Vacation sales in 2016 posted a nearly 22 percent year-over-year drop and plunged to the lowest level since 2013, as buyers were greeted with fewer and pricier choices, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Vacation and Investment Home Survey, which covers existing and new-home transactions in 2016. Sales to investors fared much better.Vacation sales have fallen 36 percent from their recent peak set in 2014 (1.13 million in
The construction and ongoing operations of new commercial real estate—encompassing office, industrial, warehouse, and the retail sectors—supported a whopping 6.25 million American jobs and contributed $861 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2016. That's according to a new study, “Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate,” published by the NAIOP Research Foundation. Construction within the commercial sector continues to grow, with construction
Your website URL is key to your brand identity. A recent article by Forbes suggests you should ask yourself some of these questions to make sure you’re using your web address in a smart way.Can others pronounce it? “Even though users aren’t likely to be saying your domain name out loud, pronounce-ability is still important,” writes Forbes writer Denis Pinsky. “This is because of something called fluency: The ease with which our brains c
The average tax refund was $2,860 for the majority of Americans last year. According to a survey by GO Banking Rates, 41 percent of Americans plan to save their tax returns. That savings could help put them on the path to homeownership.Six percent of 18- to 34-year-olds say they plan to use their tax refund to purchase a car, home, etc., compared to 9 percent in the 35- to 44-year-old age group.“With higher incomes and a tax refund of approxima
Affordability issues may be keeping some first-time buyers on the sidelines—the percentage of homes purchased by this group has fallen to 32 percent, which is 8 percentage points below the historical norm, according to the National Association of REALTORS®—but in some cities, homeownership is more accessible to millennials.In its third annual study, financial website SmartAsset.com released its findings for 2017's best cities for first-time
Online marketing campaigns can be effective for prospecting, but if you find your ads are generating little response, revisit your strategy to make sure you're focusing on the results you want. Here are a few reasons why business professionals' online marketing may seem ineffective, according to Forbes columnist Brad Shorr. You place emphasis on the wrong metrics. Shorr notes that search rankings and traffic volume may not be the most meaningful
Consumer confidence in the housing market receded from its record high in February, dropping 3.8 percentage points to a reading of 84.5 in March, according to Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index, a survey of about 1,000 Americans. Five of the six components measured in the index saw a decline, including the percentage of consumers who expressed a positive outlook on buying a home and their employment situation. However, the percentage of c
For the first time, a federal judge has ruled that provisions in the Fair Housing Act protect against LGBT discrimination. The law states that it is illegal to refuse to rent or sell property to anyone based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin. But questions have been raised as to whether fair housing and other anti-discrimination laws also encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity when they are not explici
As the spring homebuying season begins to heat up, the real estate and title insurance industries are reminding home buyers about wire fraud scams increasingly targeting them to steal their down payment funds.The National Association of REALTORS® has issued warnings to its members that hackers are trying to gain access to insecure email accounts and search inboxes for messages related to real estate transactions. The hackers then draft fake ema
While nearly 40 percent of aspiring homeowners believe they need to put down 20 percent on a home purchase, the truth is the average down payment was just 11 percent in 2016, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Mortgage industry blog MGIC Connects has created a Buy Now vs. Wait calculator that can show them whether they're better off waiting and continuing to save for a bigger down payment or buying now with less money upfront.Th
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