The National Association of REALTORS® is calling a recent ruling from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service on the new 20 percent deduction on qualified business income a “significant victory” for real estate professionals. The department and IRS issued their final regulations late last week regarding the qualified business income rule, providing greater clarity heading into the 2018 tax filing season.The final guidel
What happened to home sales in December? Sales are typically down during the holidays, but December’s seasonally adjusted monthly decline of 6.4 percent left reporters scratching their heads—and calling the National Association of REALTORS® for the trade organization’s insight.NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told CNBC’s “Nightly Business Report” on Tuesday that such a wide monthly swing is usually accompanied by some big news, like
As the longest federal government shutdown in history drags on, more than 800,000 government workers and an estimated 4.1 million federal contractors will soon face their first mortgage or rental payment due since last receiving a paycheck. As of Wednesday, the partial government shutdown has stretched 33 days and counting. Many lenders and property management firms are stepping in with help for unpaid federal workers.Several of the nation
Investors are shifting their strategies to focus on new development due to an increase in competition from a tight supply of housing inventory in many markets, the National Real Estate Investor reports.They’re eyeing build-to-rent strategies in markets where building and land costs are lower and where there is more entry-level home building, such as in Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Phoenix; and some areas of Texas.“What you’re seeing now is the
The real estate community is on alert after a broker in the Salt Lake City area was shot and killed last Thursday while reportedly attempting to evict tenants from a building he owned. Two women and one man have been arrested in connection with the death of David Stokoe, who worked with RANLife Real Estate in Sandy, Utah, and whose body police found Saturday in a “semi-hidden crawl space” in the building, according to reports.Police have char
Following two consecutive months of increases, existing-home sales dialed back at the end of 2018 and economists pointed to higher mortgage rates for most of last year as one of the main culprits. However, they’re optimistic a turnaround will be in sight for home sales in the spring season, particularly given that mortgage rates have started to decrease in recent weeks.Total existing-home sales—which are completed transactions that include si
A surge in retirees is coming, but where will they decide to live? Nearly 1.2 million people 55 or older relocated out of state last year, which was a record high.“Baby boomers are so hard to pin down,” Rodney Harrell, director with the AARP Public Policy Institute, told realtor.com®. “There are so many of them, and they’re choosing a wider range of options than previous generations. … There’s no one size fits all.”Researchers at r
Microsoft has announced it is committing $500 million to advance affordable housing solutions in the booming Seattle area, where its headquarters are located.Microsoft first made the Seattle area’s Puget Sound region its home in 1979. Since then, as Microsoft became one of the world's leading software companies, the city has seen explosive growth. But the housing market has failed to keep up.Since 2011, jobs in the region have increas
Two cats in Silicon Valley are the pampered renters and sole occupiers of a $1,500 per month studio.The landlord says the cats haven’t made much fuss, keep to themselves, lounge around in a cat tree most of the day, and always pay their rent on time—the prrrrfect tenants, you might say.“It’s quirky isn’t it?” landlord David Callisch told CBS San Francisco (KPIX). “People love their pets, they’re part of their family.”The father
The real estate industry will soon see what kind of impact weeks of declining mortgage rates have had on home sales. Will it provide the boost some experts are predicting?Since early November, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fallen nearly half a percentage point, from 4.94 percent to 4.45 percent, where it stood at the end of this week. This could provide an important incentive for potential home buyers to make a move. The 30-year rate, which
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