The Fatal Pricing Mistake Home Sellers Are Making Right Now: Is This You?

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“You still see the hope in their eyes.”

When Atlanta-based real estate agent Maura Neill agreed to sell a home this fall, she knew she faced an uphill battle. For one, the housing market had cooled significantly. But worse, these home sellers weren’t quite willing to accept this new reality and drop their price.

Several months earlier, these sellers had listed their house with another agent for $525,000. When this failed to bring in an offer, the sellers reduced the price to $499,000. Still no bites.

Neill suggested the sellers drop the price again to $450,000, but they “fought” her recommendation. Neill then suggested the sellers get a second opinion through a pre-listing appraisal. They reluctantly agreed but thought it was a bit “fishy” that the appraiser’s suggested bottom line came in precisely at Neill’s suggested price of $450,000.

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Secrets of mega-producer success: Next-leveling your community service

In part two of this two-part series, Bernice Ross interviews mega-producers who focus on giving back to their communities in a big way.

Inman announces major expansion to 2023 real estate awards program

Inman, the company behind the coveted Innovator Awards, announced on Thursday a significantly expanded slate of 2023 awards to be revealed on a rolling basis throughout the year.

Dealing with disasters: How agents can help their communities recover

When disaster strikes, the connections we’ve built in the course of our daily work can prove invaluable in the recovery effort and beyond. Marcus Larrea shares how his team helped their community recover from Hurricane Ian.

Reach out and touch base with a 2023 email marketing plan

Cold. Warm. Dormant. Hot. Whatever state your 2023 leads are in, rest assured that sending them relevant, segmented email should be on the top of your resolution list come January 1.

How much money do you need before starting in real estate?

Executive Chris Heller shares his best advice for budgeting for your new career in real estate. Saving smart is the key to positioning your career for sustainability in any market.

With Manhattan Rents Rising, She Fled to Queens With a $200,000 Budget

After a few years on the East Side, a longtime renter decided to shield herself from rising housing costs by putting her savings to work. Which of these Forest Hills studios did she buy?

The Simple Anti-Decorating Trend That Will Revolutionize Your Home in 2023

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Think you need a big budget and top-notch taste to achieve a well-designed home?

On the contrary, the days of having museum-level interiors are waning, and a new approach is gaining momentum.

Meet the anti-decorating trend that’s the brainchild of Monica Khemsurov and Jill Singer, founders of Sight Unseen and authors of their debut book, “How To Live With Objects.”

The basic premise will feel like a breath of fresh air to anyone who is intimidated by stuffy and unrealistic design principles that place a high bar on pristine home decor.



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Luxury holds steady despite overall Manhattan market slowdown in Q4

As prices and transaction volume both fell in Manhattan's market at large year over year, luxury properties priced at or above $10 million still managed to perform well to close out 2022.

L.A. Remodel on the Market Gives You a Preview of ‘The Flipping El Moussas’ on HGTV

Realtor.com

Psst … want a sneak peek at what’s in store for reality TV stars Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa on their new show, “The Flipping El Moussas”?

Look no further than this $2,895,000 home in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.

The listing notes that it’s “another beautiful home meticulously remodeled and designed by Tarek and Heather El Moussa from HGTV.”

The home can be spotted in the trailer for the series.







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Mortgage demand drops to lowest level since 1996

Mortgage rates remain well below 2022 highs as the spring homebuying season approaches, according to a weekly lender survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Secret Problem With Fast Furniture (and How To Buy Furniture That Lasts)

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Fast furniture is much like fast food: Both give you what you want when you want it, quickly and cheaply. But in the end, you might not always feel so great about your fast furniture choices (not to mention the supersized fries).

Take heart, you’re not alone when it comes to buying fast furniture. Sales of desks, chairs, and patio equipment jumped by more than $4 billion from 2019 to 2021. American shoppers took advantage of the inexpensive desks and bookcases to help make their quarantine spaces and newly devised home offices more palatable.

But it turns out, the majority of fast furniture won’t last a year, studies show. So maybe it’s time to slow down when it comes to what furniture you buy. Here are all the pros and cons of fast furniture.

What exactly is fast furniture?

Fast furniture is almost disposable furniture, usually made from low-cost composite materials and cheap fasteners.

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Rare Earthship Home Lands on the Market for $1.5M in the SoCal Hills

Realtor.com

Earthship homes are usually located in the desert spaces of New Mexico, but we’ve found a rare example of this eco-friendly residence in Southern California.

While these dwellings are often rustic and rough around the edges, an upscale model in West Hills has touched down on the market for $1,495,000.

“This property is kind of like the architectural equivalent of farm-to-table [cooking],” says listing agent Marc Hernandez, with Compass. “It’s all about using what you’ve got … and using as little footprint as possible to get to the table.”

This 3,607-square-foot home was completed in 2002 and designed by architect Michael Reynolds, who developed the earthship style and founded the design-building firm Earthship Biotecture.










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Did the Property Brothers Just Meet a Celeb Who Knows More About Home Design Than Them?

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It’s not often that property brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott meet someone as passionate about home design as them, but they seem fairly impressed by Drew Barrymore on the latest “Celebrity IOU.”

In the episode “Drew Barrymore’s Renovation Surprise,” the brothers agree to help Barrymore do an indoor-outdoor remodel of the kitchen, dining area, and deck for Barrymore’s best friend and makeup artist, Deb. The two single moms have been working together and supporting each other for 20 years.

Jonathan and Drew have five weeks to remodel Deb’s South Pasadena, CA, home, and Barrymore will take time out of her busy talk-show schedule to help. Plus, given Barrymore redecorated her own house and has her own furniture line, the Scott brothers say she might be one of the most well-versed people they’ve ever worked with.

Behold the combined design power of Barrymore with the brothers, plus the many lessons they pass along that might work wonders around your own abode, too.

Herringbone floors throughout a house
The Property Brothers discuss the virtues of herringbone floors.
Herringbone laid floors elevate a space.
Drew Barrymore explains away the moire.
A composite wood deck
Jonathan installing recessed lighting
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Mortgage Demand Falls in December to the Lowest Level Since 1996

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The numbers: Mortgage applications fell by 13.2% to close off the last two weeks of 2022.

Mortgage applications are now at the lowest level in 27 years.

The real-estate market is slow during the holiday season, so that weighed on the market composite index, a measure of mortgage application volume, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.

The market index fell by 13.2% to 184.5 for the week ending December 30, from two weeks earlier. A year ago, the index stood at 572.8.

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Remote work will eventually make homebuying more affordable: Study

While remote work helped drive up housing prices during the pandemic, a new study from the Economic Innovation Group argues remote work may help housing affordability in the future.

Redfin faces a steep battle as it claws its way toward profitability

Analysts said Redfin isn't facing an existential moment but nonetheless experienced a uniquely rough period over the past year. These are the 5 biggest challenges Redfin will face in 2023.

Living In ... Fort Lee, N.J.

The Bergen County borough offers New York City views, a large selection of co-ops and condos — and a quick commute to Manhattan.

Fort Lee, N.J.: ‘Like Being in the City Without Being in the City’

The Bergen County borough offers New York City views, a large selection of co-ops and condos — and a quick commute to Manhattan.

Lesson Learned: 15 agents share their most impactful advice

However you do real estate, you're sure to find some virtual mentors among these 15 real estate agents and their real-world advice.

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