By Taryn Phaneuf A new study found American workers are living farther from their workplaces, likely due to remote work opportunities. As a result, people bought bigger homes with home offices. NEW YORK – Freed, perhaps, from a daily jaunt to the office, the average American worker now lives almost three times farther from their job than they did before the pandemic, research shows. Workers’ average distance to their employer increased from 10 miles in 2019 to 27 miles in 2023, according to a study released March 3 by Gusto, a payroll software firm, and the Stanford WFH Group, a
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By Melissa Dittmann Tracey Naples and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers areas are among the top 10 metros in the United States with the highest concentration of cash buyers in 2023, the National Association of Realtors® found. WASHINGTON – Home buyers who paid cash accounted for 32% of home sales in January, marking the highest rate since 2014, the National Association of Realtors® reports. Many leveraged the equity from a prior home sale. Vacation-home buyers and real estate investors made up the bulk of all-cash buyers over the last six months, according to NAR. However, in the last two years, more
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By Alex Veiga Borrowing costs for average 30-year U.S. mortgages and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped Thursday to levels seen in early February. LOS ANGELES — Home loan borrowing costs fell for the second week in a row, pulling the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its lowest level since early February — good news for prospective home shoppers as the spring homebuying season gets underway. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 6.74% from 6.88% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.60%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with
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The Manitoba Real Estate Association and Florida Realtors agreed to develop a mutually beneficial relationship and opportunities while at the 2024 MIPIM in France. CANNES, France – Florida Realtors® and the Manitoba Real Estate Association (MREA) today signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as leaders of the two real estate professional organizations attended the 2024 MIPIM in Cannes, France. MIPIM is the premier real estate event for the international property industry. The MoU agreement establishes the cooperation of the two Realtor® organizations in developing a mutually beneficial relationship for their respective members, setting the stage for increased business opportunities. “As
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By Kristie Wilder and Paul Mackun Florida’s population exponentially from 2022 to 2023, particularly in the large metro areas, underscoring the trend of widespread population growth in the South, the U.S. Census Bureau said. WASHINGTON – Florida was home to four of the nation’s top five fastest-growing metropolitan statistical areas and three of the top 10 that gained the largest number of people from 2022 to 2023, reflecting continued population growth across the South. The increases in Florida — the nation’s third most populous state — were fueled by rapid growth in select metro areas in the state during that
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First-time buyers face more challenges today than they would have just five years ago, primarily due to market competition. To prepare, they should utilize specific strategies to become homeowners.  NEW YORK – Real estate has garnered considerable attention since 2020, and for good reason. Though speculators and real estate professionals may point to a number of variables that have affected the market for homes in recent years, the pandemic certainly was among those factors. Real estate prices and mortgage interest rates increased significantly during the pandemic and have remained well above pre-pandemic levels ever since. The spike in home prices
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Nearly 70% of renters say owning a home would make them happier, yet 60% say it’s out of reach, a new study found. At the same time, 90% of owners say they’re happier since buying a home. NEW YORK – When asked to name the single biggest benefit of homeownership, the most common answer for homeowners was privacy (14%), while renters pointed to stability (16%). On every single aspect of life from overall quality of life to mental health, homeowners are more satisfied than renters, according to new research from Home Bay, an online publication owned by Clever Real Estate
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By Julie Chabanas With about a quarter of commercial mortgages maturing this year, smaller banks are preparing for the economic pressure. Experts say the stress is not expected to produce broader financial implications. NEW YORK – The popularity of remote work in the United States has emptied office buildings, a cause for worry as their value falls and owners risk losses on property loans – in turn putting pressure on smaller banks. “There will be bank failures, but this is not the big banks,” said U.S Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday. In San Francisco, Washington and even New
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Sellers should not rely on the market alone to get their asking price. Instead, strategies including good staging and value-added improvements increase the chances for getting top dollar. NEW YORK – The process of buying and selling a home includes many movable parts. North America has experienced historic trends in the housing market in recent years. Most notably, record-high prices have dominated the real estate market over the last several years. High prices are good news for sellers, who can probably anticipate receiving offers above listing price. In New Jersey, inventory is so low that 12.5% of homes in the
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Agents should avoid lackluster online listings, poor staging and overpricing properties to keep competitive in the market. Instead, focus on making the property attractive to a wide variety of buyers. NEW YORK – To grow a real estate business, agents need to be able to handle the market volatility and adapt to the changing market conditions. Agents should consistently evaluate their sales strategy to identify their weak points and adjust to sales trends. To grab the attention of potential buyers, listing agents should utilize online listings since nearly 47% of potential buyers begin their homebuying search online. This means agents
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