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You’ve done your research, saved up for a down payment, and found a Realtor® you adore. Now comes the next step: Find your dream house already!

This is the really fun part, although it does come with its own unique challenges. Even if you love the entire process of house hunting, the options can be overwhelming. Ranch or Colonial?  Suburb or city? Small apartment or palatial townhouse? Built-in 40-foot waterslide or stand-alone 40-foot waterslide? It’s hard not to feel like you’re drowning in the possibilities.

To help winnow the myriad options to find the perfect place for you, heed these tips—and happy searching!

Have a long chat with your agent

Here’s the simple truth: Only you will ultimately know which home is just right for you. However, a savvy agent will have a better handle on the market.

This week, hosts Byron Lazine and Nicole White are talking about the luxury market, seller's biggest regrets and the importance of technology for agents this year.

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Sold! He had to slash the asking price to make it happen, but Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (aka Lil Wayne) finally unloaded his tropical spread in Miami Beach, FL, for $22.58 million.

The palatial property was initially listed last September for $29.5 million. The ask dropped to $28 million in December 2022.

Even with the price reduction, the Grammy-winning rapper turned an impressive profit on the deal. He scooped up the swanky spot in 2018 for $16.75 million.

Perched along 110 feet of waterfront on Allison Island, the 10,278-square-foot home was designed by Choeff Levy Fischman, the architecture firm that also designed a house for baseball icon Alex Rodriguez.

A two-bedroom cabin in Guerneville, a midcentury-modern retreat in Palm Springs and a Craftsman bungalow in Oakland.

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Many homebuyers are drawn to the idea of purchasing new construction over an existing home. There’s something undeniably appealing about owning a pristine, never-been-lived-in dwelling where you can bank on being the first one to use the shower.

But new construction is known for costing more than existing homes, especially if you’re opting for a custom build. In January, the National Association of Realtors® reported the median sales price of existing homes was $359,000, while new homes averaged $427,500, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

So what’s a buyer to do if they dream of owning a newly built yet comparatively affordable house? Enter: the tract home.

Tract housing is a type of residential development, featuring similar homes built on single parcels of land. Also known as planned communities, these developments typically crop up in the suburbs and can feature anywhere from a few dozen houses to thousands of homes in the community.

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We’ll get right down to it: Shopping for a home is fun. But once you find the home that makes you swoon, things start to get real—real fast.

Think of making an offer on a home as setting the roller coaster in motion: You might have sharp drops in emotion and slow, trudging climbs to success, but the ride won’t end until the car slows down and the safety bar is lifted. (OK, this metaphor is now officially over.)

But to begin the process, you need to know how to make the right offer, an offer that will end with your receiving the keys to your new house. So check out some of these agent-approved negotiation tactics to make the offer process a whole lot less bumpy.

Pick the right price

Just because a home is listed for $400,000, it doesn’t mean the home is actually worth that much.

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Unless you’re one of the few lucky home buyers with cash to spare, you’re going to need a mortgage.

Out of the entire home buying process, getting a mortgage is perhaps the most intimidating and seemingly daunting step. You’re convincing a lender to hand you hundreds of thousands of dollars. How do you pull it off? And what strings are attached?

Here are the questions to ask yourself—and the answers you need—to help you ace this all-important step.

Should you work with a bank or a broker?

The majority of home buyers get their mortgage directly from a bank—often the institution where they have their primary savings. But that’s hardly your only, or best, option. Shopping around with different lenders may land you a better deal (typically in the form of a lower interest rate).

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Open house etiquette is all about common sense.

Here are a few no-brainers that every potential buyer should know: Don’t park on the lawn, take off your shoes when you go inside (or put on booties, if they’re offered), and never peek inside the medicine cabinet.

Easy rules to follow, right? Not for some would-be homebuyers.

You won’t believe some of the cringe behavior real estate agents have witnessed at open houses in today’s high-stress market. Here’s the stuff that made their eyes roll—and the critical reason why you should be on your best behavior.

A student got a design degree in Los Angeles, but Covid derailed his plans for a fashion career. A job interview and a housing voucher finally turned things around.

Leaders and agents who took Inman's first Intel leadership survey said inventory is among their biggest challenges right now — but growing in 2023 isn't out of the question.

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How can you write the most effective call to action, the one that will convert more lookers into leads? Author and coach Darryl Davis offers 10 tips for writing CTAs that’ll get consumers to take action.

Is automating responses the best tactic in an industry that typically requires a deep level of personalization? In this episode, we will take a deeper dive into the benefits of these tools for entrepreneurs and the pitfalls of relying too heavily on technology.

There are multiple paths agents pursue to grow their business, with no shortage of online resources available. Agents can also get training from their brokerages and insights from colleagues. No development opportunity should be ignored when growing a business.

Our successful owners routinely gather to share winning business strategies, discuss joint business ventures, and help make each other even stronger, displaying an unbeatable combination of know-how and camaraderie.

Luxury buyers place a high value on acquiring the world’s most iconic brands, so it’s only natural they would appreciate an acclaimed name when making their next great real estate purchase.

Delivery culture has changed with the pandemic and the proliferation of online services. Some buildings are hesitant to go back to the old days.

The Federal Trade Commission alleges the deal would put an end to intense competition between the companies and drive up costs for lenders and homebuyers.

Realtor.com

Buyers can now leap at the chance to own a horse farm in Portsmouth, RI, with ties to the storied Vanderbilt family. This historic property is available for $5.83 million.

When construction commenced in 1860, Sandy Point Farm was a part of the original 280-acre, waterfront Vanderbilt estate. The property was designed by architect A.S. Walker. A multidecade project, the stables were completed in 1902. At its peak, it was considered one of the most prestigious horse farms in America.

“The property has been such an iconic part of Portsmouth and American equestrian history for over a century now,” says listing agent Kylie McCollough, of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty.

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