A slowdown in new leases paired with higher inventory is expected to hike vacancies and put pressure on rents. "The balance of power in the rental market is rapidly shifting to renters."

Photos courtesy of Houzz

Is your kitchen begging for some updates or a full-on makeover? Then you’ll want to be up on the latest design trends and keep the environment in mind, too.

A new survey of 3,600 homeowners by Houzz has found that an overwhelming majority of people planning a kitchen renovation this year (92%) are looking to include eco-friendly features.

Some of the most popular upgrades chosen include energy-saving appliances (61%) and LED lights (65%), as well as more efficient windows (27%) and fixtures that conserve water (34%).

Yet saving the earth is actually more of a side benefit to homeowners’ main goal: saving money.

In Glendale, California, a homebuyer with a median household income for the area can expect to save for 15.1 grueling years, compared to counterparts in Detroit, who will save for just 2.6 years.

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Enhancing the energy efficiency of your home has two big advantages: It’ll make your place more eco-friendly and help you save money. A home with reduced energy usage will naturally have lower bills. Plus, the Inflation Reduction Act offers credits and additional incentives to homeowners eager to go green and able to make energy-saving advancements to their home.

Prioritizing your upgrades should be done based on your own needs and budget, but consider this: Many energy-efficient upgrades can offer you a solid return on investment, or ROI, when it comes time to sell your home. So it makes perfect financial sense to focus on the improvements that will increase the value of your home.

Which eco-friendly updates are most likely to help pad your wallet? Read on.

1. Attic insulation

Most homes lose a significant amount of energy through their roofs, so it is beneficial to get your attic insulated.

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Filling an entire wall with art, museum-style, can seem daunting: What should you display, and where? Look no further than this guide on how to hang a gallery wall, which will walk you through various ways to achieve a gallery wall layout you’ll love.

What is a gallery wall?

Photo by Kimberley Bryan

Done right, a gallery wall tells a story about your life, family, and travels—so take some time to collect and consider your pieces carefully. Not sure you have enough to display? A beautiful gallery wall can be created from clutter—whether you have mismatched paintings, old photos, or a bunch of empty frames, points out Darla DeMorrow of HeartWork Organizing and author of “Organizing Your Home With Sort and Succeed.”

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This may indeed be the case if you’ve found that perfect house, only to have lenders inform you that you don’t qualify for a mortgage.

Enter the co-signer.

What does having a co-signer mean for you as a home buyer, and what are the benefits and risks? Read on!

Why a buyer might need one

That property you’re eyeing may be just out of your price range, or perhaps you have either a poor or no credit history. Even if you know how to scrimp and save to make your monthly mortgage payments, the bank doesn’t know how well you pinch pennies. And being a financial institution, it needs a guarantee that the money it lends a potentially risky borrower will be paid back. And that’s where a co-signer comes in.

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The trick is finding someone trustworthy with a proven track record of success. There are plenty of websites and apps that make it a snap to recruit this much-needed helping hand. But hiring the wrong person to get a job done can turn a seemingly straightforward task into an expensive headache. What can you do to make sure your home project is snafu-free?

Here are the essential things to consider.

Do you need a handyman or a licensed professional?

A handyman is typically a jack-of-all-trades who handles basic projects or repair jobs that don’t require special licensing—think interior painting or assembling flat-packed furniture. However, for projects that involve your home’s major systems, such as plumbing and electrical, it is best to hire a licensed professional.

“Licensed [professionals] have the training, experience, and tools to make code-compliant installations and repairs,” says New York City architect John Mochelle. ”Someone without proper training in those areas can cause far more harm than good.”

The house, designed by a notable modernist architect, needed someone with vision — and the willingness to do a lot of work.

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Many homebuyers today are losing sleep over steeply rising interest rates, which have more or less doubled over the past year and reached their highest level in two decades. Now hovering in the mid-6 % range, these higher rates are adding hundreds, or even thousands, to the monthly housing costs of new buyers.

Yet buyers who feel trapped into paying high interest should know that there is a way to lower that rate with a mortgage rate buy-down.

True to its name, a mortgage rate buy-down is where money is paid upfront to “buy down” the interest rate on the loan for a certain period of time. This, in turn, can reduce the buyer’s monthly mortgage payments—at least temporarily—so the buyer can ease into the housing costs.

Best of all? Buyers don’t pay for buy-downs. Rather, home sellers, builders, and sometimes even lenders front the costs in order to entice cash-strapped buyers to the closing table.

The house in Sonoma County, designed by a notable modernist architect, needed someone with vision — and the willingness to do a lot of work.

Two veteran appraisers and a newcomer have different but compatible approaches to combating discrimination against Black homeowners.

Keller Williams President Marc King told Inman he was confident in the brokerage's path to success in 2023 despite a few bumps on the road to becoming the "Disneyland" of real estate.

Is the future coming at you fast? Tech expert Brandon Doyle reviews technology "breakthroughs" that you don't need to stress over.

Find out how this luxury agent developed his high-flying real estate career without ever losing sight of his passions and interests.

If you want your team to come out of winter ready for the spring market, you need to create a support system that fosters momentum, writes trainer Rachael Hite. Help your team and show them appreciation with tools that capture business, not just empty words of encouragement.

A poll of hundreds of real estate investors found that the vast majority saw business growth in 2022 and plan to continue investing in 2023. Here's what agents need to know.

EXp World Holdings founder Glenn Sanford said the tumultuous housing market was a factor in him stepping back into the role of CEO at eXp Realty, and the firm's sluggish agent count growth.

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If everything really is bigger in the Lone Star State, then this 14,868-square-foot Houston mansion certainly proves the point.

With a hefty $27.5 million asking price, the sprawling four-bedroom masterpiece sits on 9 acres. The home is owned by the founding partner of a private equity firm and is the city’s most expensive property.

Along with fine design and the Texas-sized price, the property’s acreage also sets the place apart.

“One of the most important things about this home is its privacy,” says listing agent Robert S. Frank, of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty—Central Houston Brokerage. “It is located in Piney Point Village, which is one of the most exclusive areas in Houston. There is a wetland wildlife reserve that is part of the property, which is what gives you so much privacy.”

Proptech DropOffer, a company that developed an app to help agents assist buyers in off-market transactions, predicts the number of selling alternatives on the market will result in an increase in non-MLS deals in 2023.

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This crowning touch typically tops lamps, the ends of curtain rods and other furnishings to add a final flourish to your home decor.

“A finial is the cherry on top—it takes a nice lamp and makes it a knockout,” offers Jason Oliver Nixon, co-founder of the design firm Madcap Cottage.

Here’s more about this decorative piece, including its history and where to use it around the house.

Where do finials come from?

The Greeks and Romans first used finials to crown their early structures, but these toppers can also be spotted on the roofs of pagodas across Asia and on onion domes in Russia.