Can you believe that it’s already March? The chilly weather that seems to have taken over most of the country seems to say otherwise, but spring is just around the corner and we.can’t.wait. 🙂
Icy-weather or not, real estate news keeps churning out and this week we gathered some fun articles dealing with real estate notes, must-have tech and so much more from US News & World Report, Bloomberg View, Inman News, SF Gate, Fast Company and Daily Finance. There’s something for everyone to read, so make sure and share what articles resonated the most with you over at the Champions School of Real Estate Facebook & Twitter pages.
See you next week!
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Quick Links
- Real Estate Notes: A Smart Investment Alternative (US News & World Report) | http://bit.ly/1AR3U1x
- Real-Estate Agents Ride High Again (Bloomberg View) | http://bv.ms/1EH9l4I
- The tech tools real estate agents aren’t using (but should be) (Inman News) | http://bit.ly/18G8Pbb
- How much do you need to make to buy a home in the U.S.? (SF Gate) | http://bit.ly/18hoTix
- A Tiny Modular Housing System For Cities (Fast Company) | http://bit.ly/18hoWee
- Why the 30-Year Mortgage May Soon Become Extinct (DailyFinance) | http://aol.it/1EasTQ
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In Brief…
>>Real Estate Notes: A Smart Investment Alternative (US News & World Report)
After years in the home improvement, real estate development and then mortgage business, in January 2014, DeMarco decided to retool his real estate career once again and looked for another viable option to make money based on the current state of the market. He found that option with investing in real estate paper.
>> Real-Estate Agents Ride High Again (Bloomberg View)
This is turning out to be a pretty nice time to be a residential real-estate agent. As the housing market recovers, average income has been rising faster than sales largely because there are fewer agents planting for-sale signs.
>> The tech tools real estate agents aren’t using (but should be) (Inman News)
Inman’s recent special report, “How to deliver technology agents need,” highlights one of the most common challenges faced by the real estate industry: Agents are not taking advantage of the technology that brokers offer to them. It is somewhat understandable. As consumers of technology, if we don’t see a quick and easy return, then we don’t want it.
>> How much do you need to make to buy a home in the U.S.? (SF Gate)
How much salary do you need to earn in order to afford the principal and interest payments on a median-priced home in your metro area? According to HSH.com, which tracks national mortgage and consumer loan information, $142,448.33. The San Francisco metro area is the most expensive of all the metros surveyed by HSH—including New York City.
>> A Tiny Modular Housing System For Cities Where Real Housing Is Too Expensive To Afford (Fast Company)
Many cities face a real challenge to remain affordable in the future. They’ve become so attractive as places to live and invest that they no longer offer basic, decent housing for normal people, and increasingly look like preserves of the wealthy and privileged. If trends continue, somewhere like San Francisco may end up like Zurich or Geneva—a rich man’s playground, not the multidimensional place it should be.
>> Why the 30-Year Mortgage May Soon Become Extinct (DailyFinance)
The rumor mill is chugging along over the possibility the federal government could shutter Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, albeit on a slow, gradual basis. Earnings at both government-run enterprises have been anemic, and economists and mortgage industry professionals are talking openly about a future without them. That could change the consumer mortgage landscape dramatically, says bank analyst Dick Bove, an analyst who tracks the mortgage market.