Technology executives Josh Jensen, Shawna Hernandez and Adam Hopson, who focus on automating different parts of the real estate transaction, took to the stage at Inman Connect Las Vegas.

Douglas Elliman's revenue declined in Q2 as the housing market — particularly the luxury sector — struggled with slower activity, the company said in its third earnings report as a public company.

Net loss decreased 31 percent year over year as office occupancy returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a Q2 earnings report released Thursday by WeWork.

Congratulations on moving into your newly built home and I hope you enjoy many happy years living there. Everything is sparkling clean from the floors, to the walls, to the ceilings, and the brand-new appliances. However, enjoying life there brings wear-and-tear and that requires maintenance to keep everything in the most attractive shape and to prevent small problems from becoming big headaches. One of the most basic steps to keeping your home looking and functioning great is keeping it clean. Dust and dirt not only look bad, these damage surfaces and finishes. To keep everything sparkling, frequently clean countertops, floors, sinks, tubs, toilets, tiles, cabinets, and other parts of your home.

In time, you want to build a robust maintenance routine based on the following.

1. Follow your builder’s recommendations. The first walkthrough of your newly completed home should be with the construction manager. Be sure to pay close attention and take notes. Not only might this be your only face-to-face opportunity to point out anything you aren’t satisfied with, but also he/she will show you where to find hidden but important controls like the electrical box and main water shutoff. The construction manager will also explain how everything works and what recommended maintenance is needed. Some of this maintenance, such as for the exterior siding, is probably not in the appliance and systems owner’s manuals.

2. Read your owner’s manuals. Grab a highlighter and approach this with the same gusto as you would binge-watch Netflix. It won’t be as entertaining, but it will pay big financial rewards for years to come. Fill out and send in any warranty documents. Keep the owner’s manuals and copies of the warranties in a secure place so you can find them later. Equipment such as garage doors might need minor adjustments after your new home settles for several months. Periodic oiling may be needed and equipment like furnaces and water systems need filters changed on a regular schedule. Besides highlighting essential information in the manuals, this is the right time to begin creating a seasonal and annual checklist of tasks to be done. Your checklist can reference back to pages in the manuals for detailed instructions.

3. Train kids and pets (and your spouse if needed). Beyond keeping a clean house, one of the most effective ways of keeping your home looking new is by encouraging habits that avoid scratches, stains, chips, and burns on cosmetic surfaces. How you do this is up to you, but it might mean no food on the living room white carpet and always putting the dog out the first thing in the morning.

Looking for a quick catch-up on the buzziest stories of the past seven days? Here's Inman Top 5, the most essential stories of the week, according to Inman readers.

Scott Wright of Real Trends Consulting told an audience at Inman Connect Las Vegas on Thursday that acquiring a brokerage is a lot like recruiting agents.

Despite new COVID variants posing an ever-present threat and an uncertain global economy, traveler deposits for Vrbo bookings hit $2.8 billion as of June 30, up from $1.7 billion at the end of 2021.

Purchasing homes to renovate and flip is a common real estate investment strategy. So, too, is home buyers purchasing an inexpensive property that needs some rehab or customization, or even a mortgage refinance when your existing property needs renovations. However, just because you have the desire to purchase a home and then renovate it does not mean you might have the cash resources to do so. This is, of course, where mortgages come into play, as many investors and buyers will finance a property purchase.

Banks will only offer a certain amount of lending to borrowers based on a specific formula known as loan to value (LTV). If the LTV of a property isn’t within acceptable parameters, a bank is unlikely to offer mortgages to prospective borrowers, as anything over 80 percent is considered a poor risk. However, there’s another ratio that comes into play when talking about purchasers seeking mortgages for homes they want to renovate. This ratio, which is called “after repair value”, is related but has some important differences. Here’s what you should know.

What is “Loan to Value After Repair Value”?

As mentioned above, the LTV is a ratio that lenders use to determine the balance between the amount of money being lent to the overall value of a property. Meanwhile, an after-repair value, or ARV, is the estimated value the same property after renovations have been completed. This differs from LTV as ARV is not calculated using the current condition of the property. 

ARV is commonly used by real estate investors who plan on flipping a home as a way to gauge the worth of the property they plan on rehabbing. There are a couple of factors that go into calculating that worth, which include the purchase price of the property, the cost of repairs, and then the price it can be resold for after those repairs, whatever they may be, have been finished.

How to Calculate “Loan to Value After Repair Value”

Calculating an ARV is slightly more complicated than calculating an LTV. For example, the loan to value ratio for a property is the value of the mortgage being sought divided by the total cost of the house, as expressed by a percentage. An example would be how buying a home that’s valued at $100,000 with a $20,000 down payment would require an $80,000 mortgage with an LTV of 80 percent.

At CEO Connect on Thursday, Knock CEO Sean Black and eXp Realty CEO Jason Gesing said technology and innovative business methods can help brokers manage the new market.

In addition to shedding workers, the parent company of the nation's biggest lender trimmed marketing, production and other vendor-related costs to beat cost-cutting goal, according to an earnings report Thursday.

The Ridgefield home of songwriter Jim Steinman, who died last year, is going on the market with all of his personal belongings still inside.

DO Audio Tours is an audio marketing solution that lets agents record narration over visual listing content.

Jim Steinman spent years transforming his Connecticut house into a kind of rock ‘n’ roll museum. Now his friends are trying to sell it — with his belongings intact.

The co-founder of Privateer Space is on a mission. ''Much in the way that we have explored land and polluted the land, the ocean, the air, we're doing with space," he said at Inman Connect.

The iBuying giant dramatically boosted home sales during the second quarter of 2022, generating $4.2 billion in revenue, but ended up back in the red with $54 million in losses.

Keira D'Amato, the American women's record holder in the marathon, spoke at Inman Connect Las Vegas about her journey as a professional runner and third-generation Realtor.

The real estate franchise giant posted higher revenues and expanded profits even as the company downgraded expectations amid a slowing market, according to an earnings report Thursday.

Market headwinds pushed Zillow Q2 revenues down 23 percent to $1 billion. Despite the declines, Zillow is pushing forward with major initiatives including a new partnership with former rival Opendoor.

As technology changes the way people think about homeownership, real estate agents will still be part of the picture say execs of EasyKnock, Flyhomes and Zillow at Inman Connect Las Vegas.

The partnership pairs two of the most polarizing companies in the housing business, and comes less than a year after Zillow began ending its own iBuying efforts.