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☆ Home Sellers' Tough Summer: Get Ready for Lower Prices, Fewer Offers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Rich baby boomers jumped in with all-cash offers, and sellers scored huge windfalls as weary buyers pushed prices to new heights. After all, people have to move for a wide variety of life reasons; mortgage rates be damned. "The further and further we get from the peak of the market," Peterson told me, "the harder it is to deny what's happened." Mortgage rates haven't fallen — in fact, they've gone up about 0.6 percentage points since the start of the year. "It can always be tricky telling somebody that they were just lucky because it makes you sound envious," Peterson told me.

Persons: Rich, Sellers, Eric Peterson, Peterson, Austin, Freddie, they've, Selma Hepp, Freddie Mac, Mike Simonsen, Redfin, towners, Libby Levinson, Katz, Price, Levinson, John Burns, they'll, Realtor.com, you'd Organizations: Freddie Mac, Reserve, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Altos Research, Sun, John, John Burns Research, Consulting Locations: Austin, Boise , Idaho, Denver

☆ A homebuyer's guide to the real-estate revolution
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Real-estate agents' commissions have fluctuated between 5% and 6% of the sale price for decades, despite advances in technology and an influx of agents. The recent lawsuits, which accused the NAR and some of the country's largest brokerages of conspiring to keep agents' commissions unfairly high, could signal the start of a new era. If sellers aren't paying out commissions to buyers' agents, buyers themselves could end up on the hook. For example, what happens if the seller isn't willing to pay the buyer's agent's commission? In most states, the buyer's agent can technically just rebate that extra money to their client.

Persons: Austin Whitt, Whitt, —, I've, Steve Brobeck, Sabrina Brown, they've, Michael Warren, Sellers, Prentiss Cox, it'll, you've, doesn't, Jack Ryan, Ryan, homebuying, Rob Hahn, Wendy Gilch, Gilch, I'm, it's, David Dworkin, Dworkin, Cox, It's Organizations: Realtors, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Consumer Federation of America, Getty, University of Minnesota, MLS, Consumer Federation of, National Housing Conference, Justice Department Locations: Tennessee, Nashville, America, North Carolina, United Kingdom, Australia

☆ Landlords Use a Popular Software Tool to Jack up Apartment, Home Rents
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Rents soared thanks to a shortage of apartment units, remote workers' desire for more space, and a daunting for-sale market that kept many renters stuck in place. Without RealPage, the plaintiffs argue, landlords would be hesitant to jack up rents; instead, they'd focus on keeping their buildings full. In short, the lawsuits that started with apartment rents could one day change how we pay for everything. By turning over pricing to the algorithm, plaintiffs say, RealPage's clients are encouraged to push rents higher than if they'd left the decisions up to humans. The RealPage cases are about far more than apartment rents.

Persons: RealPage, Kris Mayes, they'll, they'd, —, Zillow, there's, Marie Claire Tran, Leung, Tran, Matt Damon, Maureen Ohlhausen, Bob, Ohlhausen, Ed Rogers, Ballard Spahr, Jeffery Cross, Smith Gambrell Russell, didn't, it'll Organizations: Revenue Management, ProPublica, National Housing Law, FBI, RealPage, Department, Federal Trade Commission, Politico, Washington, Justice Department, FTC Locations: Texas, you've, Phoenix, Tucson, Washington, DC, RealPage, Arizona, Tennessee

☆ Inside the Fight Over Software That Tells Landlords to Hike Your Rent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

☆ Homebuyers' Biggest Mistake: Waiting for Mortgage Rates to Fall
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Then, as the Federal Reserve began its battle against inflation in 2022, mortgage rates shot up, eventually hitting a 20-year high in October. Over the past decade, there's been a clear correlation between mortgage rates and inventory: When mortgage rates fall, the number of available homes for sale at a given moment shrinks. So, yes, waiting it out until mortgage rates decline sure seems appealing. The Federal Reserve has signaled that it plans to drop borrowing rates this year, which would likely push down mortgage rates. Advertisement"People are focusing on mortgage rates because every week they hear about mortgage rates changing," Doerner of the FHFA told me.

Persons: swiping, there's, Mike Simonsen, Freddie Mac, CoreLogic, —, homebuyers, Redfin, John Burns, Alex Thomas, There's, Will Doerner, Doerner, They're, Simonsen, it's, Jerome Powell Organizations: Federal Reserve, Buyers, Altos Research, Bank of America, John, John Burns Research, Consulting, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Federal, Fed

☆ Realtor Lawsuit Settlement Will Change the Housing Market Forever
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementThese changes, spread out over millions of transactions a year, have the chance to reshape the housing market. Real-estate agent commissions have hovered between 5% and 6% of the sale price for decades. If sellers are in a desirable market, they might start offering less commission to buyers' agents, or none at all. This would force buyers' agents to get more creative. It has made it clear that it doesn't want sellers offering compensation to buyers' agents.

Persons: there's, Rich Pedroncelli, doesn't, they're, Bret Weinstein, they'll, I'm Organizations: National Association of Realtors, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Department of Justice, NAR, DOJ, AP, MLS, Department, Justice Locations: Denver

☆ Real-Estate Agents Use 'Steering' to Hide Cheap Houses From Homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Technically, the seller can promise as little as $0 to the buyer's agent; after all, why pay for someone you didn't hire? But multiple agents told me there are all kinds of ways shady practitioners try to skirt the rules. Critics say the stickiness of the going commission rate is evidence of steering's ubiquity. He said buyers' agents might call and say, "'Why is there no buyer's commission?" There are lots of willing brokers out there; if you suspect steering, agents told me, you've got plenty of options for a second opinion.

Persons: should've, Redfin, Julie —, Julie, Wendy Gilch, Gilch, they're, Doug Miller, Real, Rex, Keller Williams, I'm, Brendon Bowers, we're, Stephen Brobeck, Brobeck, they'll, you've, Rich, they've Organizations: Department of Justice, National Association of Realtors, Business, Facebook, Realtors, NAR, Consumer Federation of America, DOJ Locations: America, Minnesota, Austin, Houston, Kansas City , Missouri, Phoenix

☆ Home Equity Loan Alternative Could Revolutionize the Housing Market
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Like a lot of homeowners, Schummer was keen to convert some of his theoretical wealth into real cash. These kinds of deals, often referred to as home-equity-sharing agreements or home-equity investments, have existed on the fringes of housing finance for decades. The success or failure of home-equity investments could shape the future of homeownership in America. If the home's value has gone up, everyone wins; sell it for a loss, and the investor might share in that downside. "Over time for us, the customer becomes everybody," Eoin Matthews, the chief business officer and a cofounder of Point, told me recently.

Persons: Kennis Schummer, Schummer, Laurie Goodman, Goodman, he'd, Eoin Matthews, —, Hometap, Jim Riccitelli, Riccitelli, Adam Rust, Rust, Rust wasn't, I'm, Jordan Gilberti, Holly Bunting, Mayer Brown, Edwin Remsberg, Matthews, they'd, Jeffrey Glass, Glass, I've, he's Organizations: Consumer, Urban Institute, Federal Reserve, Bain Capital, Palisades Group, Redwood Trust, Getty, Consumer Federation of America Locations: Pensacola , Florida, California, homeownership, America, Connecticut, Maryland, Florida

☆ Home Prices May Be Sky-High, but America Is Not in a Housing Bubble
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The housing market, they claimed, was a bubble destined to burst. I’ve spent the past few years asking experts a simple question: Has the housing market reached bubble territory? AdvertisementFor a time, it seemed like the housing market was doing a speedrun through Simonsen’s checklist. And even if the economy does take a turn, a run-of-the-mill recession probably wouldn’t be enough to topple the housing market. The housing market is far from balanced, but we’re at least heading in that direction.

Persons: doomsayers, I’ve, Redfin, you’ve, you’ll, Mike Simonsen, megalandlords, ”, Ian Shepherdson, Goldman Sachs, Jerome Powell, Powell, Rick Palacios Jr, John Burns, ” doomsayers, might’ve, It’s, it’s, Logan Mohtashami, don’t, US homebuilders, “ It’s, ” Mohtashami, Selma Hepp, Fannie Mae, Palacios, ” Palacios, Mohtashami Organizations: Altos Research, Wall, John, John Burns Research, Consulting, Mortgage Bankers Association, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Federal Housing Finance Agency Locations: Charlotte, North Carolina, Austin, Las Vegas, Miami, Boise , Idaho, Dallas, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, US

☆ Move over, millennials: Gen Zers are coming for boomers' houses
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

After all their economic misfortune, they'll still face a turbulent housing market and potentially tens of thousands of dollars' worth of necessary updates to boomers' aging houses. In his 2022 paper, "Who will buy the baby boomers' homes when they leave them? ", Engelhardt argued that mass aging would send ripples through the housing market but fail to push down prices significantly. After that point, demand for home purchases will once again outpace supply as millennials buy more homes and younger generations, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, file in behind them. The timing of boomers' exit will mostly benefit younger generations, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who should find themselves on steadier footing than their predecessors.

Persons: Xers, they've, Zers, they'll, Odeta Kushi, Kushi, Gary Engelhardt, Engelhardt, Issi Romem, Meredith Whitney, Boomers, Gen Zers —, Gen, who've, millennials, boomers, Jessica Lautz, Nicole Bachaud, They've, Redfin, Alpha, they're, Lautz, savvier, Zoomers, James Rodriguez Organizations: millennials, Syracuse University, Boomers, Federal Reserve, Alpha, National Association of Realtors Locations: granny, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas

William Cahill, 30William Cahill, an associate director at Aventuur. AventuurCahill was on a rowing trip on the Zambezi River in Zambia surrounded by crocodiles and hippos when he met his future boss. Cahill followed suit, leaving behind a job touching on mergers and acquisitions and data and analytics at the management-consulting firm L.E.K. Aventuur's parks allow paying customers to surf in wave pools with artificial beachfronts dotted by amenities such as restaurants and beach clubs. The systems Cahill creates make him indispensable to the growing recreational-real-estate sector.

Persons: William Cahill, Aventuur Cahill, Nicholas Edelman regaled, Cahill, Aventuur, — Zoe Rosenberg Organizations: Deutsche Bank, L.E.K, Consulting Locations: Zambia, London, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Jacksonville , Florida, Los Angeles, South Africa

☆ Average homebuyers are beating out Wall Street landlords
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The shutdowns of 2020 created a perfect storm for the housing market — and supercharged the clash between Wall Street and regular homebuyers. Given the attention these markets received during the pandemic, it's no wonder that the battle between Wall Street and Main Street became the dominant story of COVID-era homebuying. Advertisement"If Wall Street was really gobbling up Main Street," Sharga told me, "we would see homeownership rates go down." Wall Street landlords have also been increasingly selling off homes to regular people, a Business Insider analysis found. Still circlingWhile average homebuyers have staged a comeback over the past three years, Wall Street isn't ready to jump out of the housing market altogether.

Persons: homebuyers, That's, Wall, elbowed, Rick Sharga, CJ Patrick Company, they're, who've, Axios, Sharga, CoreLogic, Pretium —, John Voorheis, Voorheis, —, Freddie Mac, James Rodriguez Organizations: Rage, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Parcl Labs, Labs, National Association of Realtors, Wall Street, Investor, Wall, Tricon, Associates, Investors, Center for Economic Studies, Census Locations: Phoenix, Chicago, homebuilders, homeownership, Dallas, Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta

☆ Luis Diaz: Colombia’s ELN guerrilla group says military operations don’t allow the release of footballer’s father
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Fernando Ramos | Abel Alvarado | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The National Liberation Army – the Colombian guerrilla group known by its acronym ELN – said military operations “don’t allow” the release of footballer Luis Díaz’s father, Luis Manuel Díaz, kidnapped since October 28. Luis Manuel Díaz was kidnapped in the small town of Barrancas, department of La Guajira, in northern Colombia. “This scenario does not allow carrying out the release plan quickly and safely, where there is no risk for Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz”, the statement said. Later on Monday, Colombia’s military officials said its troops, part of the search operation, were “ordered to reposition themselves” to provide guarantees for Díaz’s release. Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office , the Catholic Church and the International Red Cross have offered to serve as guarantors for Luis Manuel Díaz’s release.

Persons: –, Luis Díaz’s, Luis Manuel Díaz, Luis Manuel Díaz ”, “, Cilenis Marulanda, Marulanda, ”, Lismari Machado, James Rodríguez, Diaz, Colombia’s, Luis Manuel Díaz’s Organizations: CNN, National Liberation Army –, Colombian, Liverpool, Premier League, AFP, Getty, Colombian national soccer team, Catholic Church, Colombian Government Locations: Barrancas, La Guajira, Colombia, Díaz

☆ A $1.8 billion earthquake just hit the real estate industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

On Tuesday afternoon at a courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri, the collective nightmare of the real-estate industry became reality. For decades, the basic structure of how real-estate agents get paid when they help someone buy or sell their home has remained roughly the same. Here's how it works: When you list your home for sale on an MLS, you're required to offer a commission to the buyer's agent. The good buyer's agents who can prove their value will be fine, Brobeck predicted. The wild thing is, the decision could be just the beginning of tumult for the real-estate industry.

Persons: Burnett, —, Stephen Brobeck, Brobeck, Mike Rosenthal, Rosenthal, Sellers, Saul Klein, you've, Klein, Keller Williams, Bob Goldberg, Inman, Opendoor, James Rodriguez Organizations: National Association of Realtors, NAR, MLS, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer, nab, New York Times, Justice Department Locations: Kansas City , Missouri, Missouri , Illinois, Kansas, California

☆ Real-estate agents may be forced to charge home buyers less, thanks to a new $1.8 billion verdict
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

On Tuesday afternoon at a courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri, the collective nightmare of the real-estate industry became reality. For decades, the basic structure of how real-estate agents get paid when they help someone buy or sell their home has remained roughly the same. Here's how it works: When you list your home for sale on an MLS, you're required to offer a commission to the buyer's agent. The good buyer's agents who can prove their value will be fine, Brobeck predicted. Buyers might also start making offers on the condition that the seller agrees to pay both agents' commissions — otherwise, no deal.

☆ A new 'wake-up call for real-estate agents' could reshape how we buy and sell homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Hana R. Alberts | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A jury found Tuesday that real-estate agents and brokerages kept their commissions artifically high. The verdict, she added, is "a wake-up call for real-estate agents." The seller might no longer pay out both agents' commissions after the sale closes. Currently, home sellers often list their properties for higher sums because they expect to pay broker fees. AdvertisementAdvertisement"NAR and corporate real-estate companies have had a stranglehold on real-estate commissions for too long," the plaintiffs' lawyer, Michael Ketchmark, said outside the courtroom Tuesday, according to the Journal.

Persons: brokerages, —, Sissy Lappin, James Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Bernstein, Keller Williams, Michael Ketchmark Organizations: Service, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Wall Street, Keller, Keller Williams Realty Locations: Houston , Texas, Midwest

☆ The race to create the 'Amazon of real estate' could change home buying forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

But after years of trying, the basic structure of buying and selling a home remains pretty much the same. Even if you accept a bit of intricacy, real estate remains a stodgy industry — and regulation is at the core of that resistance to change. Despite the best efforts of would-be disruptors to cut out this middleman, 88% of buyers this year enlisted a real-estate agent, a Zillow survey found. Short of a tech-enabled homebuying nirvana, there are some other changes that could make the process easier for consumers. Saul Klein, an early internet evangelist in the real-estate industry, told me he sees an approaching "paradigm shift."

Persons: that's, you'll, they're, it's, Mike DelPrete, Rob Hahn, DelPrete, aren't, they'd, pocketing, —, ClosingCorp, we're, John Berkowitz, hasn't, Berkowitz, They're, Bobby Bryant, Bryant, Rich Barton, Wendy Gilch, Gilch, Saul Klein, Klein, James Rodriguez Organizations: Companies, University of Colorado Boulder, National Association of Realtors, Ojo, Group Inc, Universal Locations: Washington, California, Georgia

☆ Bidding wars over apartments are more ferocious than ever — and they're here to stay
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Yet one of the enduring legacies of the COVID-era housing market may be the proliferation of bidding wars for rentals. Bidding wars have periodically reared their ugly heads during overheated stretches in New York City's housing market. And while things have cooled down since the mania of 2022, in places where available rental inventory remains low, the bidding wars just won't die. Still, it's hard not to worry that we've opened Pandora's box when it comes to bidding wars. Bidding wars may feel distasteful, embarrassing, and unfairly favor those with the means to drive up already exorbitant asking rents.

Persons: Phil, Rikki Mueller, That's, I've, David Harris, Coldwell Banker Warburg, Harris, didn't, Frances Katzen, Douglas Elliman, Jonathan Miller, Miller, Mueller, Stan Broekhoven, Broekhoven, we've, we'd, he'd, They'd, wasn't, —, James Rodriguez Organizations: New, Coldwell Banker, Austin, Google Locations: Manhattan's East, homebuying, New York, Chicago, Boston, Austin, Brooklyn, New York City, California, Los Angeles, South Florida, , New York, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Manhattan, David Harris , New York City

☆ I entered a bidding war to land an apartment. It was way more brutal than I expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

☆ There's one 'lucky' group of homeowners in America's housing market, says a Zillow economist
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US homeowners who are downsizing now are "lucky," Skylar Olsen, Zillow's chief economist told MarketWatch. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . For context, the value of the US housing market has surged about 50% from the pre-pandemic days in January 2020 to nearly $52 trillion now, according to a Tuesday report from Zillow. California is currently the US' most valuable housing market, per Zillow. The state's housing market is now worth over $10 trillion — nearly 20% of the national total.

Persons: Skylar Olsen, Olsen, —, Zillow's Olsen, Insider's James Rodriguez Organizations: Service, National Association of Realtors, MarketWatch, Census, NAR Locations: Zillow . California, Florida , New York , Texas, New Jersey

☆ 'Thrown to the wolves': How private investors are jacking up rents and ripping off college students
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

The eye-popping numbers are part of a longer-term shift toward private college housing. Moody's Analytics recently warned of an "affordability crisis" for college students, noting that since 2019, rents for student housing in a sample of notable college towns had grown faster than those of regular apartments. Student housing goes privateThe gold rush in student housing is a relatively new phenomenon. Back in the 1980s and '90s, most college students either lived in bland, cinder-block-walled dorms or in conventional apartments farther from campus. Even with his frugality, he came to realize that the prices in West Campus were "impossible to rationalize" for a college student.

Persons: behemoth Blackstone, Evan Scope, UT Austin who's, Carl Whitaker, Austin Kristian Alveo, Whitaker, Mark Austin, Kristian Alveo, David Willson, Willson, Gina Cowart, Cowart, David Kanne, lounging, Ann, Kanne, Lu Chen, RealPage, Donald Cohen, Cohen, Graham Sowden, Dan Allen, Allen, Austin, James Rodriguez Organizations: Waterloo, University of Texas, Wall Street's, American, Communities, National, Housing, Evan Scope Crafts, UT Austin, University, UT, LV, UTs, Crafts, American Campus, HBO, West, haven't, State College ,, Moody's, Power, Middlebury College, University of Tennessee, Arizona State University, Urban Institute, Investors, Power Five, RREAF Holdings Locations: Austin, Wall, Waterloo, UT Austin, Rio, Villas, West, West Campus, Gainesville , Florida, Ann Arbor , Michigan, State College , Pennsylvania, Knoxville, South

☆ TikTok influencers want to rent you a very cool home. Just don't call them landlords.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

While live-in landlords are far from a novel concept, the pandemic-era fever around passive income and real-estate investing has sparked a rise in the popularity of house hacking. While Turner's initial strategy emphasized small multifamily buildings, some house hackers applied the concept to single-family homes. In 2019, he published a book called "The House Hacking Strategy: How to Use Your Home to Achieve Financial Freedom." And I think house hacking is one obvious way to eliminate, or at least drastically reduce, what likely is your largest expense." "Yeah, it's called 'house hacking," the owner and roommate, also played by Jarman, who has 4 million followers, replies.

Persons: Kelly Clark, Clark, scoffed, TikTok, Zers, Brandon Turner, Turner, Ryan Lehman, Lehman, Brandon, I'm, Craig Curelop, BiggerPockets who's, Curelop, influencer Addison Jarman, renter, it's, Jarman, Jay Parsons, John Liang, TikToker, Liang, —, It's, doesn't, Insider's Daniel Geiger, she'd, James Rodriguez Organizations: Federal Housing Administration, BiggerPockets, Census, YouTube, RealPage Locations: Spokane , Washington, Silicon, millennials, Seattle, Spokane

☆ Bad Real Estate Agents Are Costing Homebuyers Millions, Making Housing Market Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

But lately, he's been having trouble squaring that passion with a growing problem: a glut of underqualified real-estate agents. "The general public deserves so much better than what the majority of real-estate agents provide." A threat to the industryThe vast majority of real-estate agents are independent contractors who rely on commissions. But despite the ease with which home shoppers can now browse homes online, buyers and sellers still see themselves as dependent on real-estate agents. And if those people don't have the ability to become a real-estate agent or a Realtor, then they lose their access to representation."

Persons: Bret Weinstein, he's, Weinstein, they're incentivized, It's, appraisers, they're, they'd, Lawrence Yun, Stephen Brobeck, Brobeck, Inman, that's, There's, Jessica Reinhardt, Reinhardt, bristled, who's, Reinhard, James Rodriguez Organizations: Realtors, Consumer Federation of America, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Consumers, CFA, Denver Metro Association of Realtors Locations: Denver, Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania

☆ The last, best hope for homebuyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

But there may be one last hope for salvation for these hard-pressed homebuyers: brand-spanking new houses. Many builders are even dangling perks like cheaper loans or other discounts to ease the pain of higher mortgage rates. Homebuilding is typically a cyclical industry, following the ups and downs of the broader housing market. Of course, people will always move for reasons that have nothing to do with mortgage rates. Even if buyers get some relief from new housing construction, builders are still a long way off from bridging the housing shortfall.

Persons: Richard de Chazal, William Blair, de Chazal, Realtor.com, bottoming, John Burns, Black Knight, Mike Simonsen, Simonsen, bode, it's, Sheryl Palmer, Taylor Morrison, Palmer, Cristian deRitis, Jay Parsons, Matthew Walsh, Walsh, Freddie Mac, Lawrence Yun, They're, production's, James Rodriguez Organizations: Federal Reserve, National Association of Realtors, John Burns Research, Consulting, Altos Research, National Association of Homebuilders, Builders, Moody's

☆ An epic fight over how real-estate agents get paid could transform the housing market forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Trying to find a buyer and sifting through offers sounds like a nightmare, so you hire a real-estate agent. The seller might no longer pay out both agents' commissions after the sale closes. Despite the potentially earthshaking consequences, most local real-estate agents — who, to be fair, have more pressing short-term concerns — have largely ignored the cases. "They not only have to pay a buyer's agent commission, but they can't negotiate that commission," Brobeck said of sellers. "It just doesn't make any sense for the seller to have to pay the buyer's agent," Brobeck told me.

Persons: —, Sitzer, that's, Max, Keller Williams, Sellers, Brokerages, Stephen Brobeck, Brobeck, Moehrl, Wager, Katie Johnson, you'll, Johnson, Buyers, Nicholas Economides, homebuyers, Trump, Everyone's, Rob Hahn, Steve Marcus, David Eisenstadt, Eisenstadt, Hahn, James Rodriguez Organizations: National Association of Realtors, NAR, Realtors, MLS, Consumer Federation of America, New York University, CFA, Realtor.com, REUTERS, Berkeley Research Group, Justice Department's Antitrust Locations: America, Missouri, Illinois, MLSs, Houston , Texas, Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom

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