Current News

The escrow process can seem a bit foreign to many home buyers, especially if they are first-timers. Here’s a quick and easy explanation that lays out the nuts and bolts.*   An escrow company is, essentially, a third-party entity that manages the legal and financial components of a real estate…

According to a recent study, the number of first-time buyers has hit an almost 30-year low in the US. Traditionally hovering at around 40% of the market, this year’s number dropped 5% from last year to just 33%, the lowest since 1987. According to NAR’s chief economist, “Rising rents and…

In response to the tragic and shocking deaths of real estate agents Ashley Okland and Beverly Carter, Dylan de Bruin and Joe Schafbuch, the broker-owners of 90-agent firm Century 21 Signature Real Estate in central Iowa, have started a petition to encourage safe and secure showing practices for all agents.…

The NAR recently released its annual survey on buyer and seller trends. One thing that was made abundantly clear is that digital advertising absolutely dominates more traditional avenues, like signs and open houses. “While yard signs and open houses have historically been used most frequently after online websites and real…

It’s always nice to have some fun statistics in mind when you’re out touring with clients, or making your way through those seemingly-endless call lists. This list features the most expensive homes for sale in each state. Numbers like these can be a great way to help buyers put sales…

Coming up with blog topics can be a real headache, especially when you’re busy doing the rest of the work of being a real estate agent. The fact remains, however, that blogging is an essential component to any dynamic marketing strategy. The good news is, blogging actually presents an opportunity…

In over a decade as a buyer’s agent, I learned a few tricks to help make those long tour days a little smoother. Aside from simply being washed and clean of all the garbage you tossed in the backseat when you went previewing, there are a few simple items you…

In a city with 80,000 empty homes and 100,000 vacant lots, dreams are starting to come true. With just $1000 to purchase, and about $30k for renovations, Antjuan Wyatt and his family are set to move into a home that would be the stuff of pure fantasy, for that price,…

In an effort to bring more buyers into the market, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, regulator of two of the country’s largest lenders, Fannie and Freddie, is planning to relax standards for loan qualification. Tight credit restrictions, since the collapse of the housing market in 2008, have made it difficult…