Proptech in 2022: Zillow rebounds, iBuyers stumble and MLSs grow up

Zillow bounced back after folding its iBuyer in 2021, multiple listing services finally caught up, enterprise solutions arrived and other signs property technology approached maturity in 2022.

$1.8 Million Homes in Florida, Tennessee and New Mexico

A Mediterranean-style house in West Palm Beach, an 1836 farmhouse on 11 acres in Knoxville and an adobe home in Santa Fe.

Cheers! 23 resolutions, unpopular opinions and hard truths for 2023

Ready or not the new year is on the horizon. Trainer Rachael Hite has 23 resolutions, unpopular opinions and hard truths that just might change your business in 2023.

How to write content for your real estate website

More than just a tool for generating leads, your website should showcase your personality and the flair you bring to the business. Laura Stace offers a step-by-step strategy for creating content that helps you stand out.

How to find the right real estate coach (and know it’s a fit)

Expert Missy Yost says when you're ready to hire a coach, you will be confident you've chosen the right one once you reflect on your needs, interview coaches and then select the one who best fits your current business profile.

$1.6M Cinderella-Style Castle in New York Is Out of a Fairy Tale—but It May Be Haunted

Realtor.com

If you’ve always dreamed of living in a fairy-tale castle, and aren’t afraid of a few friendly ghosts, then we have just the home for you.

Priced at $1,649,000 (reflecting a $100,000 discount from when it came on the market in November) and located on a private, 2-acre lot in the Westchester County village of Irvington, NY, this five-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot castle comes with a one-of-a-kind story that begins in the Roaring ’20s.

Cinderella story

In 1929, a man named Joseph Keen and his wife arrived in New York state and decided to build their very own Cinderella-style castle.

Not long after its completion, the property, dubbed Villa Keen, was sold to one Lloyd Stratton, then president of the Associated Press news service, who’s said to have spent many hours clacking away on his typewriter in the old oak library.

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Whee! Call Dibs on This Texas Megamansion With a Hidden Waterslide for $20M

Realtor.com

A marvelous mansion in Southlake, TX, is so big and bountiful, it even caught the eye of Tracy Tutor from Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.”

She’s co-listing the 31,234-square-foot property, built in 2016 and located on the outskirts of Dallas, with Breah Brown. Both are with Douglas Elliman Realty.

“My clients’ experience in construction really leads to the quality of the architecture and the actual build-out for this house,” Tutor says of the homeowners. “Driving up to this home, I knew immediately … I wanted to be a part of the listing.”

But another reason could be that the home is just plain fun.














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Purple Reign? Pantone’s 2023 Color of the Year Reveals a Royal Trend

Photo courtesy of JASMIN REESE INTERIORS via Houzz / Getty Images / Pantone

Pantone just announced its 2023 Color of the Year. And for the third time in seven years, the hue is something you could describe as a shade of purple.

The new top color: Viva Magenta! While the shade is more pink-leaning than its purplish predecessors (including last year’s winner, Very Perri, and 2018’s Ultra Violet), it’s still a bold plum that pulls in both red and blue hues.

So how is this color—once reserved for children’s toys and velvet maxi skirts—suddenly making a comeback in high-end interiors? We asked designers to dish on the details, and they divulged their expert do’s and don’ts for decorating with purple.

What’s so special about purple?

Before we get too plum-crazy, it’s helpful to know why the color is having such a moment in the first place. One theory? It helps us get in touch with our inner royals.




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Stewart targets institutional investors with BCHH acquisition

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based BCHH provides national title and settlement services to mortgage servicers, real estate investors, asset management companies and government entities.

Rental Prices Stop Zooming Up—and Even Drop in Some Parts of the Country

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In a welcome relief for tenants, rents began falling in earnest in November in some formerly red-hot real estate metros.

Arizona, Florida, and Texas saw massive rent increases in many cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. But now rent is beginning to decline in some Sun Belt cities for the first time in nearly two years, according to a recent Realtor.com® report that looked at rental prices in the nation’s 50 largest metros. Rents fell in places like Phoenix, Tampa, and Austin in November compared with a year ago—a big difference from the past few years of ever-increasing costs.

Rents are still growing nationwide, but they’ve slowed significantly from a peak reached in January. The growth rate hit its lowest point in over a year and a half in November, rising 3.4% year over year to reach $1,712 a month. While any hike is unwelcome news for renters, it’s much lower than the 17.4% annual surge at the start of the year.

“The rental market continues to cool down, which is a relief,” says Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu. “But the rent is still higher than this time last year, which means there will continue to be affordability issues.”

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Former Home of Swedish Ambassador Is Also DC’s Most Expensive Listing at $19.5M

Realtor.com

The former home of the Swedish ambassador in Washington, DC, is also the most expensive listing in the nation’s capital.

Priced at $19.5 million, the 11,212-square-foot property has been on the market for just over a month and already has a contingent offer.

“The home is owned by the Swedish government and is right by American University, which is just so rare,” says listing agent Cara Pearlman, of Compass.

“The real standout feature is that three lots make up the 6.7 acres,” Pearlman says. “At the back of the property, there is a lit tennis court where they would do some fundraising and have famous tennis players come and play.”







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Wells Fargo paying $3.7B to settle mortgage, auto loan allegations

Federal regulators allege bank improperly denied thousands of mortgage loan modifications over at least seven years, in some cases leading customers to lose their homes.

TikToker Giselle Ugarte launches the ‘rise of the real estate influencer’

The Talent Brokerage’s virtual support programs and coaching will help members learn how to move away from offering canned, unoriginal marketing content.

Here’s What Makes the Property Brothers’ ‘Celebrity IOU’ the Perfect Holiday Binge

HGTV

While property brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott have many shows under their tool belts, “Celebrity IOU” might be the best to get in the holiday spirit. After all, this series features famous folks bestowing home makeovers as surprise gifts to people who deserve a huge thank you for all of their hard work—talk about heartwarming!

In the latest episode, “Cheryl Hines Gifts a Garage Makeover,” the comedic actress best known for playing Larry David‘s wife on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” helps the brothers convert her longtime assistant and friend Sarita‘s garage into a backyard sanctuary.

Garage before the remodel

HGTV

Sarita is in Florida for 3.5 weeks visiting her mother, so Jonathan and Drew have an extremely limited amount of time to “transform Sarita’s unused garage into a multipurpose personal retreat meets guest suite,” says Drew.

Garage before remodel
Converted garage with kitchenette
Jonathan and Drew Scott consider exterior paint colors.
Adding insulation
Installing luxury vinyl flooring in a herringbone pattern
En trend patio pavers
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U.S. Building Permits Fall 11.2% in November, While Housing Starts Only Dip Slightly

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The numbers: Construction on new U.S. homes fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in November to 1.43 million, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The drop in construction on homes follows the decline in October, when housing starts also fell by 2.1%.

Economics polled by the Wall Street Journal expected housing starts to drop to 1.4 million from October’s initial estimate of 1.43 million.

The annual rate of total housing starts fell from 16.4% from the previous year.

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RentSpree CEO: ‘Rentals can fill in the gap’ in a slowing market

Michael Lucarelli also said in the lead up to Inman Connect New York that he doesn't see a "crazy reshuffling with rent prices" coming in 2023.

The McNair Group rejoins Coldwell Banker after 4 years at Compass

Following a four-year stint with Compass, the five-person McNair Group team has returned to Coldwell Banker, where the team was founded in 2008, it was announced Friday.

We want your top prediction for 2023! Pulse

Take your best guess, and tell us your top prediction for the 2023 real estate market, whether you're a newbie or a time-tested industry veteran.

Keller Williams agents get new Command features for the holidays

Command’s development, as well as the process for building Keller Williams’ other innovations, stem largely from KW Labs, an internal skunkworks for devising and testing new technology products.

US housing starts and permits fall in November. But completions surge

Housing starts fell 0.5 percent below October levels, inching to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.43 million, while completions rose 10.8 percent month over month, according to U.S. Census Bureau data issued Tuesday.

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