The average tax refund was $2,860 for the majority of Americans last year. According to a survey by GO Banking Rates, 41 percent of Americans plan to save their tax returns. That savings could help put them on the path to homeownership.Six percent of 18- to 34-year-olds say they plan to use their tax refund to purchase a car, home, etc., compared to 9 percent in the 35- to 44-year-old age group.“With higher incomes and a tax refund of approxima
Affordability issues may be keeping some first-time buyers on the sidelines—the percentage of homes purchased by this group has fallen to 32 percent, which is 8 percentage points below the historical norm, according to the National Association of REALTORS®—but in some cities, homeownership is more accessible to millennials.In its third annual study, financial website SmartAsset.com released its findings for 2017's best cities for first-time
Online marketing campaigns can be effective for prospecting, but if you find your ads are generating little response, revisit your strategy to make sure you're focusing on the results you want. Here are a few reasons why business professionals' online marketing may seem ineffective, according to Forbes columnist Brad Shorr. You place emphasis on the wrong metrics. Shorr notes that search rankings and traffic volume may not be the most meaningful
Consumer confidence in the housing market receded from its record high in February, dropping 3.8 percentage points to a reading of 84.5 in March, according to Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index, a survey of about 1,000 Americans. Five of the six components measured in the index saw a decline, including the percentage of consumers who expressed a positive outlook on buying a home and their employment situation. However, the percentage of c
For the first time, a federal judge has ruled that provisions in the Fair Housing Act protect against LGBT discrimination. The law states that it is illegal to refuse to rent or sell property to anyone based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin. But questions have been raised as to whether fair housing and other anti-discrimination laws also encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity when they are not explici
As the spring homebuying season begins to heat up, the real estate and title insurance industries are reminding home buyers about wire fraud scams increasingly targeting them to steal their down payment funds.The National Association of REALTORS® has issued warnings to its members that hackers are trying to gain access to insecure email accounts and search inboxes for messages related to real estate transactions. The hackers then draft fake ema
While nearly 40 percent of aspiring homeowners believe they need to put down 20 percent on a home purchase, the truth is the average down payment was just 11 percent in 2016, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Mortgage industry blog MGIC Connects has created a Buy Now vs. Wait calculator that can show them whether they're better off waiting and continuing to save for a bigger down payment or buying now with less money upfront.Th
Real estate agents are witness to the birth of automated marketing. From Facebook lead-capture bots to MailChimp’s sales automation tools, our marketing tools are growing more sophisticated every day.Despite such advancements, traditional farming tactics will never cease being effective. This is why ProspectsPlus remains such a popular marketing tool across the industry.It helps that the direct mail and print marketing company deftly leverages
A ranch-style featuring a designer kitchen, blended living space and mixed-metal trimmings — such a house would embody 2017 luxury, so long as it was also decked out in smart home technology.That’s according to twin brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott, co-founders of Scott Brothers Entertainment and Scott Living.The duo and HGTV hosts — real estate agent (Drew) and fixer-upper transformer (Jonathan) — launched their first book this year,
Key Takeaways Facebook should become an integral part of lead generation campaigns. Customers are preferring messaging apps to get in touch with businesses. Let automation qualify leads, while you focus on closing them!We didn’t have content, we didn’t have fancy landing pages and no one knew about us.Yet with a simple ad and a minimal advertising budget, we still managed to get hundreds of real estate leads through Facebook. This blog post s
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