Sat.Apr 23, 2022 - Fri.Apr 29, 2022

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A property tax reckoning is coming

Housing Wire

In Spokane, Washington, a mortgage loan officer at a regional bank has seen five borrowers qualify for a mortgage for one amount, only to have that number slashed a few months later. “They were approved in December,” he said. “Now they’ve gone from $450,000 down to $325,000.”. The reason behind the change, he said, is not that they had a sudden reduction in income, or an emergency expense that drained their savings.

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Is It Enough To Offer Asking Price in Today’s Housing Market?

Keeping Current Matters

If you’re planning to buy a home this season, you’re probably thinking about what you’ll need to do to get your offer accepted.

Marketing 290
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Giving Agents What They Need to Succeed

RIS Media

Tomas Barrientos. Managing Broker. HomeSmart TuCasa Realty. Tulsa, Oklahoma. [link]. Region served: Oklahoma. Years in real estate: 17. Number of offices: 2. Number of agents: 59. How did you come to partner with HomeSmart, and how has that helped mold your brokerage? . During the pandemic, we tried to find a new way to present something fresh with technology that was simple enough that our agents would understand, while also offering 100% commission with a flat transaction-fee plan.

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Making a Splash: 5 Homes with Soothing Water Features

Sotheby's International Real Estate

Whether classical or colorfully modern, a fountain brings the serene sounds of water to any estate. Each of these five homes—from the Connecticut to California—uses a fountain to turn an outdoor area into an oasis that is both eye-catching and calming. California Meets Bali. Shelton Wilder, Sotheby’s International Realty – Brentwood Brokerage.

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The 2025 Real Estate Roadmap to Success

Don’t just react to changes, plan for them, so you can approach the new year with confidence, direction, and a competitive edge for your business. Having a well-defined business plan helps you chart a clear course, navigate challenges, and set a foundation for growth. This workbook gives you the key steps to outline what matters and will ensure you’re moving ahead.

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The crypto-mortgage is the new kid on the block

Housing Wire

A rising player in the world of crypto-mortgages and blockchain-enabled financing, LoanSnap, plans expand its reach in the market by opening its lending platform to licensed mortgage brokers across the country in the near future. Karl Jacob, CEO and co-founder of LoanSnap , said the cyrpto-mortgage system his company has developed can originate more than just loans that LoanSnap mints.

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How Homeownership Can Help Shield You from Inflation

Keeping Current Matters

If you’re following along with the news today, you’ve likely heard about rising inflation.

Marketing 247

More Trending

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How To Get Your House Ready To Sell Checklist: Inside And Out

HomeLight

When it comes to getting your house ready to sell, Maryland real estate agent Bob Lucido likens it to putting yourself on a dating site. “We want people to fall in love with the house and that starts from the outside, every component,” says Lucido. “First impressions make a ton of impact to a potential buyer, so what we do is critique the exterior thoroughly but don’t overdo it.”.

Staging 128
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Flagstar Bancorp cuts 20% of its mortgage staff

Housing Wire

Michigan-based Flagstar Bancorp , Inc. , parent company of Flagstar Bank , has reduced its mortgage staff by 20% since the calendar turned to 2022, laying off 420 employees amid a significant drop in origination volumes and margins. Overall, the bank’s net income in the first quarter of 2022 dropped 60.4% from the prior quarter, to $53 million.

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What You Need To Know About Selling in a Sellers’ Market

Keeping Current Matters

Even if you haven’t been following real estate news, you’ve likely heard about the current sellers’ market.

Marketing 246
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6 New Real Estate Tech Companies to Watch Out for in 2022

The Close

New real estate tech companies seem to pop up every single day. With such a crowded marketplace, it’s hard to know which companies are just a flash in the pan and which are ones you should pay attention to. To help you cut through the noise, our team at The Close spent the week at the Inman Connect 2022 conference in New York, talking to literally every real estate tech vendor on the expo floor, choosing our list of new real estate tech companies that we think are going to make a splash this yea

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Avoiding Lease Accounting Pitfalls in 2025: Lessons Learned from Spreadsheet Errors

Speaker: Abdi Ali, Sr. Lease Accounting Consultant

Join this insightful webinar with industry expert Abdi Ali, who will discuss the challenges that can arise from managing lease accounting with spreadsheets! He will share real-world examples of errors, compliance issues, and risks that may be present within your spreadsheets. Learn how these tools, while useful, can sometimes lead to inefficiencies that affect your time, resources, and peace of mind.

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7 Things That Make a House Hard to Sell (And What to Do About Them)

HomeLight

What makes a house hard to sell? Whether you’re selling your primary residence, listing a relative’s old home, or cashing out an investment property, you may find that qualities in your property make it difficult to offload. As a result, your home may languish even in a seller’s market, waiting for offers that never seem to come. What are the most common factors that can make a house hard to sell ?

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Redfin settles Fair Housing Act lawsuit

Housing Wire

Redfin must revamp its business – including eliminating a minimum home price for service – in order to serve more non-white homebuyers. That was but one prong of a multifaceted agreement that Redfin and 10 different fair housing advocacy groups filed at a Seattle federal courthouse Friday. The deal probably ends a lawsuit that the National Fair Housing Alliance and like-minded groups filed 18 months ago accusing the brokerage and popular real estate listings website of offering services in predo

Brokerage 397
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The Dream of Homeownership Is Worth the Effort

Keeping Current Matters

If you’re in the market to buy a home this season, stick with it.

Marketing 239
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An AI To Find Your Tribe

GeekEstate

[Note from editor: The “Mastermind Showcase” highlights companies and news from members of the GEM. Today’s showcase: LandOnEarth.]. Location, Location, Location. We hear it all the time in the real estate industry. Where a home is located is the most important factor in its value–both now and in the future. Each person’s personal value of a particular location is dependent on a variety of factors, such as age, interests and profession.

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Tech-Forward Strategies for Scaling Agent Efficiency & Accelerating Growth

As the real estate market evolves, technology has become essential for success. According to NAR, only 26% of agents feel their brokerage provides the necessary tech tools and, as a result, agents seek teams and brokerages who prioritize technology investments! Whether you manage an established team or are forming a new one, this guide outlines key considerations and necessary applications to thrive.

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How to Increase Home Value for an Appraisal

HomeLight

Whether you’re thinking about selling your home, borrowing from your home equity, or canceling private mortgage insurance (PMI) , it’s worth considering how to increase home value for an appraisal. While you can’t control every aspect of how your home is valued, properly preparing for a home appraisal can assist in making sure credit is given where due.

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Homepoint exits correspondent following deal with Planet Home Lending

Housing Wire

Connecticut-based mortgage servicer and lender Planet Home Lending has entered into an agreement to acquire assets from Homepoint ‘s delegated correspondent channel for $2.5 million in cash, the companies announced on Friday. The move signals Homepoint’s exit from the correspondent channel to focus on wholesale. Homepoint was the 11th biggest residential mortgage lender in the country last year, originating $96 billion in residential mortgages, up 55.2% year-over-year.

Lending 397
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Give Your Curb Appeal a Boost Before You Sell [INFOGRAPHIC]

Keeping Current Matters

Some Highlights. If you’re thinking about selling your house this season, focusing on a few quick and easy updates outside can help your home look its best. 78% of real estate agents polled say poor landscaping affects property values. As a seller, that means your yard could impact your bottom line. When getting your house ready to sell, lean on your agent for advice to make sure your house shows well and catches the eyes of more potential buyers.

Agents 233
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Who Keeps The Earnest Money When a Sale Falls Through

Maximum Exposure Real Estate

Understanding An Earnest Money Refund When you are purchasing real estate, there are quite a few things you need to know. One of those things is whether or not your money is refundable. Many buyers and sellers will ask their respective real estate agents whether the earnest money deposit is refundable. Whether earnest money is […]. The post Who Keeps The Earnest Money When a Sale Falls Through appeared first on Maximum Real Estate Exposure.

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Accelerating Real Estate Sales Pipelines to Streamline Buyer Journeys

Navigated 360° tours, like YourVRTours, advance pipelines by engaging clients further along the sales funnel. These immersive experiences provide comprehensive property insights, increasing buyer intent and readiness. By embracing navigated tours, agents can optimize property exposure, better qualify leads, and streamline the sales process. Stay ahead in the ever-evolving real estate landscape with innovative technology that elevates buyer journeys and progresses pipelines more effectively.

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Upcoming GEM Soirées — San Francisco and Chicago

GeekEstate

The fifth and sixth event in the GEM Soirée series are coming up. One next week in San Francisco on Cinco de Mayo, followed by an event in Chicago on May 19th. Each an evening to mingle and celebrate the industry’s progress with real estate tech founders, execs, VCs, and practitioners. San Francisco: A gathering at Modernist (a members’ club) on May 5th from 4:30 to 6:30.

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Here’s an inside look at local housing markets across the country

Housing Wire

Local markets spotlights 5 different areas across the country, showcasing what is uniquely happening in those housing markets. Local real estate agents, loan officers and appraisers share what characteristics are currently defining their housing markets. Conway, Arkansas. Some might call Conway, Arkansas, a bedroom community of Little Rock — the state’s capital.

Marketing 397
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Coldwell Banker Ranked Higher Than Any Other Brand In Agent Satisfaction

Coldwell Banker

Annual Report Reveals Agent Sentiment & Ranks Their Priorities. The post Coldwell Banker Ranked Higher Than Any Other Brand In Agent Satisfaction appeared first on Coldwell Banker Blue Matter.

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The 7 Best Free Real Estate CRMs of 2022

The Close

A free real estate CRM or customer relationship management tool is essential for any new agent looking to close more than one or two transactions a year. Good CRM tools help you organize your contacts, establish a consistent communication plan for each client, and ultimately, close more deals. But most real estate-specific CRMs come with a price tag.

Agents 119
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Driving Profit: 4 Pillars for Growing Your Real Estate Brokerage

In the rapidly changing real estate landscape, achieving profitability requires a strategic approach beyond traditional methods. Our guide, "The 4 Pillars to Brokerage Profitability," outlines four essential pillars for scaling your real estate business: a seamless lead-to-close technology ecosystem, tailored integrated solutions for teams and agents, value-added success services and community support, and consumer-centric operations throughout the full homeownership lifecycle.

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Proptech Job Opportunity: CTO for Condos.com

GeekEstate

We have a job opportunity to share from a member of the GEM, Condos.com, a new and pre-construction marketplace: CTO. The opportunity: Job Description – How Will You Make an Impact? Work with our CEO and leadership team to set the technical direction, strategy and execute our roadmap. Drive technical decisions to use modern technology to deliver the product to our customers quickly and efficiently.

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Propy and Abra launch crypto-backed mortgages

Housing Wire

Homebuyers can secure a home mortgage using cryptocurrency as collateral through a new partnership between blockchain real estate platform Propy and crypto wallet service Abra. The Abra Borrow platform allows customers to use crypto as collateral to borrow U.S. dollars with flexible repayment terms and interest rates as low as 0%, Propy, a real estate blockchain startup headquartered in Palo Alto, California, said in a release.

Mortgages 397
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Builders’ Profit Margins Fall as Balance Sheets Grow

Eye on Housing

The financial performance of any company is directly linked to the industry environment in which it operates. Factors such as the number and size of its competitors, barriers to enter or exit, capital requirements, economies of scale, or the bargaining power of customers and suppliers all play a role in the potential profitability of a company. Given this reality, one.

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Homeowners Should Have Some “Fear of Missing Out” on This Market

Lighter Side of Real Estate

If you’ve been thinking about selling and hesitating or simply waiting, you may want to start thinking about how you’ll feel if you miss out on the best time to sell your house in a long time. You never know when (or if) conditions will be like this in the real estate market again. It’s been a sellers’ market for quite some time now, and with rates going up significantly and home prices still historically high, there’s a lot of chatter about whether or not there’s a real estate “bubble” that’s a

Marketing 116
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Maximizing Your Online Presence: Tips for Real Estate Agents on Social Media

Speaker: Sarah Santa Ana, Real Estate Coach, Move4Free Realty

Networking is one of the crucial elements in every real estate organization's success. Both agents and real estate companies need to maintain robust networking links. This is why social media is essential for any real estate professional! Social media enables you to stay in touch with your present clients, maintain connections with your past clients, and engage potential customers and investors.

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10 of the Cheapest Places to Live in Colorado

HomeLight

When it comes to year-round, seasonal sports and outdoor activities, there are few places that can beat Colorado. From world-class ski resorts to scenic trail runs, the state is known for its active lifestyle — attracting residents who want to spend more time exploring the great outdoors. The growing population of Colorado has contributed to the increase in housing costs over the last few years, with the median price of a single-family home rising by almost a third.

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First American off to a slow start in 2022

Housing Wire

After a record breaking year in 2021 , 2022 is off to a slow start for “big four” title insurer First American Financial. The firm generated $2 billion in total revenue during the first quarter of 2022, unchanged from a year ago. Net income, however, was a different story. During the first quarter of 2022 , First American saw $98 million in net income compared to $234 million a year ago.

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Homeownership Rate Stable at 65.4%

Eye on Housing

The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate at 65.4% in the first quarter of 2022, which is statistically unchanged from the last quarter reading. The national homeowner vacancy rate slipped to a record low of 0.8%, while the rental vacancy rate increased to 5.8%. The covid-induced data collection restrictions have ended in all areas as.

As-is 115
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Reimagining the Pied-à-Terre: 5 Homes That Grant Access to New Worlds

Sotheby's International Real Estate

In a world of greater freedom and flexibility, primary residences have been redefined, along with workplaces and office spaces. So perhaps it’s time to reimagine the pied-à-terre and the possibilities it can hold. In the past, a pied-à-terre was generally a small, functional apartment that gave their owners a home base in the thick of the action—and that action was always happening in the center of the city, whether in the corner office by day or the restaurants and theaters by night.

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Rise of The Apps: Building Your Dream Tech Stack For Real Estate Success

Speaker: Trey Willard, Realtor/Team Leader at Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

In order to create continued success in today’s real estate market, realtors need to utilize an arsenal of technology that will increase their efficiency and presence on social media. Using technology to manage your prospects and tap into their needs through websites, social media, and other channels is critical for real estate success in 2022 and beyond.