National News

Pending home sales drop to lowest level since 2014

The Pending Home Sales Index dropped 4.7 percent in January after three months of increased activity. Based on contract signings, the forward-looking index fell from a downwardly revised 109.8 in December 2017 to 104.6 in January 2018. The Pending

Starter homes surge in value over the past five years

As the demand for entry-level homes continues to rise across the country, a new report shows owners of entry-level and starter homes are gaining equity faster than owners of higher-end homes. Owners of starter homes have seen their equity

Luxury home prices level off after post-recession housing boom

After eight years of the post-recession housing boom and the record-breaking price increases of recent years, the luxury residential market stabilized in 2017, according the luxury market report by The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a partner in the

Real Estate in Brief: FHA to expand foreclosure relief for 2017 disaster victims

The Federal Housing Administration revealed its plans on Feb. 22 to broaden foreclosure relief for the victims of 2017’s natural disasters. The move would affect all FHA-insured homeowners in areas affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as

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Digital app Abode aspires to make buying homes more accessible

Abode, a new free digital platform that aims to make the homebuying and selling process easier for both consumers and real estate agents, was launched in 2017 by tech entrepreneurs Kyle Stoner and Carson Junginger. “People often describe buying

Zillow: Home value growth is slowing nationwide as mortgage rates rise

National home values are rising at their slowest pace since November 2016, according to the most recent Zillow Real Estate Market Report. Home values increased 6.7 percent last year to a median home value of $207,600, marking the slowest pace

Millennials hope to achieve homeownership, but face growing debt

Several long-term trends, including the explosion of student debt, is making homeownership a distant goal for most millennials. In a new Apartment List report, a renter survey analyzing responses from over 11,000 millennials across the United States found that indebted

Existing-home sales down for the second consecutive month in January

Existing-home sales fell 3.2 percent in January for the second consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors. Last month’s total existing-home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, saw the largest annual decline in more than

Real estate tech company Homesnap secures $14 million in funding. How can it help agents?

With its double-pronged approach to cater to both agents and homebuyers, Homesnap continues to increase its reach in the industry, recently securing $14 million in series B funding. Homesnap serves more than 800,000 agents and brokers, helping them boost productivity

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Real Estate in Brief: Builder confidence steadies, home sizes decrease and more

While tight inventory continues to nag the U.S. housing industry, homebuilders around the country are confident in the market, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The Housing Market Index revealed that builder confidence for new single-family homes

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Two Georgia cities made 2018’s safest U.S. cities list

Two of the 100 cities ranked on this year’s annual NeighborhoodScout list of Top 100 Safest Cities in the United States are in Georgia: Atlanta-area Johns Creek and Milton both made the list. NeighborhoodScout, an online database from Location,

Redfin: A quarter of buyers would be “unfazed” by rising mortgage rates

As the mortgage rate slowly rises in the beginning of this year, only 6 percent of homebuyers said they would cancel their plans to buy if mortgage rates surpassed 5 percent, according to a late 2017 survey by Redfin. By the end

With rising in home prices, nearly two-thirds of the market hit all-time highs

In the final three months of 2017, home prices overall reached an all-time high in 114 markets, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors. The national median price for a single-family home in the

What wealthy millennials want in their luxury homes

Rich millennials, dubbed the “New Aristocracy”, are shaping to be a profitable and impactful generation in the world of real estate. According to a recent report by Luxury Portfolio International, New Aristocracy buyers, driven by large inherited wealth, are

Lennar and CalAtlantic finalize merger, now officially nation’s largest homebuilder

Lennar’s previously-announced merger has succeeded, now making CalAtlantic a wholly-owned subsidiary. The merger was approved by 99.4% of the Lennar stockholder votes and 99.9% of the CalAtlantic votes, according to Housing Wire. “We are extremely pleased to announce the completion of

National Real Estate News Briefs: Trulia launches new tool to provide local LGBTQ non-discrimination laws

Trulia has launched a new tool to help homebuyers who may encounter discrimination due to their gender or sexual orientation. The real estate listing company will now include a feature called Local Legal Protections, that gives insight into a

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