JOINT CENTER FOR HOUSING STUDIES OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY - 2019
Harvard released its comprehensive study on housing trends and the current state of housing.  The report begins with the Executive Summary:
With new construction still slow to recover from historic lows, almost 80 percent of the nation’s 137 million homes are now at least 20 years old and 40 percent are at least 50 years old. The aging of the US housing stock has been a boon to the home improvement industry, helping to lift the remodeling market to nearly $425 billion in 2017, according to the latest estimates from the Joint Center for Housing Studies. 
Indeed, in the years since the Great Recession, spending on improvements and routine maintenance to both owner-occupied and rental properties has not only increased the value of the existing stock but also contributed a dominant share of residential investment. In addition, the tens of millions of projects undertaken annually—from roof and window replacements to major kitcheny ...

Top 15 Home Features That Will Sell Your Home Fast—and for More Cash
Lance Lambert | Mar 19, 2019 |  Realtor.com
It's one of the (many) high-stakes gambles of homeownership: that awesome new feature or design improvement you've been wishin' and hopin' (and of course savin') for might ultimately hurt, not help, your place's resale value. After all, times and tastes change, and eventually most homeowners will become home sellers. So how do you know that today's sleek, new quartz countertop won't become tomorrow's eye-scorching popcorn ceiling on the open market?
Relax, we're here to help you suss it out. Realtor.com®’s data team searched to find the home features that can help folks sell their home the fastest—and for the best price. We narrowed our list to the items found in homes with the highest list prices that went under contract the fastest. It's a high-value sweet spot.
There's plenty on the line here. Homeowners spent more on upgrading their homes in 2017 than in any year since . ...

7 Unwritten Etiquette Rules Every Home Buyer Should Know
You like being under a microscope? Whatever your answer to that question may be, you'd better get used to being scrutinized when you're trying to buy a home. Your behavior can sway sellers to bestow their precious home on you—or pass you up for someone nicer or way less annoying.
Naturally, realtor.com® is here to help! Just be sure to follow these heretofore unwritten rules of house-buying etiquette to stay in the good graces of all involved.
Get pre-approved for a home loan
Getting pre-approved and knowing exactly how much house you can afford before shopping for a home is key to winning over sellers, real estate agents agree.
“It is simply misleading to look at a home you don't know you qualify for," says Cara Ameer, a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker. Yes, this is an etiquette issue. “Remember that the seller and agent(s) took time to prepare for the showing. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if someone was lookingm ...

8 Unwritten Etiquette Rules Every Home Seller Should Know
If you're trying to sell your home, you've probably scrutinized it, staged it, and scrubbed it down from floorboards to rooftop as if the folks from Architectural Digest were stopping by for a cover shoot. OK, so it's in immaculate shape—but your home isn't the only thing under scrutiny here. You are, too! That's right: No matter how nice your home is, your behavior can also affect how buyers feel about making an offer.
Last week we told you the secret etiquette rules that every home buyer needs to know in order to nail the deal. Today we're focusing on the selling side of the equation. Here are the (previously) unwritten etiquette rules sellers should follow to show their home—and themselves—in the best possible light.



Leave
Sure, you're dying to know if prospective buyers will love what you've done with the kitchen, but Realtors® agree sellers should not be there lurking in the shadows during an open house or showing.



“Bm ...

5 Big Reasons to Sell Your Home This Year
(Because It Could Get Tougher)
Rachel Stults | Feb 20, 2019 | Realtor.com
It's no secret that life's been pretty good to sellers for the past several years. Even if you had no need—or desire—to move, the housing landscape might have seriously tempted you to put your house on the market anyway. After all, it's hard not to see visions of dollar signs when your neighbors are unloading their homes for tens of thousands over asking price.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end. And you've probably heard that the white-hot housing market of years past is finally beginning to cool.
So if you haven't listed your home before now, did you miss the boat? Absolutely not. But with each passing month, the experts say, you can expect the housing climate to shift a bit more in buyers' favor.
"It’s definitely still a seller’s market in most of the country. But it’s not the same seller’s market that you saw in the last couple of years," says Daniele ...