The idea that high interest rates are keeping first-time buyers out of Bergen County’s housing market misses the real obstacle, according to Gina Gerszberg, broker salesperson at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. While rates get most of the attention, Gerszberg says the real hurdle for new buyers is the size of the down payment needed to ...
The era of pandemic-driven real estate in Hampton Roads, when homes sold within days regardless of season, has ended. Sellers accustomed to immediate offers and bidding wars now face a slower, more deliberate market. Dan Patton, a realtor with Prodigy Realty LLC, says the region has returned to a normal seasonal market, where homes listed ...
While national headlines focus on mortgage rates as the main force shaping the housing market, John Finn, Jr., Senior Managing Broker at United Real Estate Richmond, says this misses the real problem: a persistent shortage of homes for sale. According to Finn, the main constraint isn’t financing — it’s inventory — and that scarcity is ...
Real estate deals often fall apart for familiar reasons: financing issues, low appraisals, or buyers backing out. But according to John Finn, Jr., Senior Managing Broker at United Real Estate Richmond, inspection and repair negotiations are the most common — and most avoidable — cause of failed transactions. Finn, who has spent 50 years in ...
Huntsville’s average home price has climbed to around $375,000, creating a widening gap between the city’s rapid employment growth and the availability of homes affordable to incoming workers. Nina Soden, Associate Broker/Realtor at The Soden Team of Legend Realty, says the current market is not positioned to meet the needs of the thousands of new ...
Soaring land acquisition costs, infrastructure expenses, and permitting fees are adding $50,000 to $60,000 to the cost of every new home in the Orlando area before construction even begins, according to Brenden Rendo, Real Estate Broker at NextHome. These upfront costs are reshaping the economics of entry-level housing in Central Florida, pushing realistic starting prices ...
Connecticut brought together 60 to 70 stakeholders — including environmental attorneys, licensed environmental professionals, consultants, and municipal representatives — who met monthly from December 2020 through May 2025 to draft regulations replacing the state’s longstanding Transfer Act. The process was exhaustive and detailed. While the group quickly agreed on major principles, such as moving from ...
Connecticut’s urban centers are filled with vacant, decaying industrial sites that companies have kept off the market for decades to avoid the state’s Transfer Act requirements. These abandoned properties represent missed opportunities for density and walkability in the very locations where the state wants to encourage growth. A new release-based cleanup system, set to take ...
While mortgage rates remain the focus of most real estate coverage, a separate affordability crisis is emerging in Hampton Roads as insurance premiums and property taxes climb sharply. These increases are raising monthly housing costs by 11-12% — even before factoring in interest rates — creating a structural affordability problem that lower rates alone cannot ...
The Bergen County residential market has split into clear tiers based on location, with properties in flood zones, on busy streets, or near railroad tracks now taking much longer to sell. During the pandemic, almost any home would move quickly, regardless of its location. Now, buyers are scrutinizing location as the primary non-negotiable factor in ...
Regulatory pressure is pushing lenders to resolve troubled commercial loans, prompting some highly leveraged property owners to sell and creating opportunities for cash buyers. For the past several years, commercial real estate lenders and borrowers have relied on loan modifications and maturity extensions to delay recognizing losses on struggling properties. This practice, widely known as ...
The average age of first-time homebuyers in St. Petersburg, Florida, has reached 40, reflecting limited affordability and constrained inventory that continue to discourage younger buyers. Jake Maisner, COO and Partner at Jac Smith Group with Keller Williams St. Pete Realty, says that despite a recent uptick in listings following the fall 2024 hurricanes, the new ...
Two major hurricanes in fall 2024 flooded properties across St. Petersburg, creating a surge of damaged inventory and changing how agents price and market homes. Jake Maisner, COO and Partner at Jac Smith Group with Keller Williams St. Pete Realty, says the flooding pushed a large number of damaged properties onto the market, forcing agents ...
Buyers who spent the past two years waiting for lower interest rates are now returning to the Austin market, even though rates remain elevated. According to Nancy Taute, Realtor at Compass RE Texas, many buyers who stayed on the sidelines for 12 to 24 months believe further waiting no longer makes sense. This marks a ...
Utah housing officials warn that structural problems in mortgage financing are pricing most residents out, even as new construction increases. According to Steve Waldrip, Senior Advisor for Housing Strategy and Innovation in Utah’s Office of the Governor, traditional mortgage systems now serve only a narrow slice of the population, and the gap is widening. “In ...
