Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips - Monica Montoya - iPro Real Estate

5G Is Coming... Why You Should Care

5G is one of the buzzwords at this year’s CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas Jan. 9–12. The promises are big behind the fifth-generation wireless technology that is expected to make smartphones and other devices ultrafast.5G is to be 100 times faster and five times more responsive than 4G and 4G LTE systems, the technology currently being used. For example, you’ll be able to stream high-res VR content without

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4 Growth Areas for Homebuilding in 2018

A growing economy, supported by positive demographic trends, bodes well for the housing market in the new year, even as affordability challenges rise from an increase in prices and mortgage rates, according to realtor.com®’s 2018 Housing Forecast, released this week at the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. Realtor.com®’s report highlighted the following key factors for builders in 2018

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Best Places to Buy Rental Properties This Winter

The winter off-peak period may be the best time for investors to snag a deal on a single-family rental property.Single-family rental investors paid 6.6 percent less per square foot on the same property during the winter of 2017/2018 than they did during the spring and summer buying season of 2017, according to a new analysis released by HomeUnion, an online real estate investment and management firm.“For the second year in a row, our study fo

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Best, Worst Places for Commuters

Consistent travel times allow commuters less heartache than cities where it’s constantly fluctuating, says Joseph L. Schofer, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University.“That comes from well-managed road networks, limited congestion, quick incident-clearance times, and [bus and rail] transit [options],” Schofer told realtor.com®.The realtor.com® research team identified the best and worst metros for com

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New Financing Helps Investors Grow Portfolios

Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced programs to provide long-term financing at competitive interest rates that could encourage more investors to acquire single-family rental properties, the National Real Estate Investor reports.“Folks who dipped their toes in the market in 2015 or early 2016 and bought one or two single-family rentals are now buying more,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president of property

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What’s in a Buyer’s Name? Apparently a Lot

You should be chasing the buyers named Dylan, Chelsea, Austin, Alexandra, and Taylor. Those were the first names of millennials who were most likely to buy a home in 2017, according to a new analysis of more than 4 million home sales by ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm.On the other hand, Generation X and older buyers with the first names Gerald, Kristin, Stanley, Kurt, and Jaime had the biggest decreases in home sales last year.Not s

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Some Retirees Still Face Years of Mortgage Payments

Fewer retirees own their home free and clear, as 32 percent of homeowners ages 60 to 70 say it will take them more than another eight years to pay off their mortgage, according to American Financing’s Retirement and Mortgages survey.However, many say they intend to age in place, with 64 percent indicating they plan to remain in their current home. Seventy-one percent say they would prefer to make home renovations rather than move, even if a hea

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Expect Building Delays on Commercial Projects

Many commercial projects may face delays in 2018 due to rising demand, particularly for warehouse and office space. A shortage of skilled construction workers and rising construction costs—two items that are also plaguing the residential market—are expected to push back timetables on many commercial projects in the pipeline, according to the CoStar Group.The labor shortage may mean developers will have to pay more to get their buildings const

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How Much Buyers Put Down on Their Home

The majority of buyers who obtained a mortgage last year made a down payment of less than 20 percent, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. The median down payment in 2017 was 10 percent, according to the report.The bulk of buyers’ down payments came from their personal savings, but a fraction also came from the sales proceeds of a previous residence or assistance from family or friends

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Luxury Sales Slow, High-End Inventory Grows

Luxury homes sold at a slower pace in 2017, as more properties in the high-end market were put up for sale, according to a new realtor.com® report. The number of million-dollar listings grew by an average of 3.9 percent.Luxury properties—defined as those with a sales price in the top 5 percentile—took 5.4 percent longer to sell in 2017 than in 2016, spending an average of 116 days on the market. Prices of luxury homes also increased 5.1 perc

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