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This might seem like a perfectly innocent question from home buyers, but watch out—if you’re the home seller they’re asking, this is one of the diciest questions you can answer. The reason: Pretty much any explanation you give is bound to contain revealing info that these home buyers could use against you, thereby compromising your negotiating power.

“Home buyers are looking for any indication that you’d be willing to accept an offer that’s below list price,” says Annapolis, MD, real estate agent Greg Beckman. “If you say the wrong thing to a buyer, the person might make you a lowball offer.”

To prevent that from happening, Beckman recommends sellers let their listing agent handle communication with prospective buyers. “Let your agent do all the talking,” he says, adding that sellers shouldn’t be present for showings or open houses. (Don’t have your agent yet? Here’s how to find a real estate agent in your area.)

That said, there are times when you might still interact with home buyers—say, if they arrive early for a showing or linger until you return. If that happens, and if the seller asks why you’re selling, you want to have a short, neutral response prepared in advance, says San Francisco real estate agent Allison Fortini Crawford. Such as: “We love the home, but we’re ready for a change.”

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The housing market has been brutal for first-time homebuyers. And now, just as prices are finally beginning to slacken and the bidding wars are dying down, higher mortgage interest rates have turned the prospect of homeownership into a financial impossibility for many.

However, there are still places where here first-time buyers might have an easier time becoming homeowners. These are the towns and cities where prices are reasonable, there are more homes to go around, and newbies won’t have to sacrifice their social lives or suffer long commutes.

The Realtor.com® economics team identified these top real estate markets for first-time homebuyers in 2023. More than half are located in the Northeast, mostly in smaller cities that aren’t far from larger urban areas where there are plenty of jobs, things to do on a Saturday night, and lots of nearby outdoor amenities. Some of the top picks are more rural areas that are being built up, while others have struggled in recent years and are coming back up.

Their biggest draw is that all of these places offer more affordable homes for sale, compared with their regions of the country.

Natives and newcomers are transforming this Greene County town, with an eye toward preservation.

The new offering gives expert analysis at the intersection of business data and audience insights, and launches today.

Natives and newcomers are transforming this Greene County town, with an eye toward preservation. (And they want you to know it’s pronounced ‘cook-SAH-kie.’)

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A 2009 brick house in Madison, a two-bedroom condominium in Louisville and a Tudor Revival home in Arlington Heights.

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Luxury Presence has laid off 44 people. Founder and CEO Malte Kramer told the company it moved quickly to seize on the real estate market’s recent momentum by hiring quickly and capitalizing on available capital.

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A screen door allows you the simple pleasure of sitting inside on a summer evening, listening to a spontaneous soundtrack of birds and insects chirping without worrying about these nonhuman neighbors entering your home. If you don’t have one (or don’t know how to install it), you’re missing out—but you don’t have to be. A screen door is quite easy (and cheap) to install. Here’s how to pull it off.

Installing a screen door

If you’re comfortable working with a few simple tools, you can install a screen door yourself. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours, as long as you follow these simple rules.

“If you’re going to do it yourself, select a door that is in stock, has easy-to-install instructions, and only requires common hand tools,” says Josh Downing, a general contractor on Thumbtack.

In other words, there are plenty of doors you can pop up in a day. DIY novices can skip anything requiring complicated power tools and still wind up with a fine door.

Realtor.com

A lake house in Bella Vista, AR, splashed onto the market a little more than a week ago as the highest-priced home listing in the area, at $1,295,000. The picturesque place immediately snagged a new owner.

It’s probably no surprise that the dwelling was in demand. The two-bedroom, 2.5-bath abode was renovated by Dave and Jenny Marrs of HGTV’s “Fixer to Fabulous.”

The home’s locale on the shores of Loch Lomand, one of Bella Vista’s seven lakes, also could have something to do with its sale for more than double the area’s median price.

Bella Vista is known as a posh retirement community, adjacent to Bentonville.

Redfin's CEO told the "AP" he wishes he'd closed RedfinNow earlier than during the market correction taking place, calling the business model too risky and expensive.

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When you spy a throw pillow that makes you blush, it can be pretty hilarious. But the same accessory you think is hilarious might offend—or downright upset—some folks.

We’ve been in homes with F-bombs on coasters, artwork, dish towels, throw pillows—and even bowl cozies. And this isn’t decor you need to source on the dark web; it’s all right there on wholesome sites like Etsy.

So if you’re having company over or trying to sell your home, should you hide that profanity-laced dish towel? Or display it proudly? After polling the design pros and real estate agents, we’ve learned that the answer falls somewhere in the middle.

Before you hang up that F-bomb poster in your hallway, read this.

In the midst of one of the most confusing markets in recent history, New York City's independent brokerages led the way in agent count growth and retention — two metrics at the top of most leaders' minds as we inch closer to entering a mild recession.

The new partnership will allow Sold.com partner agents to refer their clients more easily to Revive's renovation network.

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Walking into a 1906 castle in Detroit is like taking a step back in time—and a stroll through multiple design eras.

The 7,273-square-foot home is listed for $1.2 million.

“It was designed by one of Detroit’s most prominent turn-of-the-century architects, and what’s really unusual about this house is that it literally has four different architectural styles in the main part of the house,” explains listing agent Kenan Bakirci, with KW City Realtors. “To me, it’s almost like [the architect] was showing us everything under one roof.”

One room is Arts and Crafts style, another is Louis XV, the dining room is Edwardian, and the music room is Louis XVI.

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Housle encourages players to guess the asking price of a listing in 6 guesses or less. The web browser version of the game went live this week and an app is scheduled to launch next week.