Blog by Paul Cantor

It’s all over but the shouting. You found the house, cut the deal with the help of a qualified real estate professional, and now you’re counting down the days to the move. You might feel as if this is when everything goes on autopilot as you pack boxes and deal with the enormous to-do list before yo...

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the front door is the gateway to the soul of your home. Aside from providing security, is it a statement? Does it provide need light in an otherwise dark entry area? Is it weathered and tired, or does it welcome guests?   If you are considering selli...

When an airline executive throws around terms like “revenue per passenger mile” it sounds impressive to us lay people, who picture every air mile having the same dollar sign attached to it. But when a real estate consultant bandies the term “cost per square foot” to discuss a home’s value, it should...

You know the drill when you sell a car. Research it on Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds to see what your car’s year, make, model condition and mileage might get price-wise. Get the shopping cart dents popped out and spiff up the exterior and interior, take some tasteful pictures of it, and offer a detail...

Trade-related news dominated investor sentiment during the week.  Last Monday, news of a bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and Mexico propelled several stock indexes to new all-time highs including the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 indices.  With stocks making new highs, bond p...

The stock market recorded moderate gains with the S&P 500 notching another all-time record high on Friday, the first time since January 26 ^th of this year.  Bonds also fared well with U.S. Treasury yields decreasing modestly during the week.  President Trump’s publicly pronounced unha...

The stock market turned in a “mixed” performance while mortgage bonds and treasuries traded essentially flat on the week.  Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were able to advance while the technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index posted a modest loss.  Equity markets were...

http://player.cnbc.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&byGuid=7000036291&size=530_298Is the monthly payment more important than the total price of a home? from CNBC.

For many who enjoy semi-maintenance-free living and prefer living closer to city centers, (apart from having fewer windows) townhome-living feels no different than living a single family home. From the outside, however, one thing is very obvious: one or more shared walls.   This begs the quest...

Another wave of trade disputes ignited by a somewhat unusual situation unsettled the stock and currency markets late in the week.  In a dispute with Turkey over that country’s jailing of an American pastor, President Trump announced the U.S. would be doubling its tariffs on steel and aluminum i...

Is there ever a question you CAN’T ask a Realtor? Never. When it’s your future and your money at stake, you owe it to yourself to pose any questions that eat at your gut, so ask away. With the help of ImagineYourHouse.com's Lynna Pineda, we’ll answer a few common ones for you, but we think you’ll ge...

The National Association of Realtors reported gains in home prices holding steady in May, while a lack of inventory helped prevent an uptick in growth.   According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, average home prices in major metropolitan areas rose 6.4% in May,...

Trivia question of the day: what was the microwave oven originally called when it was introduced in the 1960s? Answer: the “Radarange.” It wasn’t until the ‘70s, however, that Sharp introduced low-cost microwave ovens for residential use.   When homeowners began buying countertop microwaves in ...

The stock market posted modest gains this past week, as did mortgage bonds, while the 10-year Treasury yield pulled back on Thursday and Friday after hitting the 3% mark intraday on Wednesday.  This resulted in relatively stable equity, bond, and mortgage markets for the week.   There were...

So you’ve found the house of your dreams, made an offer, and finally, both you and the seller have agreed on a price. This is when your agent has you sign the sales contract, and you pop the bubbly, right? Perhaps you shouldn’t pop that cork so fast. You may have more negotiating to do.   Unles...

Mortgage bond prices slipped lower and the 10-year Treasury yield moved modestly higher this past week while the major stock market indices put in a mixed performance.  While the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 saw some decent gains, the technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index ...

Those of us who live in places where we believe flooding, hurricanes, fires or tornadoes seem unlikely to occur, watch our TV screens, horrified over the devastation elsewhere in the country. We can’t imagine experiencing something like that first hand, seeing our homes destroyed or living in tempor...

As in any industry, the real estate industry has its fair share of stereotypes and myths, but a new report from the  National Association of Realtors just debunked some of those myths. http://content.jwplatform.com/players/weu1juy9-5xQXXB63.html Read full article from Housingwire.

A recent 2018 Bank of the West study dealing with the buying habits of millennials indicates the equity-shy demographic is now turning to real estate as the cornerstone of their investment portfolio. Homeownership is emerging as the most popular ingredient of their American Dream (56%), followed by...