Agents never publicly disclose their splits, but should that change? Howard Schultz, the famed CEO of Starbucks, recently proclaimed that “the currency of leadership is transparency,” and his comment snuggled up quite nicely with what is a new trend

Last year NAR outspent some of the most influential companies and groups in the U.S. Was it all for influence? In 2014, Koch Industries, capital generator for the infamously influential Koch brothers, shelled out nearly $14 million in lobbying

Minority groups have a harder time accessing mortgages in the U.S., including here in Houston. In the Houston metro area, 19.6 percent of African-Americans are denied in their applications for conventional mortgages, according to a new analysis from Zillow; that’s more

Foreclosure activity in 2014 ended well, but pockets remain in dire straights. To cap off 2014, the national foreclosure inventory continued deflating, falling a staggering 34 percent year-over-year, according to CoreLogic’s newest foreclosure report. As of December, the nation’s

Houston continued to set the world on fire with its rise in asking prices Asking prices in Houston began 2015 on a soaring note, according to the Trulia Price Monitor. Prices were up 13.8 percent year-over-year in January, and a similarly strong 5.2

An influx of demand to Houston’s rapidly growing housing market has helped push values upwards. However, not without also raising property taxes. Coming out of the housing crisis, Texas was poised to break out as one of the country’s

One may think that warmer months are better for selling homes, but the data tells another story. What if we were to tell you that it really makes no difference when you list your client’s home, in terms of

There were some very positive things to report in the government’s latest job numbers. The U.S. economy started out 2015 with a bang, adding 257,000 jobs in January, according to the latest report from the Labor Department. Of course, there

We’ve covered multifamily ascendence before, but this is the most telling statistic of all. Earlier this week, we reported on two facets of new construction: first, that overall construction spending in Houston grew by hefty amounts in 2014; and second,

Lennar, a top Houston homebuilder, announced the opening of two brand new model homes in Fairfield. The community created by Friendswood Development Company covers 3,200 acres located in Cypress, Tex. Fairfield is one of Houston’s premier new home communities offering miles of greenbelt trails, lakes,

The price of crude bounced back this week, but some say even if it stabilizes, the damage has already been done.   After months of falling oil prices, crude-oil futures rallied back this week, climbing up 7 percent to

What is the marital status of the typical first-time homebuyer? What are the demographics? And finally, how have those stats changed in recent years, and what does America’s ever-diversifying landscape suggest? To find out, see our infographic below, which

Last week, we reported that lending standards have see-sawed up and down the spectrum the last few years, but does that trend change at all when we look at the separate lending standards for refinancing and purchasing loans? Once

We reported last week that in 2014, the median sales price for a newly built single-family home set a new record, closing out the year at $283,600. That’s not only 5.5 percent above 2013, but also a whopping 28.3 percent

Cuba is opening for business. Is the U.S. ready? The gates to Cuba have opened, pushing aside more than 60 years of animosity with the West for the promise of a more profitable century. The announcement came earlier this

Slow home prices in December are likely to roll over into 2015. Early today, February 3, CoreLogic released its Home Price Index for December 2014. While price appreciation was relatively flat from a month prior, CoreLogic researchers found prices