Real Estate

Auxiliary dwelling units got a boost from the Charlotte's unified development ordinance. The city of Charlotte’s approach to ADUs reflects a confident step towards creating diverse and affordable housing options while maintaining the neighborhoods integrity. Understanding and adhering to these local regulations are crucial for homeowners considering the addition of an ADU on their property. However,...

Shop Rates Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates - July 28th, 2024 The 30-year fixed mortgage rate from Freddie Mac declined to 6.89% over the last week from 6.95%. At 6.89%, with 20% down, a monthly mortgage payment on a home of $400,000 is $2,105; with 10% down, it is $2,369. Positive: The CPI retreated today. Importantly, shelter, which is a lagging component but more than one-third of CPI, had slower...

Are Buyers In trouble? New Laws Start Aug.17th 2024   The NAR now prohibits brokers listing homes on affiliated databases from offering compensation to buyer’s agents.  The Impact on Sellers: Home sellers may refrain from covering buyer-agent commissions, leading to significant cost reductions. The proposed rule change allows buyer’s agents to view compensation offers from their brokerage...

New Commission Laws Start July - How Will it Affect You? In 2023, Missouri home sellers sued the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and major brokerages for antitrust violations. The NAR and RE/MAX settled before trial, paying $83.5 million and $55 million, respectively. The jury ruled against the industry, ordering NAR and two firms to pay $1.8 billion in damages. Keller Williams settled for $70...

Is It Still A Good Time To Buy? - Mortgage Rates Rise Above 7% The Federal Reserve is still not ready to lower interest rates. At its latest meeting on May 1, 2024, the Fed held the federal funds rate steady. Meanwhile, mortgage rates have inched back over 7%. There are many factors to consider. It's not all a,bout mortgage rates. Housing inventory, finding the best mortgage lender, and getting a fair...

Thanks primarily to an unexpected rise in mortgage rates, which increased affordability challenges, the spring home-buying season has yet to spring to life. Though newly built home sales are thriving, sales of existing homes, have stagnated. On the bright side, tepid demand for existing homes is helping boost the country’s low housing supply Yet, despite ongoing affordability hurdles, Fannie Mae...

Scams are on the rise, and this includes real estate scams. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), business email compromise (BEC) schemes frequently target the real estate sector. In fact, the IC3 received 9,521 real estate-based complaints in 2023. That may not seem like a significant number; however, in terms of losses, these crimes amounted to $145,243,348 The first half of...

Charlotte City Council to Consider $5 Million in Funding for New Affordable Housing Development Charlotte leaders are expected to approve $5 million on Monday for affordable housing geared toward multifamily rentals and future homeownership through the city's Housing Trust Fund. The agenda for Monday's City Council meeting states the money would add 140 affordable housing units and 19...

Home Sales Climb Since Aug. 23' US. existing-home sales grew 3.1% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the strongest sales pace since August 2023, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Falling interest rates late last year, coupled with a recent uptick in inventory, helped existing-home sales to climb...

If you don't know what is going on and have been living under a rock for the past week. Last week, a federal class-action antitrust lawsuit, Burnett v. NAR jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, agreeing that NAR and major brokerages colluded to artificially raise seller commissions! The Burnett case represents just one of over 20 similar lawsuits filed by home sellers against NAR and several major...