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The midterm U.S. elections take place on Tuesday. Elections have consequences for the housing market, according to a new report from investment bank Cowen.

The report by Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg noted that the Nov. 8 elections will determine which party controls the House and the Senate for the next two years.

And the result will then impact a number of issues related to housing finance policy, he said.

First-time buyer tax credit gone

Assuming Republicans “will at a minimum gain control of the House,” Seiberg wrote, that likely means no first-time buyer tax credit.

Companies that choose to adapt to these emerging trends will reap the most significant rewards, and those that don’t will become relics of an old way of doing business.

Self-managing a short-term rental is totally doable. Expert Stacy Soleil says it’s more work than a traditional long-term rental, but there are ways to set it up to minimize the overall time spent.

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Whether you’re buying or selling a home, one question that’s always front and center is the price: How much is it worth? That’s a tricky question to answer, but probably the best starting point is to know a home’s fair market value, or FMV.

A home’s fair market value is the price it would sell for in a perfectly logical world—one where both home buyer and seller are acting of their own free will (in other words, they aren’t desperate to make a sale) and are reasonably aware of a home’s good and bad points, and where the buyer could just as easily choose a different house that suits her needs better.

In such a world, market forces reign. Buyers and sellers negotiate up or down from their various positions and agree on a home’s price. Deal done. All is good! Another arm’s length transaction concluded to everyone’s satisfaction.

Fair market value vs. market value: What’s the difference?

A home’s fair market value is comparable to a home’s market value—what it would fetch on the open market—but is used in special circumstances where the concept of fairness is important to evoke so that the home’s sales price carries more weight.

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If you’re changing jobs, it sometimes makes sense to move as well.

That seems to be the thinking of Trevor Noah, who’s scheduled to leave his gig hosting Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” next month. He’s also just listed his Manhattan duplex penthouse in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood for $12,950,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The comedian purchased the swanky spot for a little over $10 million in 2017.

As befits a worldly bachelor, the posh pad sports 15-foot ceilings, three bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a floating staircase, a private terrace with a plunge pool, and a screening room.

New adaptive reuse apartments are growing at a faster rate than new construction apartments, jumping 25 percent over the past two years, compared to a 10 percent increase in new construction apartments.

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A closing disclosure is a form outlining the terms and costs of your mortgage—and one of the most important pieces of paperwork to check before you close on a home.

Lenders must provide borrowers with a closing disclosure (also called a CD) at least three business days before closing—that day when all the remaining paperwork is signed and you get the keys to your new home. You can also see the CD as the official follow-up to a more preliminary document you received when you first applied for your loan called the loan estimate, or LE (also known as a good-faith estimate).

The LE outlined the approximate fees you would be expected to pay if you move forward with a lender to close on a home. But your closing disclosure is the real deal, which is all the more reason to scrutinize it carefully.

Closing disclosure vs. settlement statement?

Before Aug. 1, 2015, the CD was known by another name: the HUD-1 settlement statement. Yet this document was long and confusing, and required by federal law to be distributed to home buyers only on the day of closing—which didn’t give them much time to address any issues. This is why the settlement statement was replaced by the much more streamlined five-page closing disclosure, and laws were changed so that lenders are required to provide this document at least three business days before closing.

Photo courtesy of Havlicek Builders Inc. via Houzz

There’s a myriad of home trends coming and going these days—from the tiny-house movement to maximalist-style new construction.

And it can feel nearly impossible to keep up as a buyer. How can you determine when a home is a good long-term investment that will be desirable to future buyers, versus a decision you’ll come to regret?

The good news is that the ups and downs of trends don’t really matter when it comes to how well your home retains value. As for what does matter, we asked the experts what figures into a home standing the test of time vs. a home that will likely lose value. Here’s what they had to say.

1. Architectural prowess

Forget about the color of the front door, and hear this instead. Palm Beach, FL, real estate agent Baron Christopher Hanson says one of the top determining factors for value-retaining homes lies in how thoughtfully they were built.

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French country style is all about wrought iron, exposed beams, painted furniture, and other decorating designs rooted right where you’d expect—in the French countryside, specifically Provence.

While this style has existed for centuries in France, it took off in the United States in the mid-20th century, thanks to two influencers: the French company Pierre Deux, and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

“Mrs. Kennedy decorated the White House with both fine French and country French pieces, and Pierre Deux made fabrics and furniture for the masses,” explains Joni Webb, an interior designer and Francophile blogger at Cote de Texas.

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Doom and gloom might be dominating real estate headlines these days, and many would-be homebuyers are feeling hopeless about their chances of getting a good deal in the wake of mortgage rate hikes, low housing inventory, and elevated home prices.

There’s no denying that the cost of buying a house has risen, but if you dig into the data, you’ll find that many homebuyers might actually be in the driver’s seat right now.

In October, home prices continued to drop from the record-high prices we saw in the summer, according to a recent report from Realtor.com®. Plus, the number of houses on the market is up nationally 33.5% year over year, according to our data. Houses are lingering on the market, too, for 51 days on average—which is 6 more days than last year. That shift means that sellers are more likely to price homes competitively.

Simply put, all of this adds up to a power shift in real estate. A year ago, sellers were calling all the shots and buyers were launching legendary bidding wars, waiving contingencies, and paying for homes in cash. But now, the shoe is on the other foot, and 92% of home sellers are accepting some buyer-friendly terms (frequently related to home inspections, financing, or appraisals), according to a Realtor.com survey.

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Find out how this Miami agent brings his global perspective, strong client focus and consistent follow-up to the practice of real estate.

Whether it's budgeting, taxes or managing expenses, real estate agents need to pay close attention to money matters. Chris Heller outlines the five financial factors you may be overlooking.

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Understanding the development of housing styles, including kitchens and baths, is an advantage for today's real estate agent. Gerard Splendore offers a look at the innovations and design detail of 1940s homes.

Homeownership plays an outsized role in wealth building, but a lack of affordable housing is keeping it out of reach for too many Americans. EXIT Realty CEO Tami Bonnell writes that it makes good professional sense for Realtors to prioritize affordability as an area of concern.

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One of the first things home shoppers learn is that the price they see on real estate listings is nearly always negotiable. And that same flexibility exists when buying a newly built home, too, in the form of builder incentives.

Builder incentives are promotions offered by developers that, much like a coupon, cut the cost of purchasing property in that community. Incentives are increasingly common today to entice cash-strapped buyers to make an offer, yet these discounts aren’t always as simple as a straight price cut.

Here’s a guide to help homebuyers understand the various types of incentives, when and why they’re offered, and how to make the most of these deals today.

What are builder incentives, and when are they offered?

Many builder incentives are widely advertised on splashy billboards and online to capture the attention of buyers and reel them in. Examples might range from “For a limited time, get $5,000 in designer upgrades!” to “Purchase before X date, and we’ll pay all of your closing costs.”

The real estate brokerage and tech platform is accelerating cost-cutting after posting a $6 million, third-quarter loss, with revenue up 10.2 percent to $111.3 million and agent count up 33 percent, to 9,991.

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Halloween has come and gone, but the ghosts are sticking around at one historic Florida home.

On the market for $899,000, the Birger S. Axelson House in Pensacola dates to 1897 and is home to at least one friendly ghost.

“It’s not a scary ghost at all,” says listing agent Kathy Tanner, with Tanner Realty. “This family is known to have one or two.”

Even the agent wasn’t immune to paranormal activity. Tanner says she’s felt a tap and a tug on her scarf while she was talking about the ghosts to someone in the house.