Category: General

And What’s All This Talk About Rate Hikes?

In a Wall Street Journal article titled Millennials Are Supercharging the Housing Market, millennials — many of whom are just now jumping into the market — account for more than half of all mortgage applications. Super. A good deal of the future demand for homes hinges on millennials (people born in the 1980s and 90s).

But wait. Will rising interest rates put a damper on these young market-movers in 2022?  

Continue reading “Are Millennials Really Supercharging the Real Estate Market?”

Do Condo Owners Give Up Freedom of Expression?

Covenants and restrictions keep condominium properties safe, neat and tidy. But sometimes they irritate HOA members or potential buyers. Sometimes they even chill freedom of expression.

The matter of chilling came up for an Amherst, Massachusetts condo property, after the board took note of a nearby case that drew in the American Civil Liberties Union. That previous case resulted in a policy allowing a resident of a condo property ten miles away to display a Black Lives Matter sign.

After receiving a legal analysis from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Hampshire Village Condominium Association voted to amend its own master deed to permit unit owners to post political signs, flags, religious banners and other decorations without prior board approval.

Continue reading “When Condo Associations and Free Speech Rights Collide”

From Habitat for Humanity to Lennar

A Virginia resident has moved into a new, 3D-printed home. It’s a milestone for Habitat for Humanity in the United States.

The company Alquist 3D built April Stringfield’s home on behalf of Habitat for Humanity’s Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg branch. Once the work was complete, in December 2021, Stringfield bought the house as a Habitat Homebuyer. Aspiring Habitat Homebuyers have the options of logging volunteer hours, taking homeownership courses, or working on their building sites before they’re approved as buyers. So, to purchase the home for herself and her teenaged child, Stringfield worked with Habitat for Humanity.

Most people have heard about Habitat for Humanity. Readers who haven’t heard of printed houses yet may have a few technical questions. Such as…  

Continue reading “3D Building Trend Ramps Up to Meet Housing Shortage”

Anti-Money Laundering Update

The U.S. Treasury Department is gearing up to expand oversight of real estate deals for cash.

The Treasury Department has issued notice, through its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), of a proposed rule to deal with money laundering. A specific target of the Biden administration’s anti-corruption drive is the purchase of real estate for cash. This will likely mean more reporting requirements for the real estate industry — and possibly rules of the type that banks have had to follow. At this time, FinCEN is beyond whether and where additional anti-money-laundering (AML) and suspicious activity reports (SARs) are needed.

Read on for the fuller story, and a call for public comment.

Continue reading “Cash Home Purchases Draw Renewed Federal Scrutiny”

Should sites like Redfin.com, Realtor.com, and Trulia.com have crime figures on their websites for home shoppers? Here are the arguments now being made on either side of the question. We start with a brief rundown of specific real estate sites that are formulating new policy.

Continue reading “Does Crime Data Have Any Place on Real Estate Sites? Here’s the Debate”

The U.S. housing market lifted sale prices to new highs in 2021. Remote work, which surged in 2020, really settled into accepted custom in 2021. Our new way of working became central to the way we choose our homes and the way live in them, and the results were unreal.

Other factors that made 2021 a wild time in real estate? Shortages of workers, supply chain issues, and swooning mortgage interest rates. Weather extremes, wildfires, sea level rise, and floods. Unequal distribution of wealth, exacerbated by the Covid effect.

One part of the population got through the year white-knuckled, as anxiety grew over what would happen when the mortgage payments became due after months of forbearance. Meanwhile, another swath of the population took profits from a rising stock market and a Bitcoin boom. They found themselves free to leave the cities and head for vacation homes. So, in the most desirable markets, the price gains for luxury homes were dramatic.  

Readers who have followed the articles on Deeds.com had our analysis in real time, as all of these dynamics unfolded. Here, we take a look back at some remarkable real estate milestones of an unprecedented year, as it winds down to make way for 2022.

Continue reading “2021 Is a Wrap—And What a Phenomenal Year for Real Estate!”

Will 2022 Be Better for Buyers?

Home sellers did very well in 2021. There was just one rub. Most people who sell also want to buy. And homes were very expensive.

Some boomers who would normally be downsizing now, and putting their houses into the market, have not. They’ve stayed put, waiting for somewhere to go that they can afford.

First–time buyers, many working remotely, had better options than ever before in 2021. Interest rates were enticingly low. But first-timers, too, ran into high prices and hectic bidding wars. The U.S. housing market saw its largest year-over-year rise in home prices in 45 years.

Although buying was difficult, those who already own homes could benefit from the remarkable dip in interest rates, and many people did refinance their mortgages.

Continue reading “Ring In the New: Home Buying Trends for 2022”

When Strangers Divide Inherited Land

An Asheville Watchdog investigation, as reported by the Citizen Times, painted a very grim picture of partition law in North Carolina this year. Also known as the forced sale, the partition law in most states can be seized on by shrewd investors who know how to grab land from struggling people. These clever investors manage to buy parts of properties that are co-owned — usually by multiple heirs.

Nineteen states have rewritten their partition laws, but North Carolina has yet to do the same.

Continue reading “Losing the Family Home to Partition Law”

A Trend Whose Time Has Come

The way we use energy at home can increase or limit greenhouse gases. As climate disruption is a pressing issue for everyone, “green” buildings and habits aren’t just nice to have—they’ve become essentials.

Green home innovations are enabling homeowners to turn natural forces into heating, air conditioning, and electricity to power appliances and devices. Electric cars can now be charged in people’s garages. Renewable power can be efficiently stored, with the excess redirected into the grid to help power whole communities.

All our readers can play a part. From deciding on green architecture, to planning simple upgrades for a home you own today, to finding eco-minded investment opportunities, here’s the scoop, Q&A-style.

Continue reading “The Rise of the Zero-Carbon Home”

There’s an App for That

Responsible home flippers do things right. Today, they’re assisted by technology. Some investors rely on internet connections and real estate apps the whole way through. In recent times, doing business at a distance has generally proven as effective as working on-site, and the home flipping arena is just one of many examples.

And there are plenty of apps for smarter flipping. Here are some commonly cited examples of real estate technology to help buyers find, purchase, renovate and market distressed properties.

Continue reading “Home Flipping Goes Virtual”