In a recent survey by realtor.com, people thinking about selling their homes indicated they’re generally willing to allow their agent and some potential buyers inside if done under the right conditions. They’re less comfortable, however, hosting an open house. This is understandable, given the health concerns associated with social contact these days. The question is, if you need to sell your house now, what virtual practices should you use to make sure you, your family, and potential buyers stay safe in the process?

In today’s rapidly changing market, it’s more important than ever to make sure you have a digital game plan and an effective online marketing strategy when selling your house. One of the ways your agent can help with this is to make sure your listing photos and virtual tours stand out from the crowd, truly giving buyers a detailed and thorough view of your home.

So, if you’re ready to move forward, virtual practices may ...

Although the title of her article was “What Will You Do with Your Investment Property?” blogger Lynn Pineda’s piece came down to a dissection of a simpler binary choice. It took on the Cypress real estate investor’s elemental decision: flip or rent? And rather than concentrating on the run-of-the-mill financial analysis you’d expect, it smartly recognized the other dimension, in real estate investing, that should enter into that choice: the investor’s personality.
Most investors who buy Cypress homes do so with a strategy already in place. The purchase is usually propelled by the value proposition the property represents: a potential for profit that’s evident from the start. The attractive arithmetic may have been based on a fix-and-flip analysis, or on a traditional rental analysis. Especially for first-time investors, the ultimate success of the endeavor (and probably whether it becomes the first of many to follow) willh ...

On Thursday, USA Today published a view of what many of this spring’s first-timers have encountered when buying a home.  Our own Cypress area trends don’t precisely match those tapped by their research—but the themes cited in the national press are familiar here, too.

Although the headline emphasized the difficulties those buying a home for the first time may encounter (“3 Challenges Facing First-Time Homebuyers This Spring”), elsewhere in the piece, some bright spots were acknowledged. For Cypress area readers inclined toward a ‘glass-half-full’ point of view, they tend to balance out the familiar challenges.

Bright Spots:


According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, affordability has advanced with the easing of 30-year fixed mortgages to a national average of 4.42%.



Inventory “has loosened up slightly.” This is a relative finding since the U.S. still lags in properties for sale (aty ...

If Hollywood action-adventure movie writers have figured anything out, it’s that after the bad guy has been defeated and the hero and heroine are relaxing, ANOTHER bad guy should suddenly appear to pose an unexpected post-finale even nastier threat! By now, audiences have learned to expect this (but if the filmmakers are clever enough, we can still be taken by surprise). Selling your home may not seem analogous to an action movie, but there can be some parallels—particularly at the last minute, when the sale seems in the bag and you’re all but packed up and outta there.
The danger here comes in the form of communications from the buyer. No matter how amicable the buyer and buyer’s agent may have been in the course of negotiations, as the deal nears completion, there is always the possibility that an unexpected sticking point might crop up. There are many possible reasons that this happens.
For one, the act of moving is recognized as one of life’s may ...

The uncertainty the world faces today due to the COVID-19 pandemic is causing so many things to change. The way we interact, the way we do business, even the way we buy and sell real estate is changing. This is a moment in time that’s even sparking some buyers to search for a better deal on a home. Sellers, however, aren’t offering a discount these days; they’re holding steady on price.
According to the most recent NAR Flash Survey (a survey of real estate agents from across the country), agents were asked the following two questions:
1. “Have any of your sellers recently reduced their price to attract buyers?”
Their answer: 72% said their sellers have not lowered prices to attract buyers during this health crisis. 
2. “Are home buyers expecting lower prices now?”
Their answer: 63% of agents said their buyers were looking for a price reduction of at least 5%.
What We Do Know  
In today’s mar ...