News / Features

This “boring” topic could be worth thousands to your clients

We know, we know – private mortgage insurance (PMI for short) is one of the more profoundly unsexy topics in real estate, and offers little of the glitz and glamor of staging, showing and negotiating. But it is a

Houston brokerage tops $2 billion in volume, ranks among best in nation

Every year, REAL Trends, a leading source for industry analysis and information, publishes its 500 lists, which rank the country’s top residential brokerages by transaction sides and total sales volume. This year both Texas and Houston were well represented.

Houston’s top-selling agents, Q1 April 2016

The latest Real Data report is in. Click on the tabs below to see the top buy- and list-side agents in Houston in Q1 2016. Buy-Side List-Side Buy-Side Agent Brokerage City Sales Volume (in millions) Ronnie Matthews RE/MAX Legends Spring 44

4 tips for telling a client “You’re fired”

As we discussed in a recent article, making the decision to fire a client is a nuanced process. That is doubly true when you move to execute that decision. Doing the actual firing may seem like the simpler part of the

NAR’s hilarious new partnership with Modern Family

The National Association of Realtors is no stranger to advertising and unorthodox marketing methods, but the trade group took things one step further last week with perhaps America’s most famous Realtor – Phil Dunphy of ABC’s “Modern Family.” In

How 5 beloved Houston parks impact home values

  The modern homebuyer wants green space. For agents in Houston, that trend is a godsend. “Green spaces in urban and suburban areas have typically been publicly provided amenities that have no set market price, but it has become increasingly

Is Texas a good state to live in for working moms?

The prevalence of women in the workforce has grown tremendously over the past few decades, and as a result, working moms have gained buying power in the real estate market. However, as a recent study from WalletHub pointed out,

This Week in Houston Real Estate: Property tax revenue cap’s future, analysts talk oil and more

It was a busy week in Houston real estate, as is so often the case. But if you weren’t able to keep up with everything, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here’s what happened:   Houstonians are staying positive

Is luxury housing in Houston slowing down?

Luxury housing markets across the U.S. have seen declines in 2016, but according to a new analysis from Redfin, few markets have slowed more than Houston. Through Q1 2016, the average sale price for luxury homes in Houston was $1.377 million,

Houston ranked one of the nation’s most dangerous cities

Earlier this week, we reported on NeighborhoodScout’s new list of the top 100 safest cities in the U.S. In part two of this two-part series on crime, we’ll be counting down the top 100 “most dangerous” cities in America. The

4 ways to be the managing broker your agents need

If agents are the soldiers in the field, then managing brokers are the generals. Maybe that analogy is a little militant for real estate, but it’s not a bad way of illustrating the relationship between the two. Agents expect a lot

Trade groups challenge HUD disparate impact rule

In June of last year, the U.S. Supreme Court saved the Fair Housing Act from being gutted, ruling that intention was a non-factor in disparate impact cases. Late last month, a Washington, D.C. district court handed a knife to

The high school football stadium effect in Houston real estate

Texas is a football state. And as Houston is its biggest metro, it’s no surprise the city is home to an abnormally large number of high-end high school football stadiums – some of which cost as much as $80 million.

Houston suburb named second-safest city in Texas

Though crime can be found in all major cities, the severity and frequency of it vary greatly from metro to metro, as two new reports from real estate analytics provider NeighborhoodScout recently pointed out. In part one of this two-part series

Houston new construction continues to decline in 2016

This year is shaping up to be a very positive one for residential construction in Houston, according to the latest numbers from Dodge Data & Analytics. In March, residential construction spending in Houston totaled $736 million, a 20 percent decline from March

Could TRID be in for a rewrite?

In an April 28 letter to mortgage associations and professionals across the U.S., Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray acknowledged their concerns, and hinted at what could be a rewriting of the rule. In November of last year,

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