While the state of first-time home buyers hasn’t changed much over time — they’re moving from rentals to starter homes — the characteristics of these new buyers have evolved. According to our research, almost half of buyers (47 percent) are purchasing for the first time. First-time home buyers are older, and they’re selecting more expensive homes than they have in the past.What does this mean for real estate agents? Understanding wha
Matt Capritto’s 87-year-old father, Tony, lost his home in Ventura, Calif., to the wildfires that are ravaging the southern half of the state, and now he no longer has a place to play his piano every afternoon. As difficult an experience as that was, Capritto, president-elect of the Ventura County Coastal Association of REALTORS®, didn’t feel the magnitude of the situation until he took his father to the post office to change his mailing add
More than 1,000 structures and 260,000 acres across Southern California have been charred since massive wildfires broke out earlier this month. With the blazes still threatening 25,000 more homes, is there anything homeowners can do to protect their houses from a fire? You may not be able to fireproof a home completely, but building experts say there are several measures homeowners can take to lower the risks of sustaining damage. Realtor.com® o
The California Department of Business Oversight issued a warning to consumers to beware of email scams purporting to be from representatives of Impac Mortgage Co.The emails originate from a fake email address, impacmortgagecorp@gmail.com, and appear legit, using Impac Mortgage’s logo and invoking the name of CEO Joseph Tomkinson. The scammers are sending unsolicited emails to recipients, offering them loans and requesting that the recipient pa
A majority of recently surveyed homeowners say that changing homeownership tax incentives would restrict their mobility and cause them financial strain, according to new data from the National Association of REALTORS®’ fourth-quarter Housing Opportunities and Market Experience survey.Proposed tax bills currently in the House and Senate could “undercut the incentive of owning a home and would have a detrimental effect on many homeowners’ fi
Republican lawmakers in conference committee Wednesday announced a tentative agreement on melding the House and Senate versions of tax reform into a final bill. A formal vote is expected soon. The National Association of REALTORS® is seeking changes to make the final bill less harmful to homeownership. Here’s a Q&A on what to look for over the next week or so based on a Facebook Live event NAR hosted yesterday. Participating in the live di
Image-focused social network Instagram announced that it is making hashtags more findable and followable. You’ll now be able to follow hashtags to see top posts and stories about a topic on your home page. This opens the door for real estate professionals to easily follow housing-related photos and topics and track conversations on Instagram.“Following a hashtag is just like following a friend,” Instagram explains at its blog. “To get sta
Several malls in the U.S. are getting a new owner. Mall operating giant Westfield is being acquired by Unibail-Rodamco, a commercial real estate giant based in France, in a deal valued at nearly $16 billion. The sale comes at a time when the mall sector is struggling to define itself as it competes with growing threats from online shopping.Westfield is an Australian firm that operates 33 malls across the U.S. Its mall portfolio includes New York
Minneapolis office offers clients and their guests an immersive experienceThe moment I put on the Oculus Rift headset, I felt like I was inside one of Engel & Völkers’ listings.It only took a few seconds to master and then I was free to roam the house, admiring the tray ceilings in the dining room, wandering into the cozy den, ascending the stairs and meandering through each of the spacious bedrooms.All of this unfolded in the virtual r
Two-car garages are the most popular option in new homes nationwide, according to an analysis by the National Association of Home Builders of 2016 new-home construction data.Of all the single-family homes completed last year, 63 percent of the homes featured a two-car garage, while 22 percent had a garage suitable for three or more cars. Only 6 percent of new homes were built with a one-car garage and just 1 percent had a carport. Eight percent o
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