Carole VanSickle Ellis
Smart Wallpaper is Flame-Retardant, Alerts Homeowners in Event of Fire
Researchers at Shanghai’s Institute of Ceramics have developed a wallpaper that not only delay the spread of a fire but might call the fire department for you as well. The paper consists of fire-resistant materials including graphene oxide and hydroxyapatite nanowires. The combination enables the wallpaper to “sense” when heat ...
Detroit Resident Makes Over Neighborhood, Builds Rental Portfolio
Jeff Cowin moved into Detroit’s Virginia Park historic district in 2010 when the area was still full of abandoned homes, blighted buildings, squatters, and crime. At the time, neither Cowin nor the neighborhood had any idea just how positive the new homeowner would be for the area. Today, Cowin’s street ...
Metro Detroit Home Prices Set to Rise
Thanks to relatively low unemployment, rising interest rates, a dearth of new construction, a large population of new metro residents, and tight housing inventory, Detroit, Michigan’s housing market could be heading into a heated territory. According to reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the area’s unemployment is hovering ...
Zillow Makes Waves with Pilot of Home-Sales Platform
This week, Zillow announced it will begin both buying and selling properties directly from and to homeowners, meaning that it will purchase homes directly from sellers, then resell those properties to buyers. The program will start as a test in two markets, Las Vegas and Phoenix, this spring. The move ...
JFK Airport in New York No Longer in the “Top 20” for World’s Busiest Airports
New York’s JFK Airport is, according to the International Air Transport Association, no longer among the world’s 20 busiest airports. The reason, the ATA speculated, is likely “explosive growth of Asian airports” in New Delhi, India, and Guangzhou, China. Both locations’ airports recently entered the top 20. Atlanta, Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson ...
Activists Express Concern Over Amazon HQ2 and Housing
Shortly after naming 20 cities to its “short list” as finalists for its second headquarters, Amazon.com issued a demand for confidentiality on all offers and negotiations between those cities and itself on the topic of HQ2. According to Amazon, the project will bring in $5 billion in investments to the ...
Chinese Investors Still Buying U.S. Real Estate
Although the rhetoric has been heated on both sides as President Trump and President Xi trade threats about various tariffs and taxes to potentially be imposed on each other’s respective countries, Chinese real estate investors do not seem to be too worried about a potential trade war and its effects ...
Top 3 Hottest Luxury ZIP Codes in the United States
New data from Realtor.com indicates that luxury home prices in certain markets around the country are spiraling through the roof, and the trend does not appear to be cooling anytime soon. Researchers combined data on markets where median list price exceeds $1 million and markets where median list prices have ...
Mississippi Investors Plead Guilty to Bid-Rigging
Mississippi real estate investors who agreed not to bid against each other at foreclosure auctions are now facing fines and even jail time. Last week, three more investors pled guilty to designating a winning bidder in advance of auctions and accepting payoffs from each other in exchange for agreements not ...
3 Keys to “Making Magic Happen” in Your Real Estate Email Marketing
You’ve heard the phrase “Your network is your net worth" in terms of real estate marketing and email marketing, but when Charles Blair, “Mad Scientist” and founder of the Baltimore area’s Real Deal meetup, says it, he means something entirely different from just getting out there and introducing yourself to ...
Floodplain Codes to Change in Houston, Texas
The Houston City Council is hoping to prevent a repeat of the damage the city’s infrastructure suffered in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and the changes to municipal codes could affect some real estate investors. The council recently passed a new ordinance it designated as “designed to retool and strengthen ...
Millennials Will Spend Nearly $100,000 on Rent Before Turning 30
According to a new study from RENTCafé, Millennials will not only spend more on rent in their first decade as adults; they will also spend nearly half their income on their rental housing. “Many Millennials find renting more affordable and hassle-free than buying,” observed RENTCafé blogger Florentina Sarac. However, she ...
Younger Homeowners May Overestimate Their DIY Abilities
It is not surprising a study of homeowners of all ages indicated older homeowners have more experience with home repairs. What is surprising, however, is the high degree of confidence younger homeowners have in their ability to perform these repairs. According to Porch.com’s recent “Do You DIY” survey, which asked ...
Ginnie Mae Cracks Down on Lenders “Targeting” Veterans
In early 2018, federally owned Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA or Ginnie Mae) threatened a small group of lenders with expulsion from its primary mortgage bond program if the lenders did not address problematic policies Ginnie Mae alleged targeted servicemembers and military veterans. It appears two of those lenders, reportedly ...
New York Mayor Proposes Fine for Retail Landlords with Vacancies
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio is worried about storefront vacancies in his city, and he believes a “vacancy tax” on the property owners might solve the problem. “I am very interested in fighting for a vacancy fee or a vacancy tax that would penalize landlords who leave their ...
Investor Spotlight: Memphis Investment Properties
This article was originally published in April 2018 Think Realty Magazine. Memphis Investment Properties (MIP) has been actively investing in the Memphis, Tennessee, real estate market for nearly four decades. the company offers complete turnkey real estate investing services, meaning that real estate investors who wish to own rental real ...
Regional Spotlight: Washington, D.C.
This article was originally published in the April 2018 Think Realty Magazine. When the national housing market collapsed in the mid-2000s, Washington, D.C., homes lost nearly $120,000, on average, from their overall value. Median home prices in the area bottomed out in July 2009 around $355,000, a steep fall from ...
Chief Economist Talks Homeownership, Housing Policy, and Market Turning Points in 2018
This article was originally published in April 2018 Think Realty Magazine. When Lawrence Yun talks about real estate, the discussion revolves around what he refers to as “turning points” in national and local markets. “My role, as chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is to look at ...
Q&A: The Art (and Data) Of Effective Flipping
Daren Blomquist, senior vice president of communications at ATTOM Data Solutions (formerly RealtyTrac), has spent nearly two decades analyzing housing data and providing the real estate industry with insight on housing statistics and trends. Blomquist, who is also the managing editor of ATTOM Data’s monthly newsletter, excerpts of which may ...
Renovation Rockstars: Bread-and-Butter House With A Surprise
When Florida real estate investors John and Corinne Tesh first heard from the owners of this “bread-and-butter” Florida block house, they expected the property might be a challenge. Hurricane Irma had just swept through Florida, leaving devastation – and a lot of motivated sellers – in her wake. Bread-and-Butter House: ...
A Surprising New Trend in New Construction
Apparently, no one is calling them “ranch homes” anymore, but that’s what they are. Furthermore, one-level homes are gaining popularity in the homebuying market once again, and developers are taking note. According to Builder Magazine, one-level, ranch-style houses are once again in demand after decades of buyers requiring multiple levels ...
The New York Real Estate Market Already in a Correction
In a city renowned for skyscraper-high real estate prices, property values in many of those skyscrapers are falling. According to a report from Stribling & Associates, median sales price for a New York, New York, apartment has fallen more than eight percent since the first quarter of 2017. Average sales ...
Stock Market Volatility Could Stall Loan Demand
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), total mortgage application volumes are falling. Those applications, which include applications for home purchases and refinancing, fell 3.3 percent last week compared to the week previous even though interest rates remained relatively low. Mike Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA, blamed stock market ...
Consumer Buying Patterns Continue to Hurt Traditional Shopping Malls
Vacancy rates in large U.S. shopping malls are rising, prompting some analysts to speculate that a shift in shopping mall space usage is coming. As an increasing number of “anchor stores,” such as J.C. Penney and Sears, close their doors across the country, large malls are finding new uses for ...
5 Markets Where the Middle Class Can Still Afford a Home
If your real estate strategy relies on middle-class buyers being able to afford your properties, then you might want to take a closer look at these metro areas. As the housing affordability crisis looms as the next big issue for our national housing market, an increasing number of would-be homebuyers ...
