As the rumor spreads that millions of women are lined up to be weighed at the Fulton County Jail, we head into late summer and early autumn, rarely a time for increased home sale activity. The National Association of REALTORS®' total membership in July 2023 is 1.56 million. There are about 547k active listings. That’s one listing per three NAR members, which doesn’t even include non-NAR real estate agents. Analysts continue to point to the nationwide housing market struggling with low inventory levels and decreased affordability. While active inventory through the first six months of 2023 was higher than the record lows set in 2022, new listings have been lagging below 2022 levels. Just simply not enough homes? But Hawai’i’s Marcelle Loren writes, “I don’t agree with the reports of a lack of inventory. There’s just a lack of agents digging up properties to sell. For example, the death of Baby Boomers is a source of inven
What color of front door “sells” the best? Some say black, although in a related topic red is the most popular. Doesn’t that mean red sells the best if there are more red front doors? Statistics are interesting things. LOs everywhere tell me that the deals are harder, and as an indication of both statistics and harder deals, a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) revealed that 11 percent of Americans have a "thin or stale" score file, and therefore it's impossible to generate a current, valid credit score for them. Another 11 percent are considered to be "credit invisible," meaning that they don't have a credit file with any of the three major credit bureaus. That's a total of 22 percent of the adult population of the United States, around 50 million, that doesn't have a credit score at all. As an investor or a lender, and one of these adults wants to buy a home, even with meag
Sales of low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks are booming as younger customers turn their backs on the booze - but which of these popular tipples is the tastiest?