How do American consumers feel about not only the housing market, but their chances at homeownership? A new Bankrate.com survey provides insight. There are many reasons for homeownership. From privacy, to expression, to carving ones own unique niche in

Luxury homebuyers have needs that set them apart from other homebuyers; how do those needs, then, translate to the services provided by agents? Real estate is, at its heart, a service-based industry. As the real estate agent, you are

Luxury homebuyers are a unique brand of consumer – what sentiments are most prevalent when they are searching for homes? Any real estate agent will tell you that the luxury homebuyer is a unique brand of consumer, one with

Home seller incentives became quite common during the down years, but are they still common in 2013? During the months following the housing downturn in 2008, homebuyers found themselves in a interesting position – they were in charge. With

What kind of property did home sellers move into? And what factors altered the nature of that property? We investigate. Home sellers, as we previously reported, sell their homes for a number of reasons, but there generally is one

In multiple offer situations, how can agents make their client stand out from the rest of the pack? In her latest blog, Anna Mayer-Huls explains how. About a month ago, my sellers were in a multiple offer situation. The

Much has been written about how rising mortgage rates will impact the housing market, but now we have a glimpse at how they’re affecting consumers. The dramatic rise in mortgage rates has been the major story in housing this

Quite a few Americans moved about in 2012, but what were the reasons behind their move? Last year, a hefty number of Americans moved to new residences – 35.5 million Americans, in fact, a 4 percent increase from 2011

Why have home sellers sold their residences in 2013? We look at some interesting data and find the most prominent reasons. Housing inventory has been on a major upswing so far in 2013, with inventory rising nearly 22 percent

Chicago’s housing market has been putting up some great numbers in 2013; what are the staging secrets behind those numbers? There’s no doubt that the Chicago real estate market this year is at levels it hasn’t been in years.

How do you avoid a deficiency in a short sale? In his latest blog, Joseph C. Alfe explains how with five rules. One of the most frequently asked questions I get, from both brokers and sellers, is how to

There are many factors that consumers consider when searching for homes, and a new Trulia survey shows the impact that kids have on homebuying decisions. Homebuyers have many factors to consider when searching for a home. From the area’s

Home sellers have been tiptoeing back into the housing market throughout 2013, and we’ve collected the most important traits of those sellers. We’ve been covering the National Association of Realtors’ Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report pretty extensively

We keep hearing that mortgage lending standards are unfairly tight, but does the data support that meme? One of the more prevailing memes in the housing recovery has been the relative tightness of lending standards on residential mortgages, and

The downpayment remains the staple of most home financing; how are buyers, nowadays, funding their downpayments? Only 9 percent of homebuyers so far in 2013 have funded less than 50 percent of their home purchases with financing – which means

So, what do you do when there is a real estate appraisal contingency and the contract price exceeds the list price? A) Pray B) Cross your fingers C) Hope D) Prepare E) All of the above F) None of