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Mortgage Rates Mirror Fed Decision
Mortgage rates on average remained unchanged this week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), mirroring the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to keep the key interest rate unchanged.
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Pending Home Sales Bounce Back in December
Pending home sales picked up in December as solid increases in the South and West offset weakening activity in the Northeast and Midwest, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 1.6 percent to 109.0 in December from 107.3 in November.
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Empathy: The Secret Sauce to Making it Through Closing
If you need a trick to close, then you didn't do your job in the first place. Clients may seem crazy at times, but they deserve to be understood. There's nothing wrong with letting a little compassion into real estate.
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Use Super Bowl Tactics for Your Presentation
As you gather around the TV, munchies in hand, to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday, take note of more than just the big plays and even bigger commercials. Brokers and agents can learn a thing or two about acing their next presentation from the players on the field.
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8 Ways to Unleash the Power of Google
There's so much information in the online real estate space that some people think that it will eventually wipe out the need for agents completely. But we know they're wrong. The connections, unique market expertise, and guidance real estate agents bring to their clients is undeniable.
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RPR Presents 'Quick Start Guides'
In conjunction with RPR's learning suite of how-to videos, workshops, eBooks and user success stories, now comes the RPR Quick Start guides - one page, downloadable guides to help get you started on RPR, quickly. These helpful how-to's are ideal for giving agents a speedy tutorial on a multitude of topics, ranging from buyer's tours to listing presentations, to how to download the mobile app.
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Affordable Space Brings Tory Burch Across the Hudson
While many companies choose New Jersey for its strategic location, others are equally attracted to its affordable real estate, which offers a good deal more space for the money than neighboring New York.
Recent research by JLL found that direct asking rents on the Hudson waterfront submarket averaged about $30 less per square foot than many sections of Midtown Manhattan.
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Contributions to RPAC are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions are voluntary and are used for political purposes. The amounts indicated are merely guidelines and you may contribute more or less than the suggested amounts
provided your contribution is within applicable contribution limits. The National Association of REALTORS® and its state and local associations will not favor or disadvantage any member because of the amount contributed or a decision not to contribute. You may refuse to contribute without reprisal.
Unless otherwise required by applicable law, any request for the refund of a contribution must be made within two (2) business days of the date on which you authorize RPAC to charge you for said contribution. Your contribution is split between National RPAC and the State PAC in your state. Contact your State Association or PAC for information about the percentages of your contribution provided to National RPAC and to the State PAC. The National RPAC portion is used to support federal candidates and is charged against your limits under 52 U.S.C. 3011.
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Foreign Money Looks Beyond Gateway Cities for Apartment Assets
Real estate in the U.S. is attractive to investors from overseas and apartment properties are especially alluring, according to the latest survey of the members of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), released January 3. Their money continues to flow into the apartment sector both directly and indirectly, through partnerships and intermediaries.
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Spreading the Wealth to All Corners of the Globe
The world's wealthy have their pick of places to call home-and those places, according to a new report, run the gamut of the globe. The Global Property Handbook, published by Barnes International, Warburg Realty and Wealth-X, ranks the "Alpha" housing markets that are drawing elite in search of luxury real estate, based on "emotional," "financial" and "practical" factors.
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NAR Letter on FHA Premiums
NAR sent a letter to Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Designee Ben Carson asking the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to reinstate the 25 basis point reduction of the annual mortgage insurance premiums that would have applied to mortgages with a closing or disbursement date of Jan. 27, 2017 and to eliminate the life of loan insurance premium.
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HUD Reversal Softens Loan Demand
This last week's plunge in mortgage applications was at least partially triggered by a large drop in government-insured loans. Overall applications for FHA loans dove 13 percent last week, after the Trump administration's first housing policy move. The Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended the reduction in Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance premiums set to take effect Jan. 27.
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