Real Estate News: Real Estate Investing Podcast

Climate change and the need to prepare for more ferocious natural disasters has divided the country. There’s no end to the partisan bickering in Washington D.C. over what does or doesn’t need to be done. But there is something big happening outside the walls of Congress that will help save lives and property if and when those devastating events take place.

The Treasury Department released a second set of guidelines for Opportunity Zones that should clear up unanswered questions. There’s been of strong interest in the tax break program, but many Investors have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for details. Tax experts are still pouring through the new 169-page document, but according to some media reports, investors are getting much of what they wanted on their wish list.

A new survey shows that many homeowners are not prepared to make an insurance claim after they’ve experienced a natural disaster because they don’t have a home inventory list. The survey by Farmers Insurance shows that 44% of U.S. residents have never done an inventory of their possessions even though 70% of Americans have experienced damage from a natural disaster.

We’ve seen plenty of headlines about people getting conned out of their money by a phony real estate deal or Ponzi scheme. And sometimes the accused is a well-respected expert who you’d never suspect of any wrongdoing, like former Wall Street financier Bernie Madoff who’s serving a federal prison sentence for the largest Ponzi scheme in world history. In a more recent case, media finance guru Jordan Goodman surprised everyone, including us, for his role in the $1.2 billion dollar Woodbridge Ponzi sche

In this week's Real Estate News in Brief... who’s paying more in property taxes, a warning about a fake bank, and a court ruling for the homeless.

Zillow’s Zestimate is now competing with another new price-setting strategy that is giving sellers a more “real world” sales price. This new strategy involves iBuyers and what they would pay for a home. Sellers request an instant offer and can use that as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with a listing agent, challenging them to sell the home for a higher price. Or, they may decide to go with the iBuyer.

The Opportunity Zone program is already working its magic on run-down neighborhoods that need help from real estate investors. A new report from Zillow shows that property prices in many of these neighborhoods have already surged 20 to 25%. That’s good news for these communities and for investors putting their money into Opportunity Zone projects.

In this week's Real Estate News in Brief... we’ll learn about the early April advantage for home sellers, a new normal for median home prices, and why you should do a little “death cleaning” during your time on this planet.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is going after Facebook for alleged housing discrimination. HUD filed a lawsuit saying that Facebook’s advertising platform is violating fair housing laws because it allows real estate clients to micro-target certain groups of people, and exclude others. The lawsuit is surprising for a couple of reasons, including that fact that Facebook has been working with HUD to address these issues, and has already taken significant steps to prevent further violations.

We’ve seen headlines about climate change and the threat of rising sea levels for homes along the coast, but what about businesses and homes in the mountains that depend on snow? A new study shows a dramatic decrease of snow in the western states since 1980 and a corresponding decrease in the length of the average ski season. Real estate experts say this could have a big impact on the value of ski resorts and snow homes.

In this week's Real Estate News in Brief… new evidence of an economic slowdown, a huge drop in mortgage rates and homebuyer optimism despite recession warnings.

The iBuyer marketplace is heating up. Home sellers seeking cash offers from instant buyers like Offerpad and Opendoor, can now compare offers from several iBuyers with new comparison tools. The iBuyer field is expanding so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up but these new tools could help sellers organize available offers and find the best prices.

President Trump is calling for a major overhaul of the nation’s housing finance system. Central to that plan is the release of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control. They were placed into conservatorship to prevent their failures during the 2008 financial crisis. A memorandum signed by the President says: “It’s time for the United States to reform its housing finance system to reduce taxpayer risks, expand the private sector’s role, modernize housing programs, and..."

Traditional door keys are becoming less common. Homeowners and landlords are adopting smart lock technology at lightning speed. But there are privacy concerns when it comes to installing them in shared homes and apartment buildings. Several New York City tenants filed a lawsuit late last year demanding the use of a traditional key. They are now getting the help of a local lawmaker who introduced legislation that will force landlords to do so.

In this week's Real Estate News in Brief… we hear from the Fed on rate hikes, the spring home buying season gets an early start, and a new warning about the next recession.