News / Features

Real Estate in Brief: Opendoor’s bonus credit, hidden doorways gaining popularity, and more

 The home-trading startup Opendoor has made several changes of approach when attracting homebuyers in the Pheonix and Dallas- Fort Worth markets. The company has featured a bonus $1,000 credit to buyers who purchase Opendoor’s for sale homes in these markets; whether through an Opendoor “partner agent” or through a direct purchase on their own.

Houston Agents’ Choice Awards 2018 Finalists – Revealed!

The votes are in! Thank you to the many members of our real estate community, who submitted thousands of votes and shared their enthusiasm for this year’s Agents’ Choice Awards. We’ve tallied up the votes and determined the finalists

National Association of Realtors heads to Boston for 2018 Realtors Conference and Expo

The city of Boston is getting ready for the National Association of Realtors 2018 Realtors Conference and Expo, which will take place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on November 2-5. More than 20,000 Realtors, experts and guests

This Week in Houston Real Estate: Cost of living is rising, a historic home for auction and more

Although it consistently makes lists for its affordable living situation, Houston has still seen tremendous growth in housing costs over the years. In fact, Houston made Forbes’ recent list of cities where the cost of living rose the fastest.

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Realogy’s Corcoran, Climb to begin franchising deals

Real estate holding company Realogy has announced that it would begin selling franchise agreements for two of its brokerage brands, The Corcoran Group and Climb Real Estate. Corcoran is based in New York City and until now has primarily served markets

Millennials most willing to bunk with ghouls for large kitchen space and other sweet treats

Realtor.com’s annual Haunted Real Estate Report found that millennials are more willing than any other generation to sleep with what goes bump in the night, for a small bonus.  According to the 2018 survey, one in three respondents, specifically millennials, were willing

Pending home sales grow slightly in September indicating stabilization

Despite the general trend toward a fall slowdown, pending home sales rose slightly in September compared to August. The National Association of Realtors reports that the pending home sales index rose 0.5 percent from 104.1 in August to 104.5

Real Estate in Brief: The annual salaries needed for the hottest U.S. cities, patios growing in popularity and more

The financial website How Much used data from the National Association of Realtors and mortgage-information website HSH.com to find the nation’s most expensive “average-sized” homes. The study found that the median U.S. household annual income rose nearly 2 percent

See the most expensive Houston neighborhoods

Although Houston is constantly highlighted for having extremely affordable housing compared to the rest of the country, it is also home to some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the nation. Paige Martin, from the Houston Properties Team with Keller

Trustworthiness and quiet the most important qualities in a good neighbor

Having terrible neighbors can be an extremely negative experience for homeowners. However, luckily the vast majority of people currently believe that they have good neighbors. According to Realtor.com’s Good Neighbor Report, 77 percent of participants said they are satisfied with

Zillow: It takes the average person seven years to save up a down payment

It would take the average American seven years to save up enough to make a down payment on a home, according to Zillow’s latest report. This is longer compared to 20 years ago when it took the average American

How much will rising rates cost homeowners?

Recent reports of a sluggish housing market have put at least some of the blame on rising interest rates. Over the last 12 months, the interest rate on a typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has increased by nearly one full

Real Estate in Brief: More luxury buyers are entering the market than sellers, Toll Brothers co-founder steps down and more

Luxury Portfolio International‘s 2018 Global Luxury Real Estate report found that, globally, almost 40 percent of high-net-worth individuals will be looking to buy property in the next three years but only 23 percent are willing to sell. With the imbalance of purchase

Study: Higher property values influence homeowner voter participation

A recent study from two members of Stanford University’s political science department finds a strong positive relationship between voter turnout rates and property values among homeowners. Along with a growing body of research around how homeowners vote, this could

Zillow: Suburban home affordability rivaling urban levels in many markets

With home prices rising across the country, many buyers may think that moving out to the suburbs is the solution to finding a home that they can afford. However, suburban areas are now rivaling urban areas in affordability in

This Week in Real Estate: Houston named one of best places to retire, America’s most expensive foreclosure and more

U.S News & World Report released their 2019 Best Places to Retire analysis last week. Houston came at No.26, behind Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. In spite of scoring lower than other Texas counterparts, U.S. News said a paycheck