Lower mortgage rates are bringing out more potential home buyers. In certain parts of the country, this has translated into a lot more competition. In markets that have seen prices become more moderate, supply is lower than it was a year ago and bidding wars are becoming more prevalent. For example, a recent Redfin housing index notes that cities like Oklahoma City; Richmond, Va.; Memphis, Tenn.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Atlanta are seeing buyer d
A “move-in ready” home may mean different things to different buyers—everything from having freshly painted walls to having window blinds included.Bungalo, a real estate platform for buying newly renovated homes online, surveyed more than 550 home shoppers between the ages of 25 to 54 on what elements are required for a home to be considered “move-in ready.”If you’re going to use the term to describe your listing, here’s what most b
JD Composites, a Canadian homebuilder, has constructed a three-bedroom home in Nova Scotia that is made of 612,000 recycled plastic soda bottles. But the attention has mostly centered on how the home can withstand extreme winds—even a category 5 hurricane.The builder, which melted thousands of plastic bottles and injected them with gas to form the walls of the home, tested the plastic panels for hurricane resistance and found they could withsta
Tropical Storm Barry, which crashed into Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane over the weekend, may still bring heavy rain and flooding to the Gulf Coast for days. Barry largely spared New Orleans, which was expected to feel the brunt of the storm, but Louisiana and the Gulf Coast still could get up to 20 inches of rain in some areas.Life-threatening flash floods and possible tornadoes are still possible in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, southe
How do you measure residents’ happiness? It may come down to having social relationships, financial security, strong ties to the community, good physical health, and plenty of career prospects, according to a new survey.The 2019 Gallup Well-Being Index examined responses from more than 115,000 adults ages 18 and older on how they feel about their lives and what they experience on a daily basis. Overall, well-being in the U.S. has seen a gradual
Home buyers over 55 are relying on technology to find their home, just like their younger counterparts, and they say internet searches and social media greatly influence their homebuying decisions, according to a new survey conducted by Immersion Active, a marketing solutions agency, of home buyers 55 and older. More baby boomers are turning to social media and community websites in their house hunts.Eighty-nine percent of the 55-plus consumers s
The backyard can be a selling point in your listing, no matter the size. Up your listing’s backyard appeal by transforming it into an entertaining space. Houselogic, a home remodeling, and design website offer some key areas to address to achieve the look:1. Create privacy.Make the backyard a private sanctuary for homeowners. Precast concrete geometric blocks, for example, can protect privacy without blocking light, Houselogic suggests. They ca
About 1.4 million burglaries occurred in 2017, and more than two in three break-ins were of residential properties, according to FBI data.Cove, a home security firm, surveyed nearly 1,000 people who have experienced a break-in at least once to learn more about how burglars entered the home and what they wished they had done in hindsight to better protect their property.Home invasions aren’t always random. Studies show that many break-ins are co
In just a few months, home shoppers may begin to see a drop in the number of homes for sale, which could lead to the return of bidding wars and quicker home sales, a new report from realtor.com® predicts.Realtor.com® researchers predict a major shift to occur in the housing market that will affect buyers’ bargaining power well into 2020. With high demand for the limited number of homes for sale, buyers may need to be braced to pay higher home
Facebook has been facing federal agencies that claim it has allowed real estate companies to discriminate against users when displaying ads, but now New York is launching its own investigation into these accusations.New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he’s ordered the New York Department of Financial Services to investigate whether Facebook permitted state-regulated advertisers serving housing ads on its site to discriminate against prospective res
This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.