A new home will often come with a warranty from the builder, but that doesn’t mean the builder is on the hook for anything that breaks. Warranties differ from builder to builder, but they typically cover only specific features such as: Concrete foundations and floors Clapboard and shingles Carpeting Thermal and moisture cover Waterproofing Insulation Roofing and siding Doors and windows Garage doors Plumbing Electrical Heating and cooling Septi
Higher mortgage rates and rising home prices are making housing more expensive for homeowners this year compared to last year. In San Jose, Calif., for example, the average homeowner is paying $500 more for monthly mortgage payments than a year ago, jumping from $4,100 to $4,600, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg.In nearly one-third of metro areas, buyers paid an average $50 hike in monthly mortgage payments in the first quarter of the yea
When it comes to renovations, homeowners express some of their highest satisfaction with outdoor projects such as a new wood deck, water feature, statement landscape, or a new patio. These home improvement projects had “Joy Scores” of 9.7 or more out of 10, according to the 2018 Remodeling Impact Report released jointly by the National Association of REALTORS® and National Association of Landscape Professionals. Personal finance site Magnify
Reverse commutes—where residents travel from the city to the suburbs for work—are becoming more common across the country. An average of 46 percent of employees living in major cities have reverse commutes, according to a new report called “Ambitious Thinking: Smart Cities,” released by commercial real estate firm JLL.More than 4.8 million people in the 25 largest metro areas in the U.S. have reverse commutes, up 11.6 percent since 2011.
You’ve heard of buyer’s remorse; but without your market expertise and sales skills to back them up, sellers who choose to sell their home on their own just may experience “seller’s regret” when they see how much less they get for their properties. FSBOs earn an average of $60,000 to $90,000 less on the sale of their home than sellers who work with a real estate agent, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Here’s the br
Buyer demand in suburban areas nationwide is fierce, and millennials are the driving force. Realtor.com® identified the most sought-after suburbs in the country by evaluating home appreciation, home construction activity, and population growth in more than 7,000 ZIP codes.“A fast-growing suburb gets that way by attracting builders—working up a business case for people to come in and build their community,” says Javier Vivas, director of ec
Tom Ferry walks you through the process of turning leads into clientsDuring a recent video coaching session, one of my clients was visibly frustrated. She had plenty of leads, but converting those leads was feeling like a fruitless struggle.“Why can’t I convert?” she asked me.In this article, I’m going to tell you what I told her. There are three skills you absolutely must master to convert more leads into appointments and ultimately clos
The uptick in new-home construction in some parts of the country is creating a “bonanza” for thieves, CBS 13 in Sacramento, Calif., reports. In Sacramento alone, police have received 26 reports of thefts from new neighborhoods under construction. The thieves are reportedly stealing everything from tools to newly installed appliances inside the homes.This has prompted police to warn residents and send out more patrols into newly constructed c
The majority of home shoppers will want to see a place in person before they buy, but some house hunters are increasingly relying on video call tours—through Apple’s FaceTime, for example—to shop for a home, The New York Times reports.About 20 percent of buyers said they submitted an offer on a home without visiting it first, according to a recent survey by Redfin of more than 1,000 agents. In a survey of 45 New York–based agents, more
Mortgage rates were mostly in a holding pattern this week, but still eked out the first increase since early June.Overall, mortgage rates this summer have been dropping the past few weeks after sharp rises this spring. “A record number of people quit their job last month, most likely for a new opportunity with higher wages and better benefits,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This positive trend, along with these lower
This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.
