Articles

Ready to get your read on? Dive into the article archive to help you build wealth through real estate investing. We feature top subject matter experts exploring every facet of the industry.

Articles

Ready to get your read on? Dive into the article archive to help you build wealth through real estate investing. We feature top subject matter experts exploring every facet of the industry.

First-Time and Lower-Income Homebuyers to Struggle in 2018

First-Time and Lower-Income Homebuyers to Struggle in 2018

With home values rising, inventory shrinking, and a buying population spurred on by rising interest rates, more and more housing markets are skyrocketing in value. Zillow recently warned that home shoppers have nearly 9 percent fewer homes to choose from than they did this time last year and, furthermore, that ...
Northern Nevada Housing Set Records in April

Northern Nevada Housing Set Records in April

According to data released by the Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors (RSAR) about March 2018, the local housing market shattered records set before the Great Depression for median home prices for single-family homes. RSAR predicted in the same report prices would keep increasing for the remainder of the year. “We have…a ...
Perfect Balance

Perfect Balance

When Dennis Cisterna, CEO of Investability Solutions, joined the Altisource Portfolio Solutions offshoot's “one-stop shop” for single-family residential (SFR) investors, he did so with a clear mission in mind. “It should not be difficult to acquire, finance, manage, and structure partnerships in real estate,” Cisterna said. “There is a place ...
3 Tips for Maximizing the Benefits of 3D Modeling

3 Tips for Maximizing the Benefits of 3D Modeling

When you think of three-dimensional (3D) modeling in terms of home design, you probably think of high-end, luxury interior designers and their software. However, 3D modeling can be extremely useful for real estate investors as well as owner-occupants upgrading their homes. Think Realty Magazine talked to Mark Reginelli, director of ...
Why We Will Live with Labor Shortages in 2018 and Beyond

Why We Will Live with Labor Shortages in 2018 and Beyond

Look at any major housing market in the country right now, and you will see signs of building. Inventory is short; the housing market is hot, and the cranes are all over the skyline. However, all too often, those cranes are not necessarily moving. In the wake of the housing ...
Western and Southern States Lead Job Growth So Far This Year

Western and Southern States Lead Job Growth So Far This Year

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment numbers are rising in just about every area of the country. However, the Midwest and Northeast showed far less job growth than the West and South over the period between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017. Job numbers are ...
Top 3 Markets for Millennial Homebuyers

Top 3 Markets for Millennial Homebuyers

Millennial buyers accounted for more than a third of all home purchases in 2017, but the most competitive housing markets in the country do not have much room for them. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), “young home shoppers are relocating to more affordable parts of the country” ...
Freddie Mac to Expand 3% Down Loans for New Homebuyers

Freddie Mac to Expand 3% Down Loans for New Homebuyers

Freddie Mac is going into competition with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for low-down-payment borrowers, but that is not a bad thing for buyers or investors. Freddie Mac’s new HomeOne program can be applied to first-time homebuyers in any geographic location and any income bracket, putting a 3 percent down ...
Mandarin-Speaking Robots to Partner with Chinese Real Estate Website

Mandarin-Speaking Robots to Partner with Chinese Real Estate Website

If you always wanted to work with Chinese real estate investors but had no idea how you would start the conversation, Singou Technology of Macau (STM) and Chinese international real estate website Juwai.com may have some answers for you. Juwai.com announced this week that it will partner with STM to ...
Tumbleweed Buries Southern California Homes

Tumbleweed Buries Southern California Homes

We’ve all heard about the hazards and inconveniences associated with environmental factors like snow, water, and wind, but you might not be quite so familiar with the perils of tumbleweeds. These spiky balls of dried plant material break off in strong winds and blow around, dispersing seeds. Unfortunately for residents ...
Housing Demand Falls 6.5 Percent Thanks to Late Winter Blues

Housing Demand Falls 6.5 Percent Thanks to Late Winter Blues

Fewer home sellers requested home tours and wrote offers last month than they, did in the middle of winter, an unusual break in the traditional spring housing “heat” most real estate professionals have come to expect. According to Redfin’s Housing Demand index, which measures how many customers exhibit behaviors that ...
Retail Vacancy Rates Close in on Record Highs

Retail Vacancy Rates Close in on Record Highs

For the past 10 years, CoStar Group, a commercial real estate services firm, has been tracking how much retail space closes each year. Retail properties are used to sell consumer goods and services, but there is a great deal of variety among this type of real estate. Retail real estate ...
Homebuyers Making Offers Sight-Unseen in Traditionally Affordable Markets

Homebuyers Making Offers Sight-Unseen in Traditionally Affordable Markets

Homebuyers are getting desperate for deals – any deals at all – and it is creating a buying frenzy the likes of which has not been seen in many markets in more than a decade, if ever. According to Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist of Veritas Urbis Economics, Spring 2018 could ...
Auction.com Partners With Think Realty Radio

Auction.com Partners With Think Realty Radio

Think Realty Radio has secured a partnership agreement with Auction.com, the nation’s leading online real estate marketplace focused exclusively on the sale of residential bank-owned and foreclosure properties. Auction.com sponsors the Think Realty Radio show on Thursdays. Think Realty, the industry leader in real estate investor resources, education and best ...
Foreclosure Rates Rising in Texas and Florida as Disaster Moratoria End

Foreclosure Rates Rising in Texas and Florida as Disaster Moratoria End

March 2018 foreclosure numbers were up 11.56 percent, or by 52,100 foreclosure starts, nationally over February 2018 according to a Black Knight report. Of that increase, Florida and Texas foreclosures were responsible for two-thirds. Of note: Compared to March 2017, foreclosure starts were still down 13.6 percent. Black Knight analysts ...
3 Listing Descriptions that Netted Sellers Double-Digit Advantages in 2017

3 Listing Descriptions that Netted Sellers Double-Digit Advantages in 2017

Every homebuyer has a “wish list” for their future home, but certain items on that list could add nearly 30 percent to your sales price. According to a new report from Zillow, certain listing terms snagged sellers huge premiums on their homes at the closing table. Knowing which items to ...
Is that Home Inspection Worth It?

Is that Home Inspection Worth It?

| Adam Pontier | Article | Operations
This article was originally featured in March 2018 Think Realty Magazine and written by Adam Pontier, owner of KCPE LLC. When I was young, my father bought a home that we gutted to the bare studs and put back together as our family home. This was my first taste of construction ...
5 Important Factors for Success in Residential Assisted Living Investments

5 Important Factors for Success in Residential Assisted Living Investments

| Gene Guarino | Article | Operations
This article was originally featured in March 2018 Think Realty Magazine and written by Gene Guarino, president and CEO of RAL Academy. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, approximately 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day while another 4,000 turn 85 every day. That is a huge opportunity for savvy real estate ...
Managing Large Portfolios of Properties

Managing Large Portfolios of Properties

This article was originally featured in March 2018 Think Realty Magazine and written by Douglas Skipworth, Co-Founder and Principal Broker at CrestCore Realty. Did you know that the typical property management client owns “1.5 units?” Despite that low (and strangely divisive) number, the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) estimates ...
The Moxie to Invest

The Moxie to Invest

This article was originally featured in March 2018 Think Realty Magazine and written by Julie Ziglar Norman, realtor with Prime Properties Realty. Investing in real estate is one thing. Building wealth by investing in real estate is another. The first scenario is often a short-term, one-off plan; the second represents a plan ...
How the Internet is Changing Education and Real Estate

How the Internet is Changing Education and Real Estate

This article was originally featured in March 2018 Think Realty Magazine and written by Aaron Norris, VP of The Norris Group. Would you rather take an investment course from a local university professor with mild success managing a small portfolio or from Warren Buffet? Your answer is hopefully the latter ...
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) May Drive Millennial Home Sales

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) May Drive Millennial Home Sales

If your friends have recently purchased a home, then the odds are good you might start thinking about doing the same. If they’re posting about it on social media, however, you’re probably going to take some action. According to a new survey from Bank of America, about a third of ...
U.S. and U.K. Warn Private Homeowners About Russian Cyberattacks on Smart Devices

U.S. and U.K. Warn Private Homeowners About Russian Cyberattacks on Smart Devices

The United States and Great Britain have issued a new type of national alert: a warning about cyber attacks on individuals and private property. The two countries issued a joint alert this week indicating that private homeowners should be aware their internet devices are not only susceptible to hacking by ...
Renters Warehouse CEO Announced As New Think Realty Resident Expert

Renters Warehouse CEO Announced As New Think Realty Resident Expert

Kevin Ortner, CEO of Renters Warehouse, has been named Think Realty’s newest Resident Expert! His first two courses, Buy & Hold Strategies and Building your Rent Estate Portfolio, will focus on helping investors build wealth through rentals.  Think Realty selected Ortner as a Resident Expert for his expertise in the ...
2018 Could be the Worst Year Yet for Housing Affordability

2018 Could be the Worst Year Yet for Housing Affordability

Thanks to rising home prices, rising interest rates, and rising demand for housing, housing affordability is likely to plummet over the course of 2018. Housing affordability, which is defined as the median price of a home that a household earning median income can afford using a third of their income ...