by Lew Sichelman | Nov 10, 2019
Today, proponents of accessory units believe they will help ease housing shortages by expanding the options for people of all ages. Now, many communities throughout the country have been relaxing their restrictions against ADUs, or outright encouraging them.
by Lew Sichelman | Nov 3, 2019
Homeowners, now and in the future, are paying more federal income tax in order to help corporations pay less federal income tax, to the tune of $620 billion.
by Lew Sichelman | Oct 27, 2019
Trulia also discovered that if a house was haunted, buyers would rather it be possessed by a vengeful ghost than a demon. And, apparently, they’d be willing to live with the antics of the poltergeist: Less than half would be willing to pay for an exorcism.
by Lew Sichelman | Oct 20, 2019
Some real estate professionals say there are some words neither their colleagues nor their clients should use in their listings. These phrases and terms are so overused that they have become meaningless.
by Lew Sichelman | Oct 14, 2019
Wire fraud has registered a year-over-year increase in losses of about 85-90 percent, and real estate transactions are one of scammers’ favorite targets. Luckily, there are a few simple things you can do to protect yourself and your customers.
by Lew Sichelman | Oct 6, 2019
With far fewer sellers distracting buyers from your listing and pretty holiday decorations providing excellent staging, the only challenge is keeping the walk shoveled and the piles of coats tucked away.
by Lew Sichelman | Sep 29, 2019
People buy fixers for all sorts of reasons. Money, of course, is the main factor. But many simply like the house or the neighborhood, and a healthy minority figured they’d enjoy working on the place.
by Lew Sichelman | Sep 15, 2019
After a run of bad publicity and flagging sales, the business is enjoying renewed vigor. Timeshare sales increased in 2018 – the ninth straight year – rising nearly 7 percent to $10.2 billion.
by Lew Sichelman | Sep 8, 2019
Nowadays, only a handful of residences are built entirely in a factory. Many more are built with factory-built components, such as floor and roof trusses, that are delivered to the building site. But no GM or Ford Motor Co. has emerged to take the industry by storm.
by Lew Sichelman | Sep 1, 2019
Homebuyers sometimes pour every dollar they have into the transaction. But a new study found that buyers with post-closing liquidity of three months or more were five times less likely to default on their mortgages.
by Lew Sichelman | Aug 18, 2019
Houses listed for sale on a Thursday tend to sell more quickly, and at higher prices, than those listed on any other day of the week, research shows. But what’s the best time of day to show a house?
by Lew Sichelman | Aug 11, 2019
The townhouse sector is growing faster than any other. Builders started work on some 120,000 townhouses last year: a 15 percent jump in production over 2017. But some builders are going smaller yet.
by Lew Sichelman | Aug 4, 2019
The American housing market is definitely changing. Maybe not everywhere, at least not yet. But in most places, sellers are slowly losing their dominance and buyers are taking control.
by Lew Sichelman | Jul 28, 2019
Many homeowners believe they can’t do without these two perks: home warranties that promise to replace appliances that cannot be repaired and Angie’s List, the popular website that recommends contractors and repair specialists.
by Lew Sichelman | Jul 21, 2019
Homeowners who sell their houses “as-is” may end up costing themselves more than they would have spent to make the necessary repairs – if they are able to sell their homes at all.
by Lew Sichelman | Jul 7, 2019
Sellers who can’t decide whether to move into their next homes while their current ones remain unsold should consider this: According to a new analysis, empty houses remain on the market longer, and sell for less, than those that are still occupied.
by Lew Sichelman | Jun 30, 2019
Congratulations to Beverly Fulkerson of Osgood, Indiana, who was the winner of a Montana mountain retreat in this year’s HGTV Dream Home Giveaway. Here’s hoping she gets to keep the place.
by Lew Sichelman | Jun 23, 2019
A new mortgage product is about to hit the market that could make it easier for owners to repair or rebuild homes that have been damaged or destroyed in floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters.
by Lew Sichelman | Jun 16, 2019
In most real estate transactions, the focus is on the purchaser and whether he or she can afford to buy the property. But there is another, equally important question: Can the seller afford to sell?
by Lew Sichelman | Jun 9, 2019
Homebuyers who expect their newly built castles to be flawless masterpieces are only fooling themselves: The perfect, zero-defect house has yet to be built. But every builder has a whopper of a story about a big mistake.