Happy first day of May! Did you know that back when May Basket Day was a thing, people would gather flowers and candies in baskets to hang on the doors of friends and loved ones on May 1? What a beautiful way to celebrate the season and communities! Here on Clean Slate, we’re celebrating the first Friday of May with another installment of our weekly Real Estate Resource Roundup to help you catch up on the latest industry news.
Spring Home Sales ‘Starting Off on Solid Footing’
Home buying this spring looks to be starting off on a strong note. That is a good sign for the housing market, which also points to broader economic strength, economists said Wednesday.
Vacation Home Buying Gets Boomer, Stock Market Boost
The vacation home market continues to heat up as we head into the second quarter of 2015. This increased demand comes from high-net-worth buyers diverting earnings from stock investment to second homes. Baby boomers are buying up properties in resort locales as they are getting ready to retire.
Homeownership Rate U.S. Falls to 63.7{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c}, Lowest Since 1993
The U.S. homeownership rate fell to the lowest level in more than two decades, extending a multiyear decline as rising prices and stagnant wages keep young families out of the property-buying market.
New Report Spotlights Homes Sold to Owner Occupants
Owner-occupant buyers accounted for 63.2 percent of all residential single family home and condo sales in the first quarter of 2015, down from 65.8 percent in the previous quarter and 68.6 percent a year ago to the lowest quarterly lever going back to the first quarter of 2011.
NAR Sponsoring Realogy’s ‘FWD’ Innovation Summit
The National Association of Realtors’ tech accelerator, REach, is sponsoring Realogy’s third annual one-day “FWD” real estate pitch competition, which will be held in San Francisco on June 23. Realogy designed the FWD Innovation Summit to give a stable of handpicked early-stage real estate startups an opportunity to pitch their wares to the franchise and brokerage giant.
Green Homes Are So 2010: The Future Is Wellness Communities
Homeowners yearning for the old-fashioned neighborhood are trading in their single-family detached homes for housing developments that put an emphasis on their residents’ health and well-being. These projects, called ‘wellness communities’, are said to be ‘the logical result of Americans’ shift toward sustainable lifestyles.’
Facebook Tests Feature Letting Users Pick Pages, Friends They’d Want To See Atop News Feed
It’s getting harder and harder for pages to organically reach fans on Facebook. Fresh from its recent change on the newsfeed algorithm, which prioritizes updates from friends over those from business pages, Facebook is testing yet another new feature letting users pick pages and friends from whom they want to see more updates.
In case you missed it here on Clean Slate, check out our latest #10QW and learn how a background in education helps Amy Lippincott, winner of the Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate Agent Marketing Award 2015, succeed in her real estate career. As always, be sure to follow #BHGRE on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.
