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Rudi Davis
01 Mar 2026

Lenders across Long Island are now treating accessory dwelling units, including basement apartments and mother-daughter setups, as income-generating assets rather than liabilities. According to Perry Pappas, team leader of The Perry Pappas Team with Coldwell Banker American Homes, the shift in underwriting standards is changing how buyers qualify for mortgages and how sellers market their ...

Rudi Davis
01 Mar 2026

While kitchen and bathroom renovations dominate home improvement budgets, backyards remain underused spaces where designers face fewer structural constraints. Most discussions about real estate marketing and renovation focus on interiors. However, Paul Lafrance, founder and CEO of Paul Lafrance Design, says working inside a house requires operating within strict boundaries. Interior Renovations Come With Structural ...

Rudi Davis
01 Mar 2026

Coliving properties are producing gross rents 20–40% higher than traditional rental models, according to Clara Arroyave, Founder and CEO of Coliving Cashflow. This premium comes from reconfiguring single-family homes or multifamily units into multiple private bedrooms with shared common areas. Landlords can collect several rent payments from a property that would otherwise support only one ...

Rudi Davis
01 Mar 2026

No state in the United States offers affordable housing for minimum wage earners, according to Clara Arroyave, Founder and CEO of Coliving Cashflow. This affordability crisis is increasing demand for coliving as tenants choose between unaffordable solo living and shared housing to reduce costs. The gap between wages and housing expenses is widening, and Arroyave ...

Rudi Davis
01 Mar 2026

A growing number of coliving properties are reporting bad debt levels of 11-12%, with landlords unable to cover mortgage payments when just one or two rooms go vacant, according to Clara Arroyave, Founder and CEO of Coliving Cashflow. The coliving model itself does not cause this financial strain. Instead, financial pressure often stems from investors ...

Rudi Davis
28 Feb 2026

Hotel owners are facing a profitability squeeze that extends beyond rising interest rates. Brent Jaynes, Managing Partner at Leisure Real Estate Advisors, says operators are contending with sharp, simultaneous increases in insurance, labor, and commodity costs that cannot be offset by raising room rates alone. This pressure on cash flow is changing day-to-day operations and ...

Rudi Davis
28 Feb 2026

A designer argues that dismissing backyard projects as weak financial investments reflects an outdated view, as buyers increasingly prioritize stress relief and quality of life alongside traditional renovation metrics. Rethinking the Resale Value of Outdoor Living Real estate professionals have long advised homeowners that outdoor living upgrades yield weaker financial returns than kitchen or bathroom ...

Rudi Davis
28 Feb 2026

Many homeowners neglect basic preventative maintenance and wait until minor issues become expensive emergencies, according to Clem McDavid, founder and CEO of HomeMinder. Despite having access to information and tools, many homeowners avoid routine upkeep on their homes. McDavid says this pattern is worsening as practical maintenance skills decline across generations. McDavid argues that the ...

Rudi Davis
28 Feb 2026

Joseph DeNaro, a realtor at Realty ONE Group Emerge, says buyers in the luxury secondary home market are more likely to walk away from deals they would have accepted a year ago. This reflects a shift in how economic uncertainty is influencing buyer decisions. DeNaro, who specializes in New Jersey’s beach market, sees this trend ...

Rudi Davis
28 Feb 2026

Flood insurance is pushing buyers out of coastal real estate markets and creating an affordability barrier that is often overlooked. Joseph DeNaro, a realtor at Realty ONE Group Emerge who specializes in New Jersey beach communities, says flood insurance has become a third major cost factor, along with mortgage rates and property taxes, that removes ...

Rudi Davis
27 Feb 2026

Financing problems, not appraisal gaps or high rates, have become the leading cause of failed residential real estate deals in Houston. According to Anja Drewes Neidhardt, owner and broker at Anja Drewes Properties, the main culprit is lender incompetence, with critical documentation issues surfacing just days before closing. Rate Shopping Houston home sales are increasingly ...

Rudi Davis
27 Feb 2026

Across Utah, cities are approving new starter home developments that remain unbuilt, revealing a critical breakdown in how regional infrastructure is funded. The issue is not regulatory resistance or lack of builder interest, but rather the absence of roads, water lines, and utilities needed to support these higher-density communities. As a result, zoning reform alone ...

Rudi Davis
27 Feb 2026

Neighborhood opposition to starter home developments is typically driven by fears that smaller, more affordable homes will lower property values, increase crime, and introduce social problems in established communities. Steve Waldrip, Senior Advisor for Housing Strategy and Innovation in Utah’s Office of the Governor, acknowledges that while these concerns are common, they are not supported ...

Rudi Davis
27 Feb 2026

Appraisal-required repairs in as-is sales are derailing a significant number of entry-level home purchases in North Alabama, according to Nina Soden, associate broker at The Soden Team of Legend Realty. Soden reports that financed deals under $250,000 are falling through at higher rates, with property condition emerging as the main obstacle. Many homes at this ...

Rudi Davis
27 Feb 2026

Florida’s luxury residential developers are facing a visibility problem that few have recognized. Laurie Andrews, President of Cotton & Company, a real estate marketing firm specializing in luxury projects, says the way high-net-worth buyers discover properties has changed rapidly — and the effects are already showing up in sales pipelines. While many developers have blamed ...