One of the first steps before listing a home for sale is often clearing the clutter. But that can be tough for homeowners, who may already be overwhelmed with the prospects of moving, let alone going through all their items and deciding what stays and goes. The National Association of REALTORS® announced on Thursday a partnership with 1-800-GOT-JUNK that offers real estate pros discounts for themselves or...
More homeowners say they plan to renovate their homes this year, and they are increasingly planning to take advantage of higher home prices and use their home’s equity to complete the renovations, according to Bank of America’s “2021 Homebuyer Insights Report: Home Improvement and Equity Spotlight.”As home prices surge, more homeowners are tapping HELOCs to make significant home improvements. Gen X...
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled an acceleration in online transactions, including in real estate. The majority of U.S. adults are comfortable completing financial purchases digitally, too, finds a new survey released by Notarize, a company that offers remote online notarization. Eighty-one percent of 2,000 U.S. adults who responded say they feel secure making financial transactions online. But extra...
Bidding wars and high home prices are increasingly sidelining first-time home buyers. To make matters more challenging, they are also up against investors willing to pay cash for a home, which they are typically unable to do. They are losing out on homes facing multiple offers and missing some of the lowest mortgage rates of all time—under 3%. But “the American dream is not dead,” Jessica Lautz,...
Drones, cybersecurity, and 5G cellular networks are expected to have the biggest impact on the real estate business over the next two years, according to the newly released 2021 Technology Survey conducted by the National Association of REALTORS®. “The pandemic has confirmed to all of us in the industry that technology will continue to transform real estate,” said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. The survey...
In a two-year analysis, homes on a mid-Atlantic MLS sold for more money than similar homes that sold off of it. Bright MLS, a multiple listing service that supports more than 95,000 real estate professionals from Pennsylvania to Virginia, conducted the study of 442,829 records for home sales transactions completed between January 2019 and December 2020.The median sold on the MLS was about 17% higher than...
Consumers rated mortgage servicers’ customer service higher during the pandemic. Much of that satisfaction, however, is driven by non-bank servicers, which offer more digital solutions for consumers. Traditional banks are starting to lose their edge over non-bank lenders, according to the J.D. Power Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study.Bank-affiliated services have historically outperformed non-banks by...
Golf communities had seen a decline in demand over recent years, with several neighborhoods removing or repurposing them. But amid the pandemic, the popularity of golf communities has rebounded, with wait lists and rapidly rising home prices. “It went from famine to feast,” Jason Becker, CEO and co-founder of Golf Live Navigators in South Florida, told The Escape Home, a newsletter published by...
Borrowers can still take advantage of some of the lowest mortgage rates of all time. For the fifth consecutive week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has remained below 3%. Also, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.10% this week, an all-time low, Freddie Mac reported.“As the economy works to get back to its pre-pandemic self, the fight against COVID-19 variants unfolds, owners and buyers continue...
Investors are snatching up homes and are being blamed for contributing to the inventory shortages in several markets across the country. Investors are buying homes and then holding on to the properties, often turning them into rentals, and not returning very many homes back onto the market from their growing portfolios. Housing experts say that in some markets it's exacerbating housing shortages. Investors...