Carole VanSickle Ellis
Real Estate Agent Sets World Record: $1.9 Billion Sold
Let the “everything’s bigger in Texas” jokes begin. Ben Caballero will laugh all the way to the bank. Caballero, who already held the world record for selling $1.444 billion worth of homes in 2016, topped that record in 2017 with $1.906 billion in home sales. Caballero sold 3,556 homes in ...
Regional Real Estate Spotlight: Southern California
Southern California, often referred to as SoCal, is defined in many ways. You can use the term to refer to California’s 10 southernmost counties. You could use it to refer to the geographic area surrounding three of the country’s largest metropolitan areas and those areas themselves. You could use it ...
“Cluster Mailboxes” Affect Developments, Demand
To reduce or even eliminate sidewalk and curbside delivery, the U.S. Post Office has begun encouraging a new form of mass mail delivery. Nearly two-thirds of single-family builders report they have had a local post office request “cluster mailbox” installations for new developments. Cluster mailboxes serve a group of homes ...
Top 3 Reasons Closings Were Delayed in April 2018
About one in every five closings were delayed or terminated in April 2018, according to findings from the Realtors Confidence Index, released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) this week. 17 percent of April’s closings were delayed. 5 percent were terminated. The survey is based on responses from more ...
3 New Rental Housing Laws Landlords Should Know
Three legislative bills passed during Q2 2018 that will impact rental property owners. These three bills either directly affect landlords because they are national policy or may affect landlords in the future, if their state decides to follow suit and pass similar legistlation. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer ...
Consumer Reports Releases Top Exterior Paint Colors for 2018
Consumer Reports released it's "Hottest Exterior Paint Colors of 2018" which outlines this year's most attractive exterior colors as well as which brand carries them and which sheen works best for the outside of a home. The company scored paint colors and manufacturers based on attractive shades, price point, and durability. ...
Phoenix Area Flipping Data Illuminates National Trends
A recent report from ATTOM Data Solutions about national flipping trends stated that about one in every 10 homes in Phoenix, Arizona metro area market is a flip. Only five markets posted higher numbers than this. Even though Phoenix is a hot spot for flippers, it is not necessarily a ...
Rental Concessions Increasing in Today’s Multifamily Market
Rental rates keep rising nationally, but renters are getting more bang for their buck these days due to an increase in rental concessions. According to a report from CoStar, an increasing number of developers are offering concessions to new and renewing residents in order to keep occupancy up. Lynn Bora, ...
Investor Spotlight: Stephen Rosenberg
When Stephen Rosenberg started Greystone & Co. with a telephone sitting atop a desk made from an unpainted wood door and two rusty file cabinets, it was easy to maintain his focus on keeping humility within his corporate structure. “We had plenty of humility back then,” he recalled. “We had ...
2 Flipping Indicators Most Investors Miss
The housing market is hotter than ever, but nearly every active real estate investor across the country insists change is in the air. From buy-and-hold investors to fix-and-flippers, the real estate investing community has an eye on the housing market’s “tipping point.” In hot markets like Seattle, Washington, and Washington, ...
Hurricane Season Begins with 7 Million Homes at Risk
The official start of hurricane season was June 1 this year, and in preparation, CoreLogic released a memo on the topic. “This year, nearly 7 million homes are at risk of a hurricane storm surge,” CoreLogic analysts wrote. Their analysis was based on data from 2017 and forecasts from the ...
First-Time Homebuyers Make Up Nearly Half Q1 Freddie Mac Financing
According to Freddie Mac’s first-quarter home lending data, nearly half of all borrowers who took out home mortgages during the first three months of this year were first-time homebuyers. Those borrowers’ median age is 32, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater called ...
Changes in Rental Rates Spark Investor Interest
National rental rates increased by two percent in May 2018 over May 2017, the slowest rate of increase since 2010. However, reported RentCafé analysts, rents still rose in 79 percent of the country’s largest metro areas, were unchanged in 17 percent of those areas, and fell in only four percent ...
California Agent Fined for Use of Bandit Signs
Most real estate investors have used a bandit sign or two in their real estate investing. These signs, which tend to populate nearly every high-traffic corner over most weekends in most areas of the country,are a low-budget, high-return advertising option and also are a great source of real estate deal ...
Fake NAR Emails Could be a Phishing Scam
If you get an email from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) this week, be sure to look for the logo before you respond. The association issued a warning yesterday that NAR members are receiving “suspicious emails” designed to appear as if they are from the NAR (they are not) ...
For more than 10 years, Rick Sharga has been the voice of change in the real estate industry. That is not something the now-renowned housing and foreclosure expert will ever tell you he saw coming. When Sharga, now executive vice president at Carrington Mortgage Holdings, joined the real estate space in ...
Lava-Buried Hawaii Homes Built Despite Volcano Risk
One of the most affordable places to live in Hawaii is no longer the bargain it has been for nearly 80 years. According to the Wall Street Journal, multiple subdivisions built in the Lower Puna area of the Big Island are now threatened by the Kilauea volcano’s ongoing eruption, which ...
Fannie Mae Testing Airbnb Income Based Mortgage Loans
Fannie Mae is working with three lenders to evaluate the integrity of mortgage refinance loans underwritten with consideration of a primary residence’s Airbnb income. This is the first time Airbnb income has been a factor in refinance applications. Quicken Loans conceived the program. The project is in the pilot stages ...
ATTOM Data Ranks Amazon HQ2 Candidates by Real Estate Market
20 major metro areas are waiting for the Amazon HQ2 announcement with baited breath. Amazon told NBC News in mid-May that it had completed its tour of the “short list” of contenders for its second headquarters, dubbed HQ2. Based on this information (and little else, since Amazon required all 20 ...
Idaho and Utah Building More Homes than Any Other State
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Idaho and Utah are building new housing at a faster pace than any other states in America. The Census data, spanning July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017, showed Idaho with an increase of 1.7 percent in new construction of single-family homes, condominiums, and ...
Home Prices Likely to Surge in the South
According to Census data, certain cities in the south and on the west coast will likely see surging home prices to accompany surging population numbers in the coming months. “Supply is at record lows and prices continue to climb,” observed one Phoenix broker, Tucker Blalock. in response to the data ...
These Outdoor Property Investments Garner Strong Returns
According to the National Association of Landscape Professionals and the National Association of Realtors, some of the strongest returns on outdoor investments come from the smallest projects. The duo’s “2018 Remodeling Report” indicated the most substantial financial payout at resale comes from a relatively inexpensive investment: standard lawn care service ...
New Projections for Rise in Interest Rates in 2018
At the beginning of 2018, most experts agreed that the Federal Reserve would almost certainly raise interest rates four times over the course of the coming year, a move that could have taken mortgage interest rates from near-historic lows back to still-relatively historic lows, but slightly higher. After the Fed’s ...
Consumer Preferences Continue to Drive Retail Real Estate
“The days of plug-and-play retail are gone,” said Naveen Jaggi, president of retail advisory services at Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL), during a recent presentation at the company’s RECon event in Las Vegas. Jaggi issued the clear warning during a panel on the retail industry, but he added, “We’ve spent too ...
Zillow Predicts Next Recession to Begin in 2020
Zillow’s 2018 Home Price Expectations Survey revealed a troubling timeline for the next recession, as more than half the experts who participated in the study said they believe the next recession will begin in 2020 and a fifth of those stating it will begin early that year. About a quarter ...
