Real Estate - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Rents See Slowest Growth in Years

Rents nationwide posted the weakest annual growth in May since 2010, according to a new analysis released by RentCafé, a national apartment search website. The average rent in the country in May was $1,381 per month, up 2 percent year over year.But that doesn’t mean renters are finding relief yet. Overall, prices in 16 of the 20 cities with the largest number of rental apartments climbed faster than the national average, according to the analy

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The Best Housing Markets for Home Flippers

House flipping activity surged to an 11-year high this year, with more than 207,000 homes flipped, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm. But the key is knowing where to be and when. “The sweet spot for successful home flipping is finding the neighborhoods just emerging as the next hot neighborhoods in a city,” says Daren Blomquist, a senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. The firm says the average profit for a

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May Prices Reached Record Highs

U.S. prices surged to an all-time high and homes sold faster than they ever have in May, according to a new report released by realtor.com®. Home prices averaged $297,000 in May, and homes sold in just 55 days.Despite recent upticks, however, the market is showing a few signs of slowing momentum, according to the report.“We’re in the thick of the hottest homebuying season of all time,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research at r

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Amazon HQ2 Finalists Ranked on Housing

Amazon plans to announce its second headquarters location later this summer, and a handful of finalist cities are eagerly awaiting the decision. Amazon declared 20 finalists in the running for its HQ2 site. Cities are making their best offers to the online retail giant. Amazon promises to add up to 50,000 new high-paying jobs and invest $5 billion in the local economy to the chosen host city. Amazon will continue to maintain its headquarters in

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Hawaii Homes Were Built Despite Lava Risk

Lower Puna is one of the most affordable places to live in Hawaii, but the subdivisions were also built on an area long known to be under a lava hazard, The Wall Street Journal reports. So far, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has destroyed more than 80 houses and other structures and has forced hundreds of residents to evacuate since its eruption near residential neighborhoods on May 3.But some homeowners may have originally been willing to overlook

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Texas Weighs Stronger Building Codes Post-Harvey

Homeowners in Texas are still rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey’s 130-mile-an-hour winds tore through communities, damaging and flooding homes and businesses in August 2017. And as the start of a new hurricane season looms on June 1, homeowners in Texas coastal cities are pondering how far they should go in building sturdier homes that can better withstand natural disasters. Some officials are urging for stiffer standards in the state, but othe

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The Top Landscaping Trends for 2018

Native plants, outdoor yoga spaces, and charging stations are among the hottest landscaping trends growing in consumer demand for 2018, according to a new report released by the American Society of Landscape Architects. Landscape architects were asked to rate the popularity of several residential outdoor design elements. Landscape architects noted a growth in the use of native plants, low-maintenance landscapes, and flexible-use spaces, for yoga

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Single-Family Rental Giant Hit With Class-Action Suit

Invitation Homes is being accused of excessive and illegal late fees charged to tenants who fall behind on their rent, according to a class-action lawsuit. In the suit, plaintiffs claim the single-family rental giant charges a late fee of $95 even when rent is only an hour late. The lawsuit also alleges that Invitation Homes adds extra late fees of $95 or more on any accrued balance of late fees, even if tenants pay their most recent rent on time

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7 Markets Where Prices Are Actually Easing

Around the country, home buyers are facing escalating prices as they compete for a limited number of homes for sale. But there are exceptions popping up in some markets. In a few metro areas, buyers are seeing the reverse: prices coming down.Realtor.com® researchers found that 27 of the nation’s 350 largest metros are seeing price drops. In those 27 markets, the reason for the decline in prices was generally attributed to overbuilding; layoff

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Hottest Home Buyer Names

Some names may be destined to be taking up a larger percentage of your home shoppers, according to a new study. Home sales to buyers with the last names of Lin, Zhang, Wu, Liu, and Huang rose by more than 20 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. On the other hand, buyers with the last names of Burns, Porter, Jenkins, and Cole fell by 15 percent or more, according to ATTOM Data Solution’s analysis of home buyer surnames in 2017.Researchers looked at

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