News / Features

Homebuyers with lower credit scores pay nearly $21,000 more in mortgage costs

Determining how much they could spend on a home was the most frequently named financing concern among a third of all U.S. buyers during the home buying process. A major factor in what a homebuyer can afford is their

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Builders begin to refocus on entry-level homes

Low inventory is impacting home sales across the country and one of the categories that have been hardest hit are entry-level homes. However, according to the latest survey from Builder Online, builders are starting to hone in on starter

Real Estate in Brief: Expected home appraisals at best level in three years, and more

In the past year, appraisals are more likely to be in line with, or even higher than, owners estimate. Appraised values were just 0.33 percent lower than what homeowners expected, according to National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index.

Growing homeownership rate helps in increasing household wealth among Hispanics

Household wealth is increasing among America’s Hispanic population, according to The Hispanic Wealth Project’s 2018 Annual Report. The Hispanic Wealth Project has been working to achieve their goal set in 2014 of tripling Hispanic household wealth by 2024. One

Homes listed on Wednesdays sell for more than any other day

Listing your home on a Wednesday tends to be more profitable than listing on any other day of the week, according to a new study by Redfin. The study analyzed 100,000 homes sold in 2017 and compared the sales

Home prices increase in first quarter of 2018 as inventory lags

Home prices are creeping up across the country as inventory continues to hover near all-time lows, according to the National Association of Realtors’ first quarter report. Total existing home sales declined slightly in the first quarter of 2018 versus

Amazon and Lennar partner to create Alexa-controlled smart homes

Amazon and Lennar announced its new partnership to provide Alexa-enabled smart homes in certain markets across the country. Homebuyers can get homes that come with features that can be controlled with Alexa including Wi-Fi, smart locks, doorbells, thermostats and

Heather Gustafson joins Compass’ new development division

Compass today announced the launch of its new development division based in Chicago with the hiring of Heather Gustafson as managing director of new development. Gustafson was previously a broker at @properties and led the Heather Gustafson Group, which

Aurora named one of top cities to achieve the American Dream

Aurora, Illinois ranked No. 4 on a list by SmartAsset for best cities to achieve the American Dream. The list rated cities across the country on their opportunities for homeownership, affordable housing and mortgages, career and economic opportunities, and

Majority of Americans still think now is a good time to buy

Most Americans think home prices in their area are going to rise, but the majority also still think that now is a good time to buy, according to the latest Gallup poll. Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance poll

Real Estate in Brief: Underwater properties down, the most popular remodeling projects and more

As of the first quarter of the year, over 5 million properties were underwater with a mortgage at least 25 percent more than the property’s estimated market value.  The 5.2 million properties account for 9.5 percent of all U.S. properties

Recent college graduates are living at home more often

Today’s graduates are more likely to be living with their parents than graduates from the previous decade. According to Zillow’s analysis of 2016 Census data, 28 percent of recent graduates live with their parents — up from 19 percent

Agents using Google Maps on their websites could have to pay

Agents and brokers who are embedding Google Maps into their listings will now have to pay to do so. The Google Maps application programing interface (API) allows agents and brokers to embed maps into listings on their websites. This

Homeownership continues to trend upward

The homeownership rate in the U.S. is trending upward, retaining the same 64.2 percent rate in the first quarter of 2018 as the last quarter of 2017, according to the Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS). The current rate

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Rogers Park named one of most affordable neighborhoods for healthy living

Trulia has crunched the numbers to determine the best neighborhoods for living well by ranking “universally loved” features like quiet streets, parks and proximity to schools and healthcare. Now the online real estate giant has determined how much a

Real Estrange: Putting down roots

For $647,000, a Seattle homebuyer tried branching out a little. Originally built in 1944, this four-bedroom, two-bathroom garden cottage located on a dead-end street in the Mount Baker neighborhood comes with a surprising modern amenity: a multilevel treehouse made

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