Psychologists, addiction experts and gamification specialists agree search portals like Zillow and Realtor.com can be irresistible to vulnerable users. But the question is, how big of a problem is it? Consensus grows as users scroll… “Redfin and Zillow put me to bed every night,” Patrice Grell Yursik admitted in a recent discussion on Facebook. Yursik … Read more
Financial experts say that’s not smart. In fact, it’s a terrible idea. For Baltimore’s top lawyer, it led to federal charges. Even if Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby isn’t guilty of the charges brought against her, she is certainly guilty of making a monumentally bad financial move. Mosby withdrew retirement money to invest in … Read more
Buying a home can seem like a daunting process — it just may be the most expensive and emotionally charged purchase of your life. But even during a pandemic, with careful research and determination, the keys to that dream home can be yours. We’ll help you along your path toward homeownership. The Decision to Buy… … Read more
They come with character and charm, but repairs, insurance and historic commission rules can make the purchase of an older property more complicated than new homeowners realize Brian Sanders, 47, co-owner of a McMinnville, Ore., car dealership, and his wife, Heather, 29, didn’t set out to purchase a 90-year-old home, but when they began their … Read more
Here’s How to Win Their Heart (Or at Least Get on Their Schedule). They’re as unattainable as the Prom King or Queen. Fortunately, the tactics you used to win the high school hottie also work on plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other skilled craftspeople. It’s virtually impossible at the moment to hire anyone to do any … Read more
Rising mortgage rates and last-year’s record-breaking runup in home prices are expected to price many would-be homebuyers out of the market this year, denting sales of existing homes but bringing home price appreciation back down to more sustainable levels, Fannie Mae economists say. “We expect the narrative around housing this year to shift from one … Read more
Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner outlines the 10 trends that will have the biggest impact on the real estate industry and markets across the country. Last year, I put together a top 10 list of things for brokers — and their clients — to be on the lookout for in 2021. I decided that an … Read more
Sales on track for best year since 2006, driven by low interest rates and a strong job marketThe supply of homes for sale has stayed well below normal all year. Existing-home sales, which rose in November to the highest seasonally adjusted annual rate since January, are on track for their strongest year since 2006 as … Read more
The generation that supposedly didn’t want to buy things now accounts for over half of all home-purchase loan applications; economists expect them to bolster demand for years Alex and Michelle Angert lived the last years of their 20s without a permanent address. They moved out of a small Manhattan apartment in 2018 to stay in … Read more
Those on the hunt for a new home often have a lengthy list of considerations, including number of bathrooms, size of the backyard, school district and proximity to work. But there’s another piece that should factor in to the decision: a home’s vulnerability to peril. By that, I mean the likelihood of that home being … Read more
