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Rudi Davis
12 Dec 2025

Open houses in Jacksonville look very different today from how they did just a few years ago. In 2021 and 2022, many homes attracted multiple offers within days of listing, often selling above asking price. Buyers frequently waived inspections to stay competitive, and sellers had little reason to negotiate on price or terms. That pace ...

Rudi Davis
12 Dec 2025

Just three months ago, Jacksonville homebuyers were scrambling to compete – making rushed offers, paying well above asking price, and agreeing to buy homes “as is” without the usual safety nets. Today, that pressure has eased. Buyers have regained leverage, and the shift is changing how both sides approach the market. After years of sellers ...

Rudi Davis
10 Dec 2025

Burr Ridge mayor says sales tax and development fees, not property taxes, determine whether suburbs can fund police, roads, and services – creating a fundamental disconnect with residents who oppose revenue-generating projects Most suburban residents assume that property taxes are the lifeblood of their local government. But according to Gary Grasso, Mayor of Burr Ridge, ...

Rudi Davis
10 Dec 2025

Burr Ridge mayor describes how a premature leak about Costco consideration created a false narrative that spread faster than the village could correct it – offering a cautionary tale about information management in suburban development. One of the most overlooked challenges in suburban development is not organized opposition or legitimate community concerns, but the rapid ...

Rudi Davis
10 Dec 2025

After a failed development proposal, Burr Ridge, Illinois, has changed its strategy for handling large, strategic properties. Instead of waiting for developers to pitch ideas, the village is investing in its own planning process – a notable departure from the traditional, reactive model of suburban development. “If we made an error in the beginning, we ...

Rudi Davis
10 Dec 2025

First-time homebuyers in Rhode Island are struggling to compete for move-in-ready properties, but there are alternatives for those willing to adjust their expectations, according to Walt Buteau, a real estate advisor at Engel & Völkers Oceanside. Limited inventory under $500,000 and widespread demand for turnkey homes have created a market where entry-level buyers routinely lose ...

Rudi Davis
10 Dec 2025

Rhode Island’s house-flipping market remains active, but investors are struggling with rising acquisition costs that are reducing the profitability of renovation projects. Walt Buteau, a real estate advisor at Engel & Völkers Oceanside who specializes in investment properties and flips, says the challenge is not a lack of interest but a sharp increase in prices ...

Rudi Davis
09 Dec 2025

Seller psychology and demographic trends are creating a housing shortage in Rhode Island that extends far beyond the 20% of homeowners holding onto low mortgage rates, according to local real estate advisor Walt Buteau of Engel & Völkers Oceanside. Rhode Island’s inventory crisis is often blamed on homeowners with sub-4% mortgages who are unwilling to ...

Rudi Davis
09 Dec 2025

The traditional real estate brokerage model, built on networks of physical branch offices across every market, is under increasing financial strain. Cheryl Wellman, Chief Financial Officer at AccountTECH and former controller at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, says rising costs are forcing brokerages to close and consolidate branch offices at a pace not seen in decades. ...

Rudi Davis
09 Dec 2025

Established hotel owners are increasingly lending money to other hotel owners and operators, stepping into a role traditionally filled by banks and debt funds. As credit tightens and acquisition opportunities shrink, these experienced operators are using their own balance sheets to finance deals, effectively becoming lenders, but with the ability to step in and operate ...

Rudi Davis
09 Dec 2025

The idea that regional banks have pulled back entirely from commercial real estate lending oversimplifies the reality, according to Stephen Haase, Director of Capital Markets at Greysteel. While regional banks have not exited hotel lending altogether, they have become much more selective based on deal size. Haase says this shift is creating a clear split ...

Rudi Davis
09 Dec 2025

The Florida residential real estate market is suffering from slow response times and complacency among local agents, according to Joseph Bograd, team leader of The Bograd Team. When Bograd tried to rent a property in Florida four years ago, he experienced delays that would be unacceptable in his Pennsylvania market, and he immediately recognized an ...

Rudi Davis
09 Dec 2025

Across the hospitality sector, fewer hotel deals are getting done, and the reason is largely practical rather than macroeconomic. As the cost of bringing properties up to current brand standards continues to climb, renovation budgets are increasingly breaking the math on potential transactions. In many cases, the added capital required upfront makes deals harder to ...

Rudi Davis
09 Dec 2025

South Florida’s condominium market is facing a crisis driven not by sale prices but by the soaring insurance premiums that are baked into monthly association fees. As those master-policy costs climb, the fees tied to them have doubled or even tripled, leaving many entry-level units effectively out of reach for the buyers who once relied ...

Rudi Davis - KeyCrew