4 ways to reset your outlook on business at the beginning of 2023

Your mind is powerful, and these approaches will help you maximize your mindset and take a leap into new next-level territory. Trust yourself, your strengths and your intuitions and you’ll have a year to be proud of. 

How to extend the life of a real estate conference

If you are wondering how to keep the magic alive after a great conference experience, you are not alone. Coach Jeff Glover says that if you make a plan of action of immediate steps to take after the conference you won't lose that upbeat feeling as soon as you walk through your front door.

Master the art of cold calling with these 8 can’t-miss strategies

Cold calling can be an intimidating prospect for many real estate agents, but it doesn’t have to be, writes renowned trainer Darryl Davis. Real estate agents can turn cold calls into warm leads with practice and preparation, and as it becomes second nature, they will ultimately drive more sales for their business. 

Regrets, They Have a Few: 4 Recent Homebuyers Confess Their Buyer’s Remorse

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A house is a massive purchase that has an outsize effect on your finances and quality of life. Unfortunately, though, the current frantic housing market seems to have served up a recipe for regret for many recent homebuyers.

A shocking 72% of homebuyers who purchased in 2021 or 2022 are reeling with regret over their home purchase, according to a study from Clever Real Estate. The most common factors that contributed to their remorse? Spending too much money and rushing into buying.

A number of buyers purchased a house sight unseen during the COVID-19 pandemic. For most of 2021, mortgage rates were at an all-time low, buyer competition was high, and many buyers found themselves writing an offer (often over the asking price) for a house that was smaller or older than they’d originally hoped to buy. And in 2022, rising interest rates and home prices (which peaked in June 2022) increased the cost of financing the typical home by nearly $750 each month compared with a year ago. In other words, many buyers seemed to be settling for less desirable homes or homes that pushed them to the limit of their budget.

Now, amid the drama of a cooling market and a surge in interest rates, some homebuyers are watching their recent purchases drop in value, which is bad enough. But that stress is compounded as the reality of homeownership settles in, and the price of upkeep and repairs skyrockets due to inflation and rising prices for both materials and labor.



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Living Room in the Pool?! Sarasota’s Most Expensive Home Makes a Splash

Realtor.com

Many high-end homes come with deluxe perks like outdoor living areas with poolside fire pits and seating. Then there are pricey palaces such as this Sarasota, FL, mansion on Flamingo Avenue that boasts a sunken lounge that’s actually in the pool.

This cool pool feature is just one of many luxuries on offer with the area’s most expensive property. Let’s take a closer look.

“You take five or six steps down into this circular seating area, which is amazing for hanging out and having conversations and a glass of wine,” says listing agent Joel Schemmel, with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. “It’s one of the really interesting elements of the outdoor space.

“You also have an enormous swim-up bar where, on one side, you can swim up to bar stools in the water, and the other two sides are a bar where people can sit on bar stools,” Schemmel continues.











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From Summer Kitchens to Milking Parlors: A Guide to the Most Charming Outbuildings

SHED Architecture & Design via Houzz

There’s the main house, garage, a barn—and you can probably identify a silo. But what if you spy another building that looks kind of old and weathered? Maybe a wooden shack, way out in a field?

In fact, some homes come with several sheds or buildings. But as for their various uses? Well, that might leave you scratching your head.

Having a rustic structure on a large parcel of land can add charm and even value, if the building is still usable.

Amy Rosen, of Ruth Gale Realty in Phoenicia, NY, reports no shortage of these buildings on upstate New York properties; and she says they’re quite desirable.




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What Is a Multifamily Home? A Budget-Friendly Way to Own, Rent, or Invest in Real Estate

Greg Chow

A multifamily home is a building with more than one unit where people can live, each with their own separate kitchens, living rooms, electric bills, and so forth. Also called a multidwelling unit, or MDU, they are typically found in densely populated areas such as cities where space is at a premium. Multifamily homes can be rented, be owned, or serve as an investment property where landlords can collect rent from tenants.

There are millions of multifamily dwellings nationwide, compared with 90 million single-family homes. Although living in close quarters with others may not be ideal in terms of privacy or noise, people in multifamily homes generally pay less than those in single-family homes and are taxed with less home maintenance, because a management company may be responsible for repairing the building’s exterior or mowing the lawn.

Types of multifamily homes

Multifamily homes come in all shapes and sizes. Here are some of the more common designs:

Duplex: Two homes in one freestanding structureTownhouse: Any number of homes attached at the sides with separate entrancesCondominiums (condo): A private residence in a building or community with multiple unitsApartment building: Could be up to hundreds of homes in one structure. Unlike the above dwellings, apartment building units are often rented by tenants rather than owned.

How to invest in a multifamily home

Buying a multifamily home to rent out (or where you live in one unit and rent out the rest) is a smart financial strategy—today more than ever. The reason: Homeownership is decreasing, recently dipping below the 66.6% historical average.

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Maui Wowie: Colorful, Italian-Designed Home Is Listed for $4.5M

Realtor.com

International designer and architect Ettore Sottsass designed only seven homes during his storied career, and one is for sale.

Even better, it’s on the lush island of Maui, in Kula, HI.

The eye-popping property is a colorful, geometric wonder.

“It’s actually a very famous house, and a world-renowned property, and is designed by a very famous architect from Italy,” says listing agent Dean Otto, with Keller Williams Realty Maui. “It’s one of the most famous properties, definitely in the state of Hawaii, if not one of the most famous architectural masterpieces in the country.”











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Erin and Ben Napier of ‘Home Town’ Reveal Where To Find Cute Homes for Less Than $100K

HGTV

On “Home Town,” Erin and Ben Napier prove time and again that homebuyers don’t have to pay tons of money for a beautiful house. Sometimes, they might even find one for less than $100,000.

In the Season 7 episode “A Colorful Match,” Erin and Ben meet Rahkeam and LaDijonay Parker, parents of two young boys and first-time homebuyers. The Napiers help this family find a two-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom home in Laurel, MS for just $90,000.

Granted, this 1910 home seems drab and run down, but after a $75,000 renovation, this family of four has a beautiful starter home for a total cost of just $165,000.

The key ingredient that brightens up this humble abode is tons of color. In fact, this home’s bold hues go beyond what the Napiers would typically use, but that’s what these clients request.

1910 home
updated exterior
front porch
orange bedroom
purple room
living room
blue kitchen
washer and dryer
kitchen counter
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Engel & Völkers says hello to Carolina foothills with 3 new shops

Two of the shops will be located in Morganton and one in Nebo, North Carolina. License partners Steve and Polly Leadbetter will lead all three.

Actor Jon Seda Is Picking Up Stakes in the Windy City, Lists Home for $1.8M

Getty Images / Realtor.com

After years of playing a detective on NBC’s “Chicago P.D.,” Jon Seda made the leap to portraying a doctor on the sci-fi hit “La Brea.” With this change in shows comes his decision to move on from his four-bedroom, 4.5-bath home in the Lakeview section of Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune.

This limestone-clad property was built in 2007 and is now available for $1,799,999.

Set back from the street behind a set of iron gates, the stately 5,000-square-foot home features a two-story entryway, several fireplaces to keep toasty during the frigid winters, and massive windows that flood the living areas with light.

The home was built in 2007.

Realtor.com










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Looking to renovate construction space, Freemodel secures $19.5M

QED led a $19.5 million Series A for Freemodel to expand its approach to prepaid, fully managed market preparation renovations, according to an announcement sent exclusively to Inman.

Top 10 color and design trends for 2023

Don’t be afraid to be bold and daring with your design choices this year. We are venturing into better, brighter times, and our homes are a direct reflection of that.

Jason Oppenheim: Commission suits will be ‘armageddon’ for real estate

The founder of The Oppenheim Group and star of Netflix's "Selling Sunset" told Yahoo! Finance that potential changes to the commission structure could result in an exodus of real estate agents.

Pool of agents working in LA shrunk amid slowdown last year: Analysis

The number of active real estate agents in LA decreased by 27 percent year over year, falling from 4,800 agents in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 3,500 agents during the same period in 2022.

10 Tips First-Time Apartment Renters Can’t Afford to Overlook

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Renting your first apartment is a huge milestone—an exciting time to celebrate, for sure. But as a first-time renter, finding the perfect rental for your circumstances can be an ordeal. How do you ensure a smooth process and minimal (or no) snags along the way?

The good news is that many resources are available to guide you through the apartment-renting process. To get you started, here is some advice to keep in mind as a first-time renter.

1. Determine how much rent you can afford

One very important first step to finding the right apartment is deciding how much you can comfortably spend, based on your income.

According to Manisha Thakor, director of Wealth Strategies for Women at the BAM Alliance, one rule of thumb is that rent should not exceed one-fourth of your take-home pay. If you follow this method and have a monthly income of $4,000, you’ll want to find rentals that charge no more than $1,000 per month.

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The Cities Where You’ll Save Money Renting in 2023—and the Ones Where Buying a Home Is Cheaper

Photo-Illustration by Realtor.com; Photos: Getty Images (5)

Homeownership has long embodied the American dream. But for many, it isn’t the most affordable option these days. Or the one that ultimately makes the most financial sense.

Brass tacks: In most of the country, it remains cheaper to rent than to buy the same square footage. But, of course, renters are at the mercy of their landlords and aren’t building wealth that can be tapped in an emergency or passed down to future generations. And when you factor in the current tsunami of extreme real estate price fluctuations on both sides and economic uncertainty across the board, the eternal rent vs. buy decision has become a whole lot trickier in 2023.

Whether it makes more financial sense to rent or buy depends a lot on where in the U.S. someone lives. So the Realtor.com® economics team identified the places where folks can save the most money by renting—and where it makes more sense to buy.

In areas where it’s better to buy, mortgage payments are often lower than market rents if buyers can cobble together the needed down payment and closing costs.













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Freed from iBuying, Zillow wants more from its mortgage arm in 2023

To outside analysts, it appears Zillow got out of iBuying just in time. Now the company is looking ahead to a post-downturn world. Here are the biggest challenges Zillow will face in 2023.

Why this economist says today’s market is not a do-over of 2008

Now, although price growth through the pandemic period was clearly excessive, writes economist Matthew Gardner, fundamentally speaking, the two periods cannot be considered to be similar at all.

After Years of Living With Roommates, a Place to Call His Own

Yaakov Bloom says he has learned a lot about himself after living in six apartments in the last decade, including one with an unruly pet.

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