Homeowners are showing more love for their front yards, carving out a spot to mingle with neighbors and relax. A new article at realtor.com® says front yards and porches are among the hottest outdoor trends of the season—a trend that is stretching way beyond just Southern states.“People are rediscovering the joys of using the front yard and porch as an extended living room,” Pablo Solomon, a designer in Austin, Texas, told realtor.com®.
For years, California markets dominated realtor.com®’s hottest housing market list. But the Midwest and Northeast are drawing in more house hunters online. Several newer markets, including some known for housing affordability, are gaining momentum among home buyers, according to realtor.com®’s monthly rankings for April.Each month, realtor.com® ranks markets based on how fast homes are selling and how many views the metro’s listings rece
A majority of homeowners recently surveyed say they believe owning a home isn’t as difficult as renting, according to a new survey from LendingTree, an online loan marketplace. Only 15% of homeowners believe renting is easier than owning a home, compared with 67% of more than 2,000 homeowners who said owning is easier, the survey found.For the most part, the longer homeowners have been in their homes, the more likely they are to believe owning
Short-term housing rental companies are allowing property owners to turn their homes into investment properties. They’re giving hotels some serious competition.But these short-term renters have specific amenities they’re seeking. IPX1031, a firm that provides exchange services, surveyed 2,000 consumers to ask about what they look for when they rent an Airbnb.Some of the top factors that consumers said prompted them to choose an Airbnb ov
It can be difficult to lend the illusion of more space to a home with low ceilings. A recent article at Houzz from columnist Becky Harris explains how you can make low ceilings appear higher.Use High-Gloss Paint to Your Advantage Painting the ceiling a glossy white will allow the room to reflect more light, making it appear more spacious that it really is. Interior designer Lourdes Gabriela used glossy white ceilings in a Florida condo that, she
Another state is allowing home buyers and sellers to bypass having to be present at the closing table. Iowa this week becomes the latest state to allow fully digital closings for mortgage transactions, allowing 100% of the closing process to go digital. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an electronic notary law, SF 475, into effect on Monday.Fully digital closings are gradually growing in the housing industry. But many state restrictions still surrou
Selling a home is often the largest financial transaction a person will make, but that doesn’t mean homeowners want to devote a lot of time to it. More than half—58%—of homeowners who recently sold a home say they spent less than three hours researching the method and professional they chose to sell their home, according to a new survey of 1,000 homeowners conducted by SOLD.com.A separate survey from the National Association of REALTORS® s
Monday is Earth Day, and your clients can do their part to protect the environment and save on utility bills. Going green can also make a difference at resale: 69 percent of real estate professionals say promoting energy efficiency in listings is “very” or “somewhat valuable” in a home sale, according to the latest REALTORS® & Sustainability Report.Ply Gem, an exterior building product firm, outlines the following six-step
Lenders have been much less likely to approve same-sex couples for a mortgage than heterosexual couples, according to a new study released by Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business. Researchers analyzed national mortgage data from 1990 to 2015 and found the approval rate for same-sex couples was 3 to 8 percent lower.Researchers also factored in details about applicants’ work history and creditworthiness to see if the denial rates sti
Online shopping has surged in popularity, but don’t count brick-and-mortar stores out. Consumers still want to shop, in-person.Nearly 80 percent of consumers say they visited a store as much as or more than they did two years ago, according to a new consumer survey results conducted by ICSC, a global resource for the retail real estate industry.“We are social beings and consumers have always valued the community experience that brick-and-mort
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