News / Features

Amazon Echo introduces Agent Neo, real estate matchmaking app

On top of playing your favorite music and giving you weather reports, Amazon’s Alexa is adding a new skill to her vast voice-activated repertoire — helping users buy and sell homes. Agent Neo, a new real estate app on

FHA to stop insuring mortgages with PACE loans

In a move the housing industry deems a victory, the U.S. Federal Housing Administration will no longer insure mortgages on homes that also carry liens by the Property Assessed Clean Energy program, PACE. When the Obama administration decided to

NAR seeks to impact tax reform

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a letter Tuesday asking Congress to make three critical changes to the tax reform bill. NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall calls upon Congressional leaders to “retain current law on the capital gains exclusion for the

Report shines light on Seaport’s diversity problem

Despite saying it offers a chance for residents and visitors to connect with the city’s waterfront, Seaport completely ignores Boston’s black population, The Boston Globe revealed in a new report on race in the city. Seaport, which sprawls on

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Pending home sales and prices continue upward trajectory in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts real estate market isn’t falling victim to the annual slowdown typically experienced in the fall and winter, with a new report showing that both pending home sales and home prices increased in November. The number of pending

Minority homeownership lags in the United States

While homeownership continues to be a key part of the American Dream, minorities in the United States lag behind the rest of the country in homeownership rates. According to a new report from ABODO Apartments, a national apartment listing

Compass gains $450 million in real estate tech investment

Real estate tech company Compass announced it received a $450 million investment from Japanese company SoftBank Vision Fund on Dec. 7. This investment stands as the largest real estate technology investment in U.S. history and brings the total capital

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Gov. Charlie Baker joins push for more suburban Boston housing

The state of Massachusetts will award $10 million a year in grants and incentives in an effort to encourage cities and towns to permit more development, The Boston Globe reported. Governor Charlie Baker was expected to formally announce the

Fannie Mae: Housing sentiment nears all-time high in November

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) grew to 87.8 in November, a 2.6 point increase from October, nearing September’s all-time high and marking a year-over-year increase of 6.6 points. Four of the six HPSI components increased. The

Short-term extension approved for National Flood Insurance Program

Congress approved a short-term extension for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which was included in a temporary federal government funding deal made Thursday. The extension ensures the program will operate as normal through Dec. 22. Its future, though, remains

This Week in Boston Real Estate: More Amazon prep, million-dollar homes and more

With Amazon’s pick of its second headquarters — HQ2 — looming sometime in 2018, cities are continuing to position themselves in case they’re the chosen one. In Boston, which some say is a surefire finalist, several sites were pitched

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Top five home perks buyers will not give up

With home prices skyrocketing and inventory in high demand, it’s not surprising that homebuyers have started sacrificing some of their most desired amenities in the name of finding an affordable home. In the current market, buyers are willing to

Fannie Mae: Gig economy workers hope to buy houses, but not in near future

We see evidence of it everywhere — big pink mustaches on car dashboards, round black “U” stickers slapped on the back of car windows and friends allowing out-of-towners to rent rooms in their homes for a modest price. The

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Forecast: 2018 market to favor buyers, with Boston inventory increasing

Inventory, the Achilles’ heel of the 2017 housing market, is expected to loosen up in 2018, providing relief for buyers who were edged out of the market this year, according to the realtor.com 2018 Housing Forecast. The report expects

First-time buyers see best market quarter in nearly two decades

First-time homebuyers have an easier entry into the market as the year winds down because of a market sector that is having best quarter since 2000 — despite low housing inventory — largely due to historically low mortgage rates,

Experts: Home prices will continue to increase in 2018

Zillow recently released its Q4 Home Price Expectations Survey, which polled 100 housing experts, market strategists and economists on what they think the housing market will look like in 2018, and their expectations were less than optimistic. The study was

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