentic self, you have no competition."SAN FRANCISCO — What does it mean to provide service so exemplary that the word “service” itself becomes synonymous with your brand?Scott Stratten of UnMarketing shared a story on stage at Inman Connect San Francisco about the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain and how real estate agents

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This Town is Going to Pot (Literally)

One of the nation’s largest cannabis companies bought an entire town in the deserts of California. American Green Inc. announced that it is purchasing all 80 acres of Nipton, Calif., and plans to turn the town into a commercial oasis centered around marijuana.The town currently includes an Old West–style hotel, a few homes, an RV park, and a coffee shop. Fewer than two dozen residents live there.American Green Inc. plans to make the town “g

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Can Wellness Programs Boost Productivity?

The link between good health and greater productivity may not seem to be too big a stretch, but science has long struggled to establish the connection with hard data. Now, researchers at UCLA, University of California Riverside, and Washington University have done so with a small sample of workers at commercial laundry plants in the Midwest. Researchers found that employees who saw their health improve due to participation in an work-sponsored

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‘Surprising’ Results in Sentiment Report

Higher home prices are a likely culprit for part of the 1.5 percentage point dip in Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index in July. Buyers may be losing confidence in their ability to purchase a home as the national median home price surged to $263,800 in June, a record high.But the decline in selling sentiment was actually the biggest drag on the index in July. The net share of 1,000 consumers surveyed who say now is a good time to sell a h

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Farm Life in the ’Burbs Is a Hot Commodity

More people are looking to experience farm life without buying an entire farm. That has prompted an emerging type of community that is catching on from coast to coast centered around food production, dubbed “agrihoods.”Suburban agrihoods began appearing in the U.S. in the 1990s. At first, developers offered them as an alternative to golf-centered communities.“What we learned over time was the majority of buyers in golf course developments

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Owners Say Their Homes Are Worth More

Homeowners continue to say that their homes are worth more than appraisers’ opinions, according to the latest reading from Quicken Loans’ National Home Price Perception Index. Consumers believed their properties to be worth 1.55 percent more than what appraisers said they were in July.That said, the gap is narrowing between these differing opinions. In June, homeowners’ estimates were 1.7 percent higher than appraisers’ opinions.There

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A Cruel Season for Buyers

The national median home price surged to $263,800 in June, a record high, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. That has prompted some buyers to hit the pause button.Buyers were still requesting tours at the same rate in June; however, 11 percent fewer buyers were submitting an offer, according to a recent survey by the real estate brokerage Redfin, which surveyed 15 major metro housing markets.Typically, the housing market starts

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