Once your clients have decided to sell and move, it’s best for them and you that the home sells quickly. Your clients may be interested in an analysis by Knock (https://www.knock.com/blog/home-improvements-buyers-love/) about what makes homes sell faster. For example, homes in which homeowners have done upgrades sell 30% faster than those that don’t. Plus, a full-on renovation isn’t needed to make properties move. Painting, new carpet, a bathroom vanity upgrade, and a power wash all contribute to reducing days on market. Knock found that homes with modern renovation sold in an average of eight

Universal design features in the bathroom should be on the radar of everyone over age 50, even if they don’t need them today. After all, it’s easier to install such aging-in-place features – like grab bars and a built-in seat – when you’re renovating than to install them later and when you’re possibly doing it during a health crisis. When homeowners ask for advice about bathroom upgrades, point them to the 2021 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study (https://st.hzcdn.com/static/econ/2021--US--Houzz--Bathroom--Trends--Study.pdf) to give them a sense of what’s trending. Homeowners are prioritizing the

The America at Home Study (https://americaathomestudy.com/) and the home that was built based on its findings give you a look at how the pandemic has changed people’s perceptions of home and what they want in their future homes. These include adaptable space, home offices, better technology, and energy efficiency. But beyond homeowners’ wish lists, the research also points to emerging opportunities for you as a REALTOR®. The data suggest that with so many deciding to speed up their pre-pandemic moving plans, there may be a new-home demand of 3.5 million. That’s potential business for you, and

Your clients who want to incorporate aging-in-place features to accommodate multiple generations under one roof may be interested in findings from the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Home Design Trends Survey. So too will those who want to upgrade their homes for better functionality to respond to the ongoing pandemic. The quarterly AIA surveys provide a snapshot of residential trends that architects are seeing and measure whether a feature’s popularity rose or fell. Due to pandemic work-at-home situations, home offices, outdoor living spaces, and multi-function rooms, and flexible

Maybe your market includes clients for whom English is a second language, or you have the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation, and the bulk of your sales comes from foreign buyers. If so, both audiences may appreciate being able to navigate the loan process in their native languages. The Mortgage Translations clearing house (https://bit.ly/3dGiBMZ), developed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, provide loan documents in multiple languages: English Spanish Chinese Vietnamese Korean Tagalog The site includes the Uniform

During the Covid-19 lockdown, what would happen to the real estate market was an open question. Now that some cities and towns have opened up, the answer has gotten clearer. For example, the 2020 Market Recovery Survey, conducted by the National Association of REALTORS® in June, shows that markets are recovering and that both buyers and sellers are returning. The data can help you give clients a better picture of what’s happening, buyers’ and sellers’ timelines, and the home features that now are important. For example, 35% of NAR members polled reported that buyers had changed at least one

It’s no secret that the reverse mortgage has been on the rise lately. For those aged 62 and older, it can mean the difference between buying a home they think they can afford, and buying a home they love.

When you read the news today, it’s hard not to come across an article mentioning the growing Artificial Intelligence market, and other technological improvements. While a robotic future can be interesting to think about, have you ever thought that robots may just be the future of aging not only in the U.S., but across the world as well?

When you think of the term “senior,” what comes to mind? Do you think of a specific age group? Do you have an image in your mind of what a “senior” would look like? Do you ever think about there being more than one type of “senior?”