Starting Jan. 1, all newly constructed homes and low-rise apartment buildings in California are required to have rooftop solar panels. The state is the first in the nation to carry such a mandate.The law also requires better insulation and air filtration for new homes. Some areas also are seeing mandates on the use of natural gas. For example, in the Bay Area, new homes in Berkeley, San Mateo, Menlo Park, San Jose, or Marin County will not be abl
Home shoppers are being greeted with much lower mortgage rates to kick off 2020 than they were a year ago. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.72% this week, compared to 4.51% at the beginning of 2019.Improving economic data has led to a stability in mortgage rates over the last few weeks. Thirty-year rates have generally hovered around an average of 3.7% for the past two months.What a difference a year makes: “The stability is welcome n
Security officials are warning consumers to not abbreviate “2020” in official documents because they say it can be an easy way for scammers to commit forgery. They say the abbreviation makes it easy for scammers to change out the numbers on paperwork. For example, if you write a date like “1/3/20,” scammers could change it to “1/3/2000” or 1/3/2021.”Instead, write out the full year as “1/3/2020” or, better yet, write out the nam
Hospitals are becoming bigger buyers of real estate in a large-scale effort to help alleviate the homeless crisis that is plaguing many areas across the country. After some patients receive treatment, they have nowhere to go.Insurance will not pay for patients to stay after their immediate needs have been treated, but hospitals are struggling to release patients who have nowhere to go.Those hospitals who let patients stay are finding themselves w
A home short on storage could be a turnoff to potential home buyers. That’s why some home stagers are turning to the armoire in homes that are tight on closet space.Armoires usually have both a rod inside for hanging items and drawers or cubbies for storing smaller items. Along with that extra space to store items and clear overly cramped closets, they can be a stylish accent in a room, too."Most armoires are conversation pieces, so bring one i
Millennials are one of the highest renting demographics, but what are they looking for in a rental? Landlords and property management companies are trying to find the keywords that resonate with this age group when crafting their online ads for properties.The average renter changes their rental property every six months to three years, shows ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm.Here are a few successful characteristics landlords are tout
Home interior looks are evolving, and even the open floor plan may be losing some of its long-lasting appeal. Design pros weighed in on a recent realtor.com® article on the home decorating trends that may lose some popularity heading into 2020. Here are a few of the trends that they say are falling by the wayside:The accent wallThe lone wall painted in one contrasting color is losing fans. Instead, ”it's time to boldly enter the new
Home buyers gained negotiating power in many markets during the second quarter of the year, finding greater room to haggle on list price. Just 15% of homes in the largest metro areas during this time sold for the seller’s original asking price, according to CoreLogic data, a sign that sellers should be willing to field lower offers.Sixty-one percent of homes sold in the second quarter were discounted, up from 57% a year ago, according to the da
In some markets, buyers are finding major deals on homes that have lingered on the market, but still, property values in those areas are performing well, according to a new analysis by realtor.com®.Realtor.com®’s data team identified these “hidden gem” markets by factoring in days on the market, median home prices below the national median of $310,000, and low unemployment rates, among other items. The site limited its rankings to on
Pending home sales rose 1.2% in November after slipping the prior month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest housing report, which was released Monday. Year-over-year contract signings were up 7.4% nationally, according to the report.November’s Pending Home Sales Index reached 108.5; an index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001. The West region of the country reported the highe
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