Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips - John Ellis - iPro Real Estate

Give Second Thought to the TV Home Makeover

Some homeowners who sign up to have their homes redecorated and remodeled on a reality TV are having regrets. They say they got stuck paying thousands of dollars later on due to the TV renovations.Attorneys warn: You have to read the fine print before agreeing to these TV shows. On these reality decorating shows, homeowners aren’t often in complete control over what happens to their home. They may not like the design in the end. Further, to mee

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Where to Court the Single Female Buyer

Many studies show a pay gap exists between men and women, with women earning significantly less than men do. A new study compiled by PropertyShark and RENTCafe sought to find out how that gender gap in pay may affect single women’s buying power in the housing market in the 50 largest U.S. cities.You may find the most single-women buyers in the following cities, which were ranked as the most affordable for single women to buy a home: Detroit, Mi

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REALTORS: You’ll Likely Find Clients Care the Most Here

America overall is a compassionate nation. In 2015, Americans donated more than $373 billion to charities, a record high, according to Giving USA.“The U.S. is a generous country,” says William Chopik, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, who co-authored research about nations and empathy. “America is always coming to other countries’ aid whenever there’s a disaster. And hand in hand with that, we also ha

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Uncertainty Plagues the Housing Market

The prospect for growth in the housing market in 2017 remains solid, but that said, some anxiety may taper growth somewhat this year, according to Freddie Mac’s latest 2017 Outlook report on the housing market.“We must grapple with uncertainty about fiscal policy, foreign investments in U.S. real estate, and the size of the mortgage market,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Among the many uncertainties we highlighted,

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February is Best for Housing Bargains

Frigid temperatures and treacherous winter weather are here to stay a little while longer, since the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, signaling six more weeks of winter.This weather prediction may even bring more deals for buyers wanting to kickstart their home search. Typically winter months have a higher number of housing bargains due to stressful weather conditions and lack of competition, with February coming out on to

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Where Renters Really Pay the Most

Many cities are facing an affordability crisis when it comes to renting. In some places, renters are faced with paying more than 50 percent of their income to housing. And the problem stands to get much worse, according to AppFolio, a cloud-based property management software company. By 2025, about 16 million people in the U.S. will be considered rent-burdened, the firm says.AppFolio culled data from Axiometrics, an independent rental research fi

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More Consumers Might Buy If They Knew This

Confusion over down payment requirements is hindering some consumers’ confidence about buying a home.For the past three years, the median down payment for first-time buyers has been 6 percent and 14 percent for repeat buyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Yet, when consumers are asked about the down payment amount they need to buy, 87 percent of non-owners say that a down payment of 1

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The Office Construction Surge Is Coming

Office construction is on the rise across the U.S., and 2017 is expected to be another mega year for the sector.Indeed, 2017 is expected to surpass office construction starts from 2016 by 10 percent – or 10 million more square feet than in 2016, according to Dodge Date & Analytics’ 2017 Dodge Construction Outlook. Dodge forecasters are predicting that this year the office sector will post the largest surge in starts than any other segment

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REALTORS: Avoid These SEO Mistakes in Online Marketing

You know the goal when it comes to online marketing: Get to the top of the search rankings. But are there certain things you could be doing that may be hampering your path to the top?Forbes.com recently featured several mistakes to avoid with your SEO. Among the most common mistakes:Thinking you don’t need to do any optimization.You may believe that the content you are serving up should suffice. But great content is no substitute for SEO.  “

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Why a Homebuilding Boom May Still Be Far Off

Many markets are calling for greater new-home construction to meet buyer demand and counter housing shortages plaguing many areas. But the homebuilding industry is facing a big challenge in meeting that call: They can’t find enough skilled workers.The Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey shows that nearly 200,000 construction industry jobs are unfilled across the country, an increase of 81 percent in just two years.

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