Real Estate

A significant drop in mortgage interest rates was not enough to entice homeowners to refinance their loans last week. Total mortgage application volume decreased 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Volume was 13.5 percent lower than the same week one year ago. Applications

This Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, photo shows a home for sale in Fort Washington, Pa. On Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, Freddie Mac reports on the week’s average U.S. mortgage rates. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Existing home sales were down last month, and if new data released this morning is any indication, that’s a trend we’re going

Shutterstock Condominium deconversions are a hot topic in commercial real estate today, and I don’t think it’s just the latest trend. As condominium stock built in the 70s and older continues to age and need updates, modernization and capital improvements, owners continue to spend money on units that may not appreciate like they once did.

It is a seller’s market, undeniably. The supply of homes for sale is low, demand is high, and now prices are heating up even more. But sellers today see more reasons to stay put than to profit. Home prices jumped 7.1 percent annually in May, according to a new report from CoreLogic. That’s the biggest

Two people take a selfie on Waterloo Bridge infront of the skyline of the City financial district of London, as people enjoy the continuing spell of hot weather, June 30, 2018. (Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images). One might think it is the end of the world for Britain with Brexit D-Day looming, but

“Location, location, location” has been a real estate industry cliché for nearly a century and, since clichés are clichés because they are largely true (according to the well-known, er, cliché), the mantra still applies — and across many industries. To wit, a less-than-ideal location or failed geographic expansion was a factor in 9 percent of

If possible, try not to let your mortgage payments follow you into retirement, said financial advisor Winnie Sun. “When you have a mortgage, you really want to focus on paying it down,” said Sun, founder of Sun Group Wealth Partners. “There’s a lot of benefits to this.” Fewer payments, of course, will leave you with

Knight Frank Little Pipe Island is listed for $85 million. Little Pipe Cay, the Bahamian island developed by billionaire Michael Dingman who died in October at the age of 86, is listed with Knight Frank for $85 million. Dingman, the former president of international investments firm Shipston Group Ltd. and longtime director of Ford Motor

Shutterstock Do you have a reliable way to generate monthly cash flow from the dividend stocks you own today? If not, why not? Many “first-level” investors hope that their stocks will go higher so that they can sell them for cash flow. But, if you follow rich people, you’ll notice that they never actually sell

Potential home buyers pulled back from a pricey and competitive housing market in May, signing fewer contracts to buy existing homes. A monthly index of so-called pending home sales from the National Association of Realtors fell 0.5 percent compared with April and was 2.2 percent lower than May of 2017. The expectation was for a

BATON ROUGE, La. — In August 2016, a massive rain storm stalled over Louisiana, dumping nearly 30 inches of rain across the Baton Rouge area. Rivers and creeks overflowed into each other within hours, flooding neighborhoods. More than 100,000 homes were inundated, some destroyed. The water caused nearly $4 billion in residential property damage alone,

The National Hurricane Center named the first storm of this hurricane season before the season officially begun. Last month, Alberto was declared a storm a few days prior to the commencement of the June 1 season. A very active storm season is highly expected, so it’s important to know about the benefits and importance of

Wright Brothers Real Estate Derek Jeter’s lakeside castle is listed for $14.75 million. Derek Jeter broke lots of Major League Baseball records during his two decades of wearing the pinstriped uniform of the New York Yankees. Almost four years after retiring, the All-Star shortstop is going for a real estate record. Jeter, currently in the

19 Hours Ago Applications for mortgages to purchase a home led the decline, falling 6 percent for the week. More new listings are coming on the market this summer, but buyers are bumping up against high prices and multiple offers. Cash buyers often have the upper hand, as sellers would rather not deal with appraisals

The West Coast may have the best returns for homeowners looking to sell, Aaron Terrazas, economic research director at Zillow, told CNBC. According to a new report from Zillow, Bay Area locales such as San Francisco and San Jose, California, as well as Los Angeles have median selling profits of more than $100,000 — nearly

Bikini Pools and Spas Swimmable symbol of the suburban “good life.” Of all the seemingly innocuous,  misleading phrases that real estate agents sprinkle into their listings copy, “room for a pool” is the one that always sends me into a spiral. It implies that luxurious pool house living is just a snap of the fingers

A woman walks past a Lane Bryant store in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) The so-called “plus-size” market (typically size 14 and up) has been an under-served opportunity for as long as I’ve been in retail. Historically there were some good reasons for this. And some not so stellar ones. Traditionally the main thing

A tight, expensive housing market has more homeowners staying put — upgrading and enlarging their current homes rather than fighting to afford a new one. The costs to remodel, however, are growing. More than half (58 percent) of homeowners surveyed by Houzz, a home design and remodeling website, upgraded their homes last year at a

29 Mins Ago Patrick Newport, IHS Markit executive director of U.S. economics, and Susan Wachter, University of Pennsylvania Wharton real estate professor, discuss the jump in new home sales in May. all the growth in new home sales is in the south where housing is affordable New home sales growth concentrated in the affordable south:

Shutterstock Shutterstock The internet has changed the game for real estate investors. Once upon a time when there was no such thing as the internet, it was very difficult to find suitable tenants to fill your vacant units. Mom and pop investors resorted to labor-intensive, strategically placed signs and classified ads. I’ve built a rental portfolio

Shutterstock The changes in consumer shopping behavior continue to create upheaval in the business of retail real estate. As certain kinds of space become less valuable or obsolete, the arrangements that landlords and tenants make has had to adapt. I recently sat down with four partners from Goulston & Storrs, a law firm with one

In this photo taken March 6, 2017, a man living in a homeless encampment peddles a bicycle between tents that the city was to remove the following day, in Seattle. Sixteen months after he declared a state of emergency on homelessness, Seattle’s mayor is asking voters in this liberal, affluent city for $55 million a

2018 Getty Images Developer Larry SIlverstein at the opening of his 3 World Trade Center in New York City last week. This month, nearly 17 years after the 9/11 attacks and 10-years after breaking ground, Silverstein Properties opened the fourth of five office towers planned for the World Trade Center site. So far consulting firm

The median home value in the United States has increased by $16,000 over the last 12 months, according to data released by Zillow. But home values are not the only items enjoying growth. Title insurance, a $15 billion industry, is also forecasted to continue growing through 2020. It’s clear more homeowners are electing to chose title insurance, and

6 Hours Ago In 2017 about 31 percent of young adults were living back in their mom and dad’s house. That’s down slightly from more than 32 percent in 2016. If you are among those parents who plan to let your adult children stay with you, there are ways to help put them on the

U.S. home sales unexpectedly fell in May as an acute shortage of properties on the market pushed house prices to a record high. The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday that existing home sales slipped 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.43 million units last month. It was the second straight

Vacation home sales on the tiny, toney island of Nantucket, a beach resort off the coast of Massachusetts, are seeing new life, and their prices are off the charts. If the first quarter is any indication, the dollar volume of sales will likely exceed $1 billion this year. Already, $268 million worth of homes sold

Shutterstock Earlier this week, we received a letter from a local realtor. She has clients who are hoping to buy our home or one in our area so that they can live near the rest of their family (yes, there are grandkids involved). I’m not going to lie: I thought about selling. We’re homeowners again,

Interest rate volatility has dissuaded borrowers for months, but some returned to the mortgage market last week. Mortgage application volume increased 5.1 percent from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s seasonally adjusted survey. The gain was driven by applications to refinance a home loan, which rose 6 percent for the week but

Despite tumbling sales, mounting debts and looming maturities, Sears Holdings is still testing new initiatives to see if something sparks a turnaround. The latest one brings its Sears and Kmart brands together under one roof. A pint-sized Kmart convenience shop was opened inside a larger Sears store in New York’s Brooklyn borough this weekend. The