realtor pa Archives

Journal Club 05-05-23 – Passive Income MD

09/05/202321/04/2025dansa

Here’s Journal Club 05-05-23! Every week, I hold a JOURNAL CLUB. After filtering through the articles on the web, I present a few that impacted my life this week. Be safe and stay well!

When pursuing Financial Independence or planning for early retirement, most people tend to focus on accumulating wealth, but rarely do they think about ways to access that nest egg. Would you agree? Do you have a plan for how you’d be accessing your assets in retirement? In case you’re looking for some ideas, the Physician on FIRE has valuable guidance for you in the post – Retirement Spending: Which Accounts Come First?

Saving for college has always been a tremendous undertaking for most parents, and it only seems to worsen each year. If you’re a parent, you may have already opened a 529 plan for your child. But did you know there are several other creative ways you could implement to save for college? Curious to learn more? The Financial Samurai shares more about it in the article – The Different Ways To Pay For College: My Surprising Blind Spot.

Investing in short-term rentals or vacation rentals has grown exponentially in the past few years.

Why some Canadians are buying houses without the help of a Realtor

30/03/2023dansa

David McDonald says buying his first home in the latter half of 2021 was stressful — though maybe not for the usual reasons.

Even though he was working with a Realtor he trusted, he didn’t like that he couldn’t speak directly to the people selling their homes around North Bay, Ont., or that he’d repeatedly lost to other house-hunters in blind bids.

That’s partly why, when a friend forwarded a private listing in the area, he and his girlfriend jumped at the chance to see it.

“Being able to meet someone, look at the house and make an offer and have a handshake agreement right off the bat … that was, like, so much more of a transparent, clear process that I definitely found pleasing,” said McDonald, 38.

He closed the deal without his Realtor, which McDonald estimates saved both sides roughly $15,000 in commissions.

And while that might be reason enough for some to entertain the idea, industry insiders warn that going without a Realtor comes with risks.

A man sitting on a rocking chair looks and smiles at the camera. — David McDonald of North Bay, Ont., bought a house privately with his girlfriend in 2022. He estimates it saved both sides roughly $15,000 in commissions. (Submitted by David McDonald)

“It was

Outlook 2023: Western Massachusetts Realtors say home sales market is becoming ‘more realistic’

02/03/2023dansa

It’s the American dream – owning your own home.

But for some, that dream may take a little longer as rising mortgage rates put their dreams on hold in a market that is low on inventory as fewer people put their homes up for sale – all resulting in falling home sales.

The numbers from the National Association of Realtors have not been encouraging.

“In essence, the residential real estate market was frozen in November, resembling the sales activity seen during the COVID-19 economic lockdowns in 2020,” said the association’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun. “The principal factor was the rapid increase in mortgage rates, which hurt housing affordability and reduced incentives for homeowners to list their homes. Plus, available housing inventory remains near historic lows.”

To put the local market into perspective, the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley, in its mid-January report of single family home sales for December showed a 36.8% drop year-over-year from 601 sales in December 2021 to 380 in 2022.

“2022 started off as an overheated market, where people would put their house up for sale and expect multiple offers, some having over the price, resulting in the house selling quickly. But the second half of

Realtors: With the pandemic boom behind us, the market is now leveling out and stabilizing

26/02/2023dansa

Everyone seems to be talking about the real estate market and speculation is high about where the market is headed in 2023.

During the COVID market from 2020 through early 2022, the housing market seemed to explode. People were spending more time than ever on their homes, and quickly realized that their homes didn’t meet their current needs.

Working from home became a reality; suddenly every buyer needed a home office.

Faced with the unknown job market, families also looked to downsize to secure affordability. This saturated the market with buyers, causing increased sales prices and low inventory.

From the seller’s perspective, things were positive. The number of days on the market was very low. Buyers were plentiful and paid over the listing price to secure the winning bid. This resulted in soaring property values.

With the COVID market behind us, buyers and sellers are worried about where the housing market is headed.

The market we see today has adjusted and is a steady, strong market. According to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, last month there were 1,583 closings; this is down 38.4% from December 2021.

However, while the number of closings dropped, comparatively from December 2021 to December

Garland realtor helps save dozens of drivers stuck in the ice

18/02/2023dansa

Garland realtor helps save dozens of drivers stuck in the ice

Realtor Patrick Abell from Garland drove around Dallas County in his Jeep on Tuesday with the aim of giving folks a helpful pull.

Garland – Realtor Patrick Abell from Garland drove around Dallas County in his Jeep on Tuesday with the aim of giving folks a helpful pull after getting stranded by the ice.

Hounan Reyes stopped to help the driver of an 18-wheeler get free from the ice. It worked, but his truck got stuck in the process.

North Texas drivers dealing with treacherous conditions

Kevin Deras, the driver of the 18-wheeler, looked to return the favor.

“We’re going to have to scrape a little bit of ice from under those tires so he can gain some traction,” Deras said.

He dug at the ice, but the street was too slick to get Reyes out.

That’s where Abell and his Jeep came in.

“Just out having fun. I’ve been picking people up taking them to work checking on houses, doing what we do,” he said.

Winter Storm Warning for North Texas extended until Thursday, Ice Storm Warning for some starts Wednesday

Abell and his Jeep were able to

What is a recession? The economic concepts explained. What causes and happens during one.

14/02/2023dansa

Inflation has slowed down and gross domestic product has revived, but most economists still expect a mild recession this year.

In December, consumer prices rose 6.5% from a year earlier but that was down from a 40-year high of 9.1% in June. Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items, rose 5.7% annually, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index.

Another CPI report is due out Tuesday and is expected to offer key insights on the state of the economy.

Meanwhile, GDP, or the value of all goods and services produced in the US, increased by 2.6% in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, after dropping at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first three months of the year and 0.6% in the second three, according to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Wait, are we in a recession? How to tell? Keep a close eye on unemployment, consumer spending

Computer to worker: You’re fired! Layoffs in a likely recession this year could be determined by software programs

So how could a modest downturn happen? The past two recessions were sparked by shocks to the economy – a housing crisis and a pandemic. A downshift this year

Chrissy Steele takes a helmet at the Delaware Association of Realtors

10/02/2023dansa

The Delaware Association of Realtors recently announced the installation of President Chrissy Steele, a Sussex County Realtor and Northrop Realty coastal regional manager.

National Association of Realtors 2023 First Vice President Kevin Sears officiated at the Rehoboth Beach event, which included the installation of the organization’s full slate of officers and directors for the year.

Steele shared her 2023 strategic initiatives to refresh and improve the association’s offerings to its members and the public, including continued efforts to lower the statewide realty transfer tax by 1 percent.

As president of the 4,500-member Delaware Association of Realtors, Steele will president at all meetings of its board of directors and executive committee, and will serve as an ex officio member of all DAR committees and work groups. In her capacity as president, Steele will serve as official spokesperson for the association on issues related to the real estate industry as well as local residential and commercial markets in Delaware. She will also represent DAR and its members on the National Association of Realtors board of directors, and at local, state and national functions.

Steele began her real estate career in 1999 and immediately developed a passion for the business. In 2004, she

NAR Forecasts 4.78 Million Existing-Home Sales, Stable Prices in 2023

09/01/2023dansa

WASHINGTON (December 13, 2022) – Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist and senior vice president of research, forecasts that 4.78 million existing homes will be sold, prices will remain stable, and Atlanta will be the top real estate market to watch in 2023 and beyond. Yun unveiled the association’s forecast today during NAR’s fourth annual year-end Real Estate Forecast Summit.

Yun predicts home sales will decline by 6.8% compared to 2022 (5.13 million) and the median home price will reach $385,800 – an increase of just 0.3% from this year ($384,500).

“Half of the country may experience small price gains, while the other half may see slight price declines,” Yun said. “However, markets in California may be the exception, with San Francisco, for example, likely to register price drops of 10–15%.”

Yun expects rent prices to rise 5% in 2023, following a 7% increase in 2022. He predicts foreclosure rates will remain at historically low levels in 2023, consisting of less than 1% of all mortgages.

Yun forecasts US GDP will grow by 1.3%, roughly half the typical historical pace of 2.5%. After eclipsing 7% in late 2022, he expects the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to settle at 5.7% as the