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With Thanksgiving behind us and much Christmas merriment ahead, one might presume that home shoppers have shelved their house hunt until the new year. But no, the housing market is as hopping as ever—and even full of surprises of late.

“Housing data in the week that includes the Thanksgiving holiday show that the housing market continues to evolve, but not always as expected,” explains Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her weekly analysis.

In our column “How’s the Housing Market This Week?” we’ll break down what’s happening with the latest real estate statistics, and what it means for homebuyers and sellers.

Home price growth ticked up

In November, home prices hovered at a national median of $417,000, down from June’s record high of $449,000. And although home prices have been growing by double digits year over year for 48 straight weeks, that growth has been tapering off.

Nine local brokerages will now share real-time anonymized buyer data and habits on the Buyer Graph platform, which enables agents and brokers to make quicker and more accurate pricing decisions.

Realtor.com

A vintage trailer resort—charmingly dubbed Flamingo Springs—in Prairie Grove, AR, is available for $1,890,000. The whimsical property grabbed the web’s attention and topped our list of Most Popular Homes.

In 2016, a young couple moved to the Natural State from California and purchased the 60-acre property for $167,500. The pair—who had previously built movie sets—dreamed of turning the land into an eclectic Palm Springs-inspired RV park. They had hoped to live and raise their family there.

“I helped my clients for a year and a half locate this piece of land,” says Rene Guin-Salazar, of Keller Williams Market Pro Realty, Bentonville. “It was their dream to build this.”

A change of plan

After they obtained the necessary approvals, the couple’s vision for Flamingo Springs began to take shape.

The listings giant predicts a surge of interest in Midwest markets and a new crop of first-time landlords among other items.

HGTV

Jonathan and Drew Scott know that home trends come and go, and the latest “Property Brothers: Forever Home” highlights just how ’80s a house can get.

In the episode “The Next Multigeneration,” the HGTV stars are called to remodel the El Segundo, CA, home that Nina grew up in. Her grandparents lived there; her mother, Chiqui, still lives there; and now, Nina and her husband, Nick, want to move in with their toddler twins. That’s four generations that have lived under the same roof since 1986, and many of the original features remain, dating the house big-time.

Nina, Nick, and Chiqui have given the property brothers a generous budget of $220,000 to redo the kitchen, dining room, family room, and living room. And they all need major work. Here are a few dated features they fix—and some clever tips you might be tempted to try in your own abode.

Do away with dated mirrored walls

HGTV

Good News and Bad News

As usual, how things are going in the real estate market depends a lot on your point of view, and individual goals. One thing that stands out this year is that according to the Wall Street Journal, we’ve had the biggest yearly decline of mortgage applications on record. From a cutthroat spring to dramatic mortgage rate hikes, and the subsequent decline in real estate sales, it’s no wonder there’s been such a dip in activity over the course of the year. In October, metro Denver sales were down by 40% from October of last year! Although, it’s not all doom and gloom. In fact, at the same time this W.S.J. headline came out about the dramatic decline in mortgage applications, mortgage rates went down by half a percentage point in the same week. The reason? News came out that inflation may have finally hit its peak and seems to be on the decline now!

Give your real estate business an immunity boost with marketing advice and strategies from top digital creators at Inman Connect New York Jan. 24-26, 2023.

If you’re serious about growing your business, this plan is for you. Jimmy Burgess goes over seven different activities, with a specific number of repetitions for each activity, that will produce results in any market environment.

Getty Images / Realtor.com

Working up a sweat has been good business for Kevin Plank, founder of the sportswear company Under Armour.

As chairman of the business he founded in 1996, Plank has worked his way up from selling wick-away shirts in his grandmother’s basement to achieving a net worth exceeding $1 billion.

Along the way, the 50-year-old picked up some ritzy real estate in Park City, UT, which he’s now ready to trade to anyone who has $21,500,000.

Majestic in location and massive in scale, this five-bedroom, 6.5-bath mansion offers nearly 6,900 square feet of living space designed for members of the jet set who love to schuss.

This week’s properties are in Bushwick and on Roosevelt Island and the Upper West Side.

This week’s properties are a four-bedroom in Garden City, N.Y., and a five-bedroom in Norwalk, Conn.

Since the start of the pandemic, the average U.S. renter is working six hours more each month to cover housing costs.

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There are two kinds of approaches to decorating for the holidays: Either you start pulling the lights out of storage before summer even turns into fall, or you deck the halls mere days—maybe hours—before Santa Claus arrives.

But regardless of how early you start decorating for Christmas, there’s a good chance you’re tired of looking at the same red and green plaid Christmas tree skirt year after year. (We know, because we are, too.)

There will always be room for those beloved decorations you pull out year after year. But if you’re ready for something new, we’re here to help. We’ve polled designers from coast to coast on the holiday decor trends that are out—and what’s taking their place.

Just make sure that whatever you do, you stay true to yourself.

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As the housing market barrels toward the end of the year and all of its holiday trimmings, potential homebuyers are likely wondering what’s in store for the coming season.

Home shoppers looking for lower asking prices can officially check that off their wish list. November’s median home list price of $417,000 was much more wallet-friendly than June’s record high of $449,000, according to a recent report from Realtor.com®.

Yet the volatile real estate landscape is not quite ready to bring only glad tidings. High mortgage rates—which, as of Wednesday, hover at 6.58% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan—are a stark reminder that many buyers might still struggle on the affordability front.

“Even though prices are down month to month, they’re still up by double digits from a year ago,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist of Realtor.com.  “And with mortgage rates also up, buying a home is more expensive than last year.”

You and your brokerage must always look ahead, stay nimble and anticipate the needs and expectations of tomorrow’s clients.

This week the spotlight shines on Leslie Guiley, managing broker of Side Inc. Arizona. Find out how she got her start and grew her business not just once but twice.

He had his eye on architectural details and rental revenue. She wanted a close-knit community and a space with room for the grand piano that started their relationship. Here’s what they found.

Strong leadership isn’t about never making mistakes, Livian CEO Adam Hergenrother writes. Here are the dos and don'ts that leaders should heed as we head into the new year.

The data does not suggest a steep drop in home prices is imminent, according to the report, but shows that different areas are facing lower and more elevated levels of risk as the U.S. economy remains in an uncertain area.

Realtor.com

A harmonious home built for musicians is on the market in Oberlin, OH. You can scoop it up for $1 million.

The spectacular style of the two-bedroom dwelling was the talk of the town when it was custom-built in 2004 for a married musician couple.

The eye-popping property has again created a buzz now that it has come up for sale.

Highlights include a magnificent open performance area, custom cabinetry from Ferrari, and the natural surroundings.