First-time homebuyers may have been out of the classroom for a while, but that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from some of the back-to-school tips, tricks and hints that come pouring out this time of year. Here are a few relevant reminders from the National Association of REALTORS® that can come in handy during the home buying process! For more information on first-time homebuyers, check on the National Association of REALTORS® 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. from homes and style https://narnewsline.blogs.realtor.org/2017/09/04/infographic-back-to-home-school/ Continue reading

There is no doubt about it: children are expensive. According to a report from the Department of Agriculture, it costs an average of $233,610, or $13,000 a year, to raise a child from birth to age 17 in the United States. That expense may impact many families’ housing decisions, and so the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Moving With Kids Report explored how children affect the home buying process. Twenty-two percent of buyers with children said child care expenses delayed the process of buying a home. When the home buying process is underway, those child care expenses still have an influence, forcing buyers with children to make compromises on the home they purchase. Twenty-six percent of buyers compromised on the price of the home, 25 percent on the style of home and 24 percent on the size of the home. Check out the entire report here to learn more about the different purchasing and selling habits of those with children at home compared to those without. from homes and style https://narnewsline.blogs.realtor.org/2017/09/01/are-childcare-expenses-affecting-home-buying/ Continue reading

The following is NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s reaction to this morning’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on the employment situation in August: “Job creation in July was a bit light at 156,000. The unemployment rate is very low, but has not yet meaningfully forced up wages. It has been a humdrum economy so far this year, seesawing between good to tolerable, yet certainly not great. Nonetheless, the 12-month job gains total still tops 2 million, and that will likely grow household formation and home buying demand. The job figures in July assures that interest rates will remain low for a longer period.” from homes and style https://narnewsline.blogs.realtor.org/2017/09/01/instant-reaction-august-jobs-report-2/ Continue reading

Existing-home sales and contract signings both stumbled in July as stubbornly low levels hampered the housing market and kept home prices rising at a robust pace. Visit https://www.nar.realtor/videos/housing-minute to watch a 53-second, animated video from the National Association of Realtors® summarizing how the housing market performed in July, as well as a regional breakdown of median single-family home prices both regionally and in the top five most expensive markets during the second quarter of 2017. from homes and style https://narnewsline.blogs.realtor.org/2017/08/31/an-animated-recap-of-july-housing-activity/ Continue reading

The process of selling a home is often emotionally taxing, but selling a home with children in the mix can be a downright nerve-wracking experience. The National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Moving With Kids Report explores the one-of-a-kind adventure of trying to sell a home with kids. For sellers with children under 18, urgency is the name of the game: 26 percent of sellers with children qualified their need to sell as ‘very urgently’ and needed to sell their home as quickly as possible. Compare that to only 14 percent of sellers without children. This is futher illustrated when sellers were asked what they want most from their agent. Sellers with children want their agents to sell their home within a specific timeframe, more so than sellers without children. Check out the the entire report here to learn more about the different purchasing and selling habits of those with children at home compared to those without. from homes and style https://narnewsline.blogs.realtor.org/2017/08/29/sellers-with-children-want-to-sell-now/ Continue reading

The National Association of Realtors® released the 2017 Member Safety Report on Monday. The survey asked Realtors® from across the country how safe they feel while on the job, and nearly 3,200 answered questions about their personal experiences and the safety procedures and materials provided by their brokerage. For the third year in a row, the report found that 9 in 10 Realtors® have never been the victim of crime, and less than 40 percent have found themselves in situations where they have feared for their safety or the safety of their personal information. Of those who more commonly found themselves in situations of fear, 44 percent were women and 40 percent were real estate professionals in suburban areas. The survey found that over half of surveyed members carry a self-defense weapon: female Realtors® are more likely to carry pepper spray, while male Realtors® more commonly carry a firearm. The most common circumstances that resulted in fearful situations were open houses, showing vacant and model homes, working with properties that were unlocked or unsecured and showing homes in remote areas. The survey found that 39 percent of real estate agents have participated in self-defense classes as a proactive safety measure,... Continue reading

NAR report traces this trend to the declining share of Canadian and UK buyers, who tend to purchase property for vacation use or rentals. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/b8camS6Kz1A/cities-outpace-resort-areas-for-foreign-buyers Continue reading

Short term rentals have become a mainstay of the tourism industry in many resort towns, and with the rise of Airbnb and VRBO.com, there has been a rise of short term rentals in all parts of the country, in all kinds of neighborhood settings. Many people are buying real estate and using it for a short term rental. In this podcast, Brian Blaesser shares tips to know, information about what regulations you might encounter, and how agents can help their clients who are hoping to acquire short term rentals. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/0ph_AGSdBag/podcast-short-term-rentals Continue reading

Researchers scoured realtor.com® data to find lake towns that offer the most activities for residents as well the fastest growth in home prices. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/JedNzSYvjV0/best-places-to-score-a-lakefront-property Continue reading

Despite overall home sales maintaining their strongest pace in a decade, 2016 vacation home sales reported in at their lowest level since 2013, dropping 21.6 percent from 2015. The National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributes this decline to challenges with affordability and supply. The two of the most popular destinations for vacation homes – the South and the West – have seen soaring home prices in several markets in recent years, meaning purchasing a second home has become difficult and unaffordable for many buyers. However, buyers purchasing... Read More from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/6XYpI6hJNok/fewer-people-buying-second-homes Continue reading

Download (PNG 496KB) This infographic was created using data from the 2017 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey. More Information ... Read More from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/lkdINb5jJUs/primary-vacation-and-investment-homes-purchased-by-region-in-2016 Continue reading

Download (JPG 1.34MB) This infographic takes a look at investment and vacation home buying in the past year. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/tHEz4rlJ-DU/2017-investment-and-vacation-home-buyers Continue reading

WASHINGTON (April 11, 2017) — Last year’s strongest pace of home sales in a decade included a sizeable drop in activity from vacation buyers and a jump from individual investors, according to an annual second-home survey released today by the National Association of Realtors®. The survey additionally found that vacation and investment buyers in 2016 were more likely to take out a mortgage and use their property as a short-term rental. NAR’s 2017 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey 1, covering existing- and new-... Read More from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/t8TOuWT0sx0/affordability-tight-supply-cause-vacation-home-sales-to-plummet-in-2016-investment-sales-climb-45 Continue reading

In this video, NAR member and REBAC instructor Cheryl Knowlton teaches you how to get the most out of your RSPS certification, including how to: Know your market and your prospective buyers Become your area’s ambassador Advertise and promote your RSPS certification/specialty Use social media to network and demonstrate your expertise Network in your community Network with other RSPS members Create a web site that will be the “go-to” spot for people thinking... Read More from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/s2lsHqfSwVI/marketing-yourself-as-an-rsps Continue reading

Download (JPG 216KB) This infographic takes a look at investment and vacation home buying in the past year. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/GhOvZnWJEtg/snapshot-of-2016-second-home-buyers Continue reading

Investors renting out property on sites such as Airbnb could generate more income by getting into the world of special-events leases. But there are a number of hurdles to clear in order to make this a winning investment strategy. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/pcF14JSzHww/a-grander-vision-for-short-term-rentals Continue reading

The information from this quiz was taken from the Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/y7R7UUtAdhI/quiz-us-home-sales-to-foreign-buyers Continue reading

Download (PDF 2MB) These presentation slides are from Evan Liddiard's update on current tax reform proposals and their implications, presented on March 22, 2017. More Information Watch the video presentation of these slides. Learn more about tax reform affecting real estate. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/y05SM1S7LmM/tax-reform-2017-what-to-watch-out-for-presentation-slides Continue reading

Evan Liddiard, Senior Policy Representative for Federal Taxation at NAR, gives an update on current tax reform proposals and their implications. More Information Get the slides from this presentation. Find out more about tax reform affecting real estate. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/i51KAJ5CTK4/tax-reform-2017-what-to-watch-out-for Continue reading

In this video, Evan Liddiard and Linda Monaco discuss FIRPTA changes and what they mean for buyers and sellers of real property and for the commercial real estate industry. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/Ym47H26WBKI/firpta-changes-primer Continue reading

NAR report traces this trend to the declining share of Canadian and UK buyers, who tend to purchase property for vacation use or rentals. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/b8camS6Kz1A/cities-outpace-resort-areas-for-foreign-buyers Continue reading

Short term rentals have become a mainstay of the tourism industry in many resort towns, and with the rise of Airbnb and VRBO.com, there has been a rise of short term rentals in all parts of the country, in all kinds of neighborhood settings. Many people are buying real estate and using it for a short term rental. In this podcast, Brian Blaesser shares tips to know, information about what regulations you might encounter, and how agents can help their clients who are hoping to acquire short term rentals. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/0ph_AGSdBag/podcast-short-term-rentals Continue reading

Researchers scoured realtor.com® data to find lake towns that offer the most activities for residents as well the fastest growth in home prices. from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/JedNzSYvjV0/best-places-to-score-a-lakefront-property Continue reading

Despite overall home sales maintaining their strongest pace in a decade, 2016 vacation home sales reported in at their lowest level since 2013, dropping 21.6 percent from 2015. The National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributes this decline to challenges with affordability and supply. The two of the most popular destinations for vacation homes – the South and the West – have seen soaring home prices in several markets in recent years, meaning purchasing a second home has become difficult and unaffordable for many buyers. However, buyers purchasing... Read More from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/6XYpI6hJNok/fewer-people-buying-second-homes Continue reading

Download (PNG 496KB) This infographic was created using data from the 2017 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey. More Information ... Read More from homes and style http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealtororgResortsHeadlines/~3/lkdINb5jJUs/primary-vacation-and-investment-homes-purchased-by-region-in-2016 Continue reading