Welcome to latest edition of the Real Estate Resource Roundup, where we share just some of the industry articles that caught our eye this week.
Meet the new buyers: Turn-key properties, select neighborhoods are high on the must-have list
Matt Rand from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty is included in this Journal News article about first-time home buyers, stating that there is a generational shift away from the fixer upper. First time homebuyers, people in their 30s and those in their 20s don’t have the time or skills to take on a project and prefer newly renovated homes.
From the Desk of Jeffrey Halpern: Either sell or don’t sell
In this contributed article, Jeffrey Halpern, from Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, discusses a sellers’ tendency to put their homes on the market over valued, attempting to “test” and try out the market. Halpern personally does not like to try out anything and prefers to remain committed to selling the house.
Homes.com Improves Leads, Simplifies Incubation
Many real estate agents are turning to resource platforms for help in drawing leads, streamlining incubation and enhancing response time. Donna Southwell, CFO/COO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, The Masiello Group, turned to Homes.com, a site which offers a wide variety of solutions to target and capture local consumers, allowing agents to reel in potential homebuyers.
Here’s some real estate all-star Tweeters you might want to meet
Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, is noted as a “real estate all-star Tweeter” having recently been ranked on Placester.com’s list of 100 Twitter accounts to follow. Sherry will be in Texas on January 23 to launch a new Austin presence of the brand.
Builders Begin Work on More U.S. Homes Than Forecast
According to the Commerce Department, housing starts fell 9.8 percent to a 999,000 annualized rate following November’s revised 1.11 million pace. Housing will continue to remain a mainstay of the expansion; with builders breaking ground on more projects as an improved job market boosts demand for real estate.
Google to acquire Nest for $3.2 billion
Google recently acquired Nest, the maker of highly-styled digital smoke alarms and thermostats, for $3.2 billion in cash. Google intends to make even more of a splash in Americans’ homes with this deal and thrusts the company into multiple markets.
More consumers planning to buy as mortgage concerns ease
According to an economic outlook report released by Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group, the share of consumers who plan to buy a home rose to 6.9 percent in December, up from 5 percent in November. The report shows that consumer attitudes about the easy of getting a mortgage are at the highest levelin the 3.5-year history of its National Housing Survey, despite concerns about mortgage availability.
