Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips - George Zoumot - iPro Real Estate

End of Fannie, Freddie Rental Programs Good for Market

In a victory for REALTORS®, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are ending pilot programs they’ve been operating for the last several years to help institutional investors in the purchase of single-family homes for rental properties. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the two companies as well as the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, announced the action Tuesday. “What we learned as a result of the pilots is that the larger single-fami

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Compass to Buy Pacific Union in Cali Expansion

Compass, a fast-growing New York-based real estate firm, plans to buy Pacific Union International as it focuses on expanding in California, according to news reports. Compass plans to make a formal public announcement about the acquisition Thursday, the reports say.Pacific Union is the nation’s fifth-largest residential real estate firm based on transaction volume; Compass is the sixth, according to real estate news site REAL Trends. Combined,

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Hospitals Invest in Housing for Healthier Communities

Why are hospitals getting into the real estate business? Growing research has pointed to a link between living in areas of concentrated poverty and health. Hospitals are hoping by making a difference in how some residents in the community live, they’ll also be able to improve their health too.“It’s remarkably frustrating as a physician to see patients over and over and over again from these very high-risk communities,” Dr. Kelly Kelleher,

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Foreclosures Rising in 44% of Metros

More foreclosures sprang up this summer across the country. Forty-four percent—or 96 of 219—metro areas saw foreclosures tick up in July compared to a year ago, according to a newly released report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm. This marks the first annual increase in foreclosure starts nationwide after three years of year-over-year declines each month.The report showed that 30,187 U.S. properties started the foreclosure

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Fewer Americans Are Willing to Move for a Job

Fewer Americans are willing to uproot their lives to move for new job opportunities, suggests new census data.About 3.5 million Americans relocated for a new job last year, a 10 percent drop from 3.8 million in 2015. The number has been trending lower, despite the overall population increasing 20 percent over that time, The Wall Street Journal reports.Why are more people staying put? Experts told WSJ that some blame may rest on rebounding rea

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Facebook’s Ad Platform Is Discriminatory According to HUD

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is accusing Facebook of violating the federal Fair Housing Act and allowing landlords and home sellers to use the social network’s advertising platform to engage in housing discrimination. A Facebook tool enabling advertisers to filter which users see housing-related ads based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, or ZIP code limits housing options for prot

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Consumers Lose Sleep Over Housing Costs

More than one in 10 adults—or about 29 million Americans—say they’re losing sleep worrying about their ability to pay the mortgage or rent, according to a new survey by Bankrate.com. Millennials seem to be tossing and turning the most, with 17 percent of people ages 28 to 37 saying concerns over housing costs are causing them to lose sleep. Also, those earning less than $50,000 per year are more than three times as likely to stress about ho

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Developer to Equip 25K Apartments With Smart-Home Tech

Alliance Residential Company, one of the largest multifamily developers and managers in the U.S., is rolling out a new initiative to outfit 25,000 luxury apartments across the country with smart-home technology through partnerships with Google, Nest, and Dwelo, among others. “We wanted to ensure that from the moment our residents move in, they are able to control multiple aspects of their home—access, climate, and lighting—from a single, si

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REALTORS: 5 essentials for a better work/life balance for agents

Accelerate your professional and personal growthHours turn into days which blur into weeks and then months, and often we’re left blinking into the bewildered eyes in the mirror, no better off today than last year.Holistic planning coupled with dogged determination and consistent follow-through can squeeze the most out of every hour, resulting in more productive weeks and months. Read on for my top 5 tips to accelerate your professional and pers

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New Tool Pinpoints the Best Days to Sell a Home

Ever wish you knew the best time to sell in your market? A tool from HomeLight, a real estate referral company, wants to reveal sellers’ best chances for getting top dollar or the quickest sale.Nationwide, the best months to list a home is in the spring, according to HomeLight’s data. March, April, and May tend to offer the best returns or fastest sales for home sellers. September is still one of the strongest performing months for sales as

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