The American Rental Market

rental-vs-own-1038x576

Did you know that there are 43 million people in the U.S. who live in rental properties? According to America’s Rental Housing: Expanding Options for Diverse and Growing Demand, a study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, the number of renters has increased by 9 million since 2005; we have not seen such a surge since the mid ’60s. Continue reading

Cities with the Most Competitive Homebuyers

Blog_competition

This week, Redfin released their ranking of the most competitive neighborhoods for buying homes in 2015 and the cities on the list come as no surprise. Four cities—Boston, Seattle, Denver and Portland—boast of such healthy housing markets, bolstered in no small manner by their thriving tech scenes, that they are home to the top 30 most competitive housing neighborhoods of this year. Continue reading

Diversity and Inclusion: A Millennial’s Standpoint

Blog_Millennials

Traditionally, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in a workplace mean the representation and acceptance of people regardless of their race, gender, religion and other factors. Millennials, who will comprise 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, have a different perception; even though they respect the old norm, for them D&I is more about intellectual acceptance.

Continue reading

Merry Christmas from NAWRB!

Blog_christmas

It’s Christmas Eve and NAWRB would like to wish our community a merry Christmas and happy holidays! We hope that you are spending these celebratory days away from work, with family, friends and good food. At NAWRB headquarters, the Christmas spirit is alive and well; our holiday mixer was a couple days ago, we had a secret Santa gift exchange yesterday, we have Christmas lights throughout the office and there is Christmas music playing.

Continue reading

Does it Cost More to be a Woman than a Man in New York City?

Blog_womenandmen

Women already have a tough time getting on par with men in the corporate world, do we now have to fight against gender bias in product pricing too? From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of being a Female Consumer, A Study of Gender Pricing in New York City is a study conducted by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Continue reading

TRID: Helping or Hurting?

Blog_1222

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced that existing-home sales decreased significantly in November, to the lowest figures since April 2014. Existing-home transactions are comprised by sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops; according to NAR, they fell 10.5 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million in November, compared to a similarly disappointing number of 5.32 million in October. Together, these declines represent home sales that are down 3.8 percent from only a year ago. Continue reading

The Housing Market Shows Positive Trends for 2016

Blog_climb

With 2015 winding down, prospective homebuyers and sellers are eagerly looking forward to the New Year. Nationwide Economics’ Health of Housing Markets (HoHM) Report brings good tidings with its Leading Index of Healthy Housing Markets (LIHHM). Calculated based on factors like employment, demographics, mortgage market and home prices, the study covers the national housing market and 400 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

Continue reading

Will More Young Adults Start Buying Homes Next Year?

Blog_Homeowners

In recent times, not many young renters have made the big move to becoming homeowners. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), despite an increase in the young adult population, the number of home owners between the ages of 25 and 34 has declined steadily between 2007 and 2012, with a yearly average of 300,000.

Continue reading

Office Space Prices

Blog_Commerical

The cost of housing is something we are all familiar with; from paying your own rent or mortgage to having relatives in other states, we inevitably remain aware of what it costs to live in the United States. But do you know how much office spaces cost? The rates of commercial real estate like office buildings are indicative of the amount of business being conducted in an area and can be used to better understand a region’s current and future economy. Continue reading

Home Construction Sees Climb

Blog_building

The housing market is witnessing a recovery as construction of single-family homes and apartments steadily increases. According to the Department of Commerce, builders began construction on 1.173 million units in November, a 10.5 percent increase from October, when calculated at an annual rate. This is welcome news as in October the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) released their housing market index (HMI) figure of 62, representing a three-point drop in homebuilder confidence from a month before. Continue reading