Most home buyers put in the effort to save for their down payment, but that is only a fraction of the cost they should expect for homeownership. There are many other lesser-known costs that can sometimes come as a shock to buyers. Make sure your home shoppers plan accordingly for the following extra expenses, including:Earnest money: The amount of earnest money required varies by state and local market. In a slower market, $500 to $1,000 migh
Home features—particularly those that are technology-based—have a stronger pull on millennial home shoppers than the promotion of brand names, according to a new survey by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, conducted with 20,000 new home shoppers. Millennials tended to show a preference for tech-focused amenities that could make their lives simpler.Young adults born in the 1980s and 1990s are half as likely as their parents’ generation to
Entrepreneurs are starting business niches to help the growing number of baby boomers who are moving their aging parents, The Wall Street Journal reports.These firms assist with the entire process: clearing out a home and choosing what to throw away, donate, or sell; packing and moving; holding estate sales; and preparing houses for sale.“There is more business than we can handle,” said Kimberly McMahon, co-founder of Let’s Move, whic
If your sellers are looking for ways to improve their kitchen before listing, or if your buyers want to make cost-effective updates to a dated kitchen in their newly purchased home, professional organizer Colleen Klimczak, owner of Peace of Mind Professional Organizing, has five tips. Install under-cabinet lighting. This simple project is low in cost and leaves a big impact, giving the whole kitchen a beautiful glow. Try LED rope lights that pl
A real estate agent in Scottsdale, Ariz., was trapped inside an open house recently when a two-and-a-half-foot-long diamondback rattlesnake greeted him at the front door in an aggressive stance and refused to budge. The unidentified agent recorded the frightening encounter and posted the video to YouTube under the name “Our Simple Adventures on Tuesday.”In a written message at the beginning of the video, the agent explains that he was carryin
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Mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac devotes its entire November Insight report to exploring the warning signs from last decade’s housing price bubble and weighs it against the current housing market. Economists, however, are quick to say today’s market is not currently overheating.“The evidence indicates there currently is no house price bubble in the U.S., despite the rapid increase of house prices over the last five years,” says Sean B
About 60 percent of first-time home buyers put down 6 percent or less on a home purchase in September. The median down payment has dropped from 6 percent to 5 percent for first-time buyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.But there are still many potential buyers on the sidelines who may be under the impression they need a bigger down payment before they can buy.NAR conducted a survey
The share of new homes that are 5,000 square feet or more is dropping. It’s now at its lowest point since 2012, during the Great Recession.The percentage has dropped from 3.9 percent in 2015 to 3.1 percent in 2016. In absolute terms, that’s 28,000 units reduced to 24,000, respectively, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction.In 2015, the share of 5,000-plus–square-foot homes skyrocketed to its highest number since 20
Charles McMillan, CIPS, the 2009 president of the National Association of REALTORS®, whose consensus-building spirit and get-it-done style helped steer NAR through the depths of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, died Wednesday in Ft. Worth, Texas, after complications from congestive heart failure. He was 66.“He had a gentle, yet strong demeanor about him,” said 2018 NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall. “He was extraor
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