Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips - James Lunsford - iPro Real Estate

REALTORS: 7 Innovations That Could Change Your Business

Seven technology startups have been chosen to take part in the National Association of REALTORS®' REach accelerator program this year, which aims to offer the companies guidance on making a bigger footprint in the real estate industry. Second Century Ventures, NAR's strategic investment arm, selects early- to mid-stage companies each year to take part in the program and glean industry expertise and influence as they launch their products.Meet th

Read More

Will Lower Rates Create Buyer Frenzy?

Mortgage rates have dropped below 4 percent for the first time since November, and home buyers likely will want to take advantage of the lower borrowing costs. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.97 percent for the week ending April 20, according to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage market survey. "We are in the spring, and people are out looking to buy homes," says Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac. "These low rates are

Read More

4 Bathroom Fads That Turn Buyers Off

For some buyers, the bathroom is a deal breaker. So if your listing includes these fading bathroom trends, you might have a harder time selling it.All-white bathrooms: They're tough to keep clean, so this trend is definitely reaching its end. "White tile and flooring can stain very easily, and any little mark glares at you from across the room, tainting the crisp, clean concept of an all-white look," says Tonya Bruin, CEO of Canada-based To Do-Do

Read More

Closing Timelines Get Even Shorter

The average time to close on all home loan types dropped to 43 days in March—the quickest pace since February 2015, according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report. A year ago, the average closing time was 46 days. Broken out, loans to purchase a home took 43 days to close, and refinance loans took 43 days in March, down from 45 and 47 days, respectively, in February.The share of purchase loans last month rose to 63 percent of total origina

Read More

48% of Homes Sell in Less Than a Month

Forty-eight percent of homes sold in March were on the market for less than a month, according to housing data from the National Association of REALTORS®. The average for all sold properties, though, was a little higher, at 34 days. Still, that's down significantly from 47 days a year ago, according to NAR. Nondistressed homes spent a median of 32 days on the market, which is the shortest length of time since NAR began tracking such data in May

Read More

Google Earth launches stunning new features

Explore guided tours of buildings designed and built by famed architects Frank Gehry and Zaha HadidKey Takeaways In honor of Earth Day, Google Earth has relaunched with architecture tours of some of the world's most famous buildings.Just in time for Earth Day (April 22), Google Earth has relaunched with a number of new features, the most stunning of which is a number of guided tours of buildings designed and built by famed architects Frank Gehry

Read More

Ranch, Victorian or Tudor? The agent’s architectural house styles cheat sheet

Dive into the history and core characteristics that make these styles uniqueKey Takeaways Recognizing and identifying home design styles can be tricky. Here's a few easy ways to recognize nine of the most popular.For most buyers today, a home’s architectural style usually isn’t a “make or break” feature, and is ranked below other features and attributes such as the functionality of the indoor layout, energy efficiency, smart home technol

Read More

REALTORS: New agent? 4 tech tools for building long-term success

Not every technology solution is ideal for new agents -- here are four that can get you that first dealKey Takeaways New agents need to balance new business efforts with long-term planning. Naberly, MailChimp, ZipComps and RealSatisfied provide an array of smart, easy tools to establish and maintain business.Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our real estate technology expert? Email Craig Rowe.It’s not easy to ge

Read More

REALTORS: 3 Facebook posts real estate prospects can’t resist

If you don’t go where the people are, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage before you even get startedKey Takeaways Combine Facebook ad targeting and organic actions to yield massive results. Take advantage of video to build a deeper, more lasting connection with your audience.You already know that Facebook is the most effective tool for getting leads flowing into your business.But what’s working right now? We checked in with three age

Read More

March existing-home sales spike 4.4% despite inventory woes

Key Takeaways According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales increased 4.4 percentage points to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 5.71 million.Economists have been predicting a “spring revival” since the beginning of the year thanks to hearty buyers who refuse to let low inventory keep them from finding the perfect home.According to a recent realtor.com study, homes are flying off the market at a dizzying pac

Read More

This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.