Help, advice and practical how-to-guides for home remodelling, maintenance and construction
Younger buyers are delaying homeownership longer than prior generations, creating ripple effects that threaten market stability in growing mid-size cities. In Conway, Arkansas, one of the state’s fastest-growing cities, first-time buyers once made up nearly half of all home sales. Over the past 18 months, that share has dropped sharply, according to Richard Henley, broker ...
A new project in Houston’s Acres Homes neighborhood shows how private builders and nonprofits can deliver affordable housing without government subsidies. Kevan Shelton, co-founder and CEO of Park Street Homes, led the effort in partnership with the Houston Area Urban League, delivering 23 affordable homes and a community center through a deal structure that requires ...
Stress in commercial real estate lending is not distributed evenly across the banking sector. Institutions with assets between $2 billion and $50 billion are generating a disproportionate share of distressed asset liquidation mandates in the Midwest and Southeast, according to Edward Durnil, President and CEO of Tranzon Asset Advisors. The pattern suggests that a lender’s ...
Kirk Hudson, Broker at Baird & Warner, reports a significant increase in LGBTQ+ individuals relocating to Chicago from other states, citing safety, representation, and legal protections as the primary reasons. Unlike previous years, most new arrivals are choosing to rent before considering homeownership, a pattern Hudson attributes to the uncertainty of moving for safety rather ...
The belief that self-storage is a simple, low-maintenance real estate investment is both inaccurate and increasingly risky, according to Luke Shardlow, CEO of Ai Lean. Shardlow argues that the business requires sophistication across collections, regulatory compliance, pricing, and risk management, factors that are becoming critical as the industry consolidates and competition intensifies. “There is a ...
National media outlets frequently report on real estate trends using broad statistics that have little bearing on specific local markets. The gap between what consumers see on cable news and the realities in their neighborhoods is creating confusion, according to Nicholas Christopher, Team Leader at Christopher Property Group. Christopher says buyers and sellers in South ...
Workforce housing developers continue to face strong resistance from existing residents who often misunderstand what modern affordable housing projects actually provide, according to Miles Alexander III, Founder and Managing Partner at Alexander Goshen. The firm, which develops mixed-use and multifamily projects across Florida, Texas, and Georgia, reports that community opposition remains one of the most ...
Real estate agents who avoid tough pricing conversations with sellers are creating problems that extend well beyond a single failed deal, according to Nicholas Christopher, Team Leader at Christopher Property Group. In New Jersey, sellers who do not understand current market conditions often chase falling prices with repeated reductions, spend unnecessarily on marketing, and ultimately ...
You’ve found the right house, your offer is accepted, and you’re anticipating closing day. But then your lender calls with bad news, a survey reveals a property line dispute, or closing costs turn out to be thousands higher than you expected. Suddenly, your deal is at risk. Debbie Rice, Owner and Lead Transaction Coordinator with ...
Home staging isn’t just for high-end properties or sellers with unlimited budgets. In Las Vegas, more sellers are finding that professional staging leads to faster sales and higher offers, often for less than the cost of letting a home sit on the market for another month. Fiorenza Bilak, founder and CEO of Stage The Space, ...
Many experienced residential real estate agents are turning down commercial opportunities with their own clients, not because they lack the skills, but because they perceive commercial real estate as too complex and intimidating. Michael Mito, Commercial Division Director at United Real Estate | Partners, sees this firsthand as he mentors residential agents who hesitate to ...
The repair inspection period is now the leading cause of contract cancellations in residential real estate, according to Tony Ray Baker, associate at The Tony Ray Baker Team at RE/MAX Fine Properties. Baker, who reports a 99% closing rate over 31 years, says most deals that collapse do so during repair negotiations, not because of ...
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 ...
Most people think a real estate commission goes straight into an agent’s pocket. It doesn’t. By the time a sale closes, that money has passed through multiple hands, covered a long list of expenses, and funded the entire operation behind your transaction. “A lot of people don’t realize how much of that commission gets split ...
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 ...
