Residential Real Estate
Connecticut’s Top Home Sales: April 4-April 11
April 26, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe five most expensive recent single-family and condominium sales in Connecticut.
How to Get a One-of-a-Kind Home, The Easy Way
By Lew Sichelman | April 26, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkEven though I live in a custom-designed house, I don’t recommend designing your own place from scratch. It’s not for everyone.
Report: HomeServices to Settle Commission Lawsuits
By James Sanna | April 26, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe last major brokerage still locked in a court battle over real estate agent commissions appears to be waving a white flag.
NAR Settlement Gets Preliminary OK
By James Sanna | April 24, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe judge in the lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors over real estate agent commissions has given his preliminary approval to a settlement in the case, signalling that a new future for how agents are compensated is clearly on the horizon.
Company Behind Big New Listings Portal Buys Matterport
By James Sanna | April 23, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkCoStar Group, the real estate information company behind Homes.com, has inked a deal to buy the 3D camera company many real estate agents rely on to promote their listings.
Remodeling Forecast Says Spending Will Decline This Year
By James Sanna | April 19, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe latest forecast from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing predicts that a slump in Americans’ remodeling spending may be in store this year.
CT’s Most Expensive Home Sales: March 26-April 3
April 19, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe five most expensive recent single-family and condominium sales in Connecticut.
Door Opens to Flip a House for Yourself, Not Profit
By Lew Sichelman | April 19, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkHigh mortgage rates, soaring house prices and rising construction costs have driven many flippers out of the market. And with their exit comes a great opportunity for people eager to buy a fixer-upper of their own.
Worried About Your Commission? Learn to Show Your Value
By Bernice Ross | Special To Commercial Record | April 19, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkBuyer’s agent compensation offers seem set to disappear from your local multiple listings service by this summer. And the effects will be wide-ranging.
Fixed-Rate Loan Payments Can Go Up
By Lew Sichelman | April 11, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkIf you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your payments will always stay the same, right? Wrong. Taxes and insurance premiums invariably rise – which means your house payment does, too.
March Inflation Reading Means ‘Bad News’ for Mortgage Rates
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | April 10, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkConsumer inflation remained persistently high last month, boosted by gas, rents, auto insurance and other items, the government said Wednesday in a report that will likely give pause to the Federal Reserve as it weighs when and by how much to cut interest rates this year.
Millennials Back to Being Nation’s Largest Group of Buyers
April 5, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkMillennials have surged ahead to become the largest group of homebuyers, marking a significant shift in the housing market’s demographic landscape, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors.
Connecticut’s Top Home Sales: March 15-21
April 5, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe five most expensive recent single-family and condominium sales in Connecticut.
Setting the Record Straight on the NAR Settlement
By Lew Sichelman | April 5, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe reporting on the recent $418 million settlement with the National Association of Realtors and several large national brokerage companies has been so atrocious that I must jump in.
Poll: 3 in 4 Boomers Don’t Want to Sell as They Age
By James Sanna | April 3, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA new survey of Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation commissioned by brokerage and listings portal Redfin has dismaying news for anyone hoping for a “silver tsunami” of downsizers bringing their houses to market.
Home Insurance Record Predicted Nationwide, CT to See Rate Hikes
By James Sanna | April 2, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA new analysis predicts that the average annual cost of home insurance in America will hit a record high this year, and that Connecticut homeowners will likely see a 9 percent increase in their rates.
Lamont Proclaims ‘William Raveis Day’ to Celebrate Brokerage’s 50 Years
March 29, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkAs Shelton real estate firm William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage, and Insurance celebrated its golden anniversary this week, its real estate agents, loan originators and other workers got a surprise from Connecticut’s governor.
Put Your Listings to the Nose Test
By Lew Sichelman | March 28, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkNothing turns up buyers’ noses faster than a smelly house. They walk in, stop, take a whiff and are ready to turn around and leave. Some won’t even go beyond the front door.
Compass Pays $57.5M to Join Commission Suit Settlement
By Alex Veiga | The Associated Press | March 25, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkReal estate brokerage company Compass Inc. will pay $57.5 million as part of a proposed settlement to resolve lawsuits over real estate commissions, the company said in a regulatory filing Friday.
Why Are So Many Voters Frustrated by the Economy? It’s Home Prices
By Josh Boak | The Associated Press | March 15, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkAt the root of this problem: America failed to build enough homes for its growing population. The shortage strikes at the heart of the American dream of homeownership – dampening President Joe Biden’s assurances that the U.S. economy is strong.