News / Features

IPO-logy: Realogy Planning $1 Billion Offering

The parent company of Realogy, which owns Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Better Homes and Sotheby’s International Realty, is hoping to raise $1 billion today in an initial public offering. The IPO is a full circle for Domus Holdings, Realogy’s owner,

Which Site is the Best: Zillow, Trulia or Realtor.com?

By Amber Statler-Matthews The October 2011 issue of Realtor Magazine reported in September Realtor.com had more than 50 million visits. Zillow.com saw more than 28 million in that same month while Trulia.com had more than 21 million visits. But

Should Agents Allow Customer Reviews on Their Sites?

Real estate, as is the case with every other service-sector profession, is an industry built upon customer satisfaction, and an agent’s success will almost entirely depend on how past clients perceive – and more importantly, endorse – the agent’s

71 Percent of Buyers Facing Competing Offers, with Comments from J.J. Molaison, Prudential Gary Greene Inner Loop

There are numerous signs out there that housing is recovering, and the folks at Redfin have presented yet another one – the preponderance of multiple offers. Seventy-one percent of respondents in the brokerage’s Real-Time Home-Buyer Tracker reported that when they

3.67 Percent for 30-Year FRM Shatters Record Low

The average 30-year FRM last week shattered previous record lows by falling to just 3.67 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Down from last week, when it averaged 3.75 percent the 30-year was 4.49 percent

FHA Financing Soars 500 Percent from 2006

The granddaddy of housing construction data, the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Characteristics of New Housing” report, just came out for 2011, and it features numerous stats on the single-family home market. Perhaps the most interesting data, though, involves financing, and

20 Percent Think Agents Have ‘Very High’ Ethical Standards

Compared to lawyers, politicians and used car salesmen, how ethical are real estate agents? According to a new poll out from Gallup, the answer to that question is actually quite

Weed-ing Out the Best Commissions Model

As Slater puts it in “Dazed and Confused” – “That’s what I’m talking about, man!” A Colorado man shipped 12 pounds, or $18,000 worth, of marijuana to his real estate

Is Prudential Gary Greene Changing Franchises?

Rumors are swirling that Prudential Gary Greene, the oldest real estate firm in Houston and one of the Bayou City’s top performers, is changing franchises in 2012. The Gary Greene partners offered no comment for this story, but according

Home Prices Increase 1.1 Percent in CoreLogic HPI

Home values reached a milestone in April, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI), rising 1.1 percent year-over-year. The increase was the second consecutive yearly gain for the HPI and the first time consecutive increases have occurred since June

5 Mistakes Your Homebuyers Should Avoid

As we’ve chronicled on several occasions, housing is coming back, and now that the market is improving, many features of the post-boom market no longer apply. Here are five of the most common remnants of the past housing market

50 Percent Increase in Hispanic Purchasing Power in Two Years

The composition of the U.S.’ housing market is changing radically, and nowhere is that change more apparent than among hispanic homeowners. The data could not be more clear – in the next two years, the purchasing power for Hispanics

What’s in a Word? “Agents” Absent on Job Sites

Job-hunting sites such as Monster, Career Builder and especially Simply Hired have made job searches easier than ever, but in the case of real estate, a bit more legwork may be necessary. Houston Agent did a sweep of the real

39 Percent of Houston Agents Dealt With International Homebuyers in 2011

International buyers are making up an increasingly potent share of Houston’s real estate market, according to the 2012 International Real Estate Business Survey. Conducted by the Houston Association of Realtors and covered by the Houston Chronicle, the survey found that 39

Did the FHA’s Foreclosures Really Rise by 73 Percent?

Lender Processing Services (LPS) made quite a stir last week with its report that foreclosures on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-guaranteed homes rose by 73 percent in April. Naturally, the FHA, feisty as ever, is not taking that claim mildly,

4 Things You MUST Know About the Supreme Court’s Recent Ruling on Transaction Fees

The Supreme Court’s rulings have a habit of disappearing in the daily news cycle, but its most recent ruling could have a transformative effect on the entire real estate landscap. The ruling for Freeman et. al. v. Quicken Loans,

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