In the past two week’s article, we reviewed the Maryland General Assembly new legislation requiring all condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives to undertake regular ...

In last week’s article, we reviewed the Maryland General Assembly new legislation requiring all condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives to undertake regular reserve studies ...

Consumers can get confused when it comes to dual agency in real estate. The Maryland Real Estate Commission describes dual agency below: The possibility of dual agency arises ...

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), single women comprise the second largest group of homebuyers. As of 2023, single women made up 17 percent of all homebuyers. Contrastingly, ...

Anyone who sells a property in Maryland, but is a “non-resident” of the state of Maryland, must pay a withholding tax. Recently the Maryland Association of Realtors released information on various ...

The National Association of REALTORs reports that real estate wire fraud continues to be one of the most prevalent cybercrimes in the U.S. About 13,638 people were victims of wire fraud in the real estate ...

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) website, www.realtor.org, has information on county median home prices and monthly mortgage payments across the country. NAR applies the House Price ...

The Maryland Department of Housing and The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) administers a State of Maryland tax credit for residents of the state who ...

The COVID-19 pandemic kicked adaptations into overdrive, so the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) recently provided a report called Adopt to Adapt, with insight into ...

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offers a Forest Conservation and Management program and there are approximately 1,300 agreements in effect covering approximately 84,000 ...

The National Association of REALTORS®’ 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report shows that first-time home buyers have dropped to their lowest numbers on record. NAR further ...

2022 was a year in which we saw a shift in the real estate market: increasing mortgage rates, reduction in the volume of sales, but no increase in inventory resulting in prices ...

Back in the beginning of October, Maryland REALTORS® rolled out changes to its statewide forms library, which contains contracts, disclosures and addenda that members of Maryland ...

C-PACE is the acronym for Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy. C-PACE programs provide private financing for commercial property owners to upgrade buildings with energy, resiliency, and environmental ...

The State of Maryland has announced three new Sustainable Communities and one of them is located here on the lower Eastern Shore. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development announced last ...

The National Association of REALTORS®’ conducted the 2022 Appraisal Survey, and the results were published showing forty-seven percent of real estate professionals say they have had a transaction fall ...

Last year, Governor Larry Hogan issued a proclamation that October 30th is Weatherization Day in Maryland. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is marking ...

The talk about town related to real estate right now is mortgage rates are on the rise. To provide some guidance, here’s what industry experts are saying about the present and possible future ...

A recent Zillow report is showing that with sales up and values up during the pandemic real estate boom, more homes are selling for over the $1 million mark. The report also detailed that the typical ...

Every house has a unique architectural style. Sometimes the architecture is a blend of more than one architectural style due to additions. The National Association of Realtors explains that ...

The National Association of Realtors provides a monthly home showings report based off showing information taken from Sentrilock lockboxes, which are used by the majority of real estate agents ...

Appraisals in a sellers’ market can be troublesome, and transactions can fall apart when appraisals come up short—creating an appraisal gap. An appraisal gap is the difference between market ...

In 2022, the Maryland State Legislature convened on January 12th and adjourned on April 11th. Maryland REALTORS® issues a report each year on the Maryland Legislative session ...

Governor Larry Hogan announced at the end of April that more than $200 million in financing tools and new programs will be made available to create new affordable housing opportunities in the ...

The shift in interest rates is in motion. According to Forbes.com, mortgage rates have jumped 1.5 percentage points during the first three months of this year. They further communicated that ...

Solar panels on a home can be a great selling advantage, one that provides very affordable utility bills. This type of technology is called a solar photovoltaic (“PV”) panel system or“Solar ...

In real estate, there are three levels of licensure: Salesperson, Associate Broker and Broker. Licenses are issued bythe Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which is the licensing ...

Homeowner’s insurance is a necessity if your home is mortgaged, and this type of insurance covers the structure of your home and your personal property, as well as your personal legal responsibility (or ...

It’s a hot real estate market right now, but we all remember the real estate “crash era” that began in 2008. That real estate downturn brought about many changes in financing and how loans are approved. ...

With inflation and national average costs of moving on the rise, budgeting in this expense when selling your home is important. Below are some tips for having a smooth move when selling.Try to pick an ...

Worcester County’s Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Program, which was adopted in 1990, accommodates future growth within the Critical Area, while providing for conservation of fish, wildlife and plant habitats, ...

With property reassessments going out last month for much of Worcester County, property owners might be wondering what their options are if they disagree with the values the county assessment office has ...

According to a recent article released by the National Association of Realtors, consumers can expect slower housing price appreciation, easing inflation and rising interest rates in 2022. This statement ...

2021 was another banner year in real estate that ended very strong—here’s an “at a glance” recap of some of the various market stats.The average sales prices varied monthly throughout the year, but September ...

Maryland REALTORS® just released real estate statistics information from the October 2021 housing market analysis. The market continued its monthly trend of a decrease in units sold, down 8,665 in 2021, ...

Condominium associations provide master policy insurance coverage, but a master policy usually covers only the building’s exterior and common areas. To have coverage for what is inside your condo unit, ...

All homebuyersknow they should get a home inspection, but a common misconception is that yourhome inspector will also cover inspecting for termites. While home inspectorsmake a notation in the home inspection ...

Second home mortgage requirements are a bit stricter than first home loans, and a bit stricter than in years past with some new guidelines coming into effect this year. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ...

The National Association of REALTORS®  publishes a monthlyREALTORS® Confidence Index (RCI) survey. The survey gathers on-the-ground information from REALTORS® based on their real estate ...

Most buyers know they need to save for both a down payment and closing cost money. Buyers also need to pay down their debt to be sure their debt-to-income ratios are under the various thresholds for USDA, ...

A home warranty is different from a homeowner insurance policy. Homeowners insurance policies cover things that “might” happen, such as theft, fire, storms/floods. But, home warranty plans cover things ...

There are a few options in our local multiple list system (MLS) for letting the public know about a property for sale. These different statuses can become confusing as they are disseminated across the ...

June, 2021 was proclaimed National Homeownership Month by President Joe Biden. The White House issued a news release statement from President Biden stating, “We also know that people of color continue ...

Last week, we discussed the current sellers’ market and how it is difficult to get offers accepted when facing multiple offer situations. The article last week detailed using appraisal waivers, but additional ...

Buyers are looking for ways to strengthen their offer in this competitive seller’s market. One tactic that carries a lot of weight with sellers is waiving your appraisal contingency. But not every ...

According to the National Association of Realtors®, existing-home sales declined in February, following gains in both January, 2021 and December, 2020. However, all four U.S. regions recorded year-over-year ...

The Worcester County Forest Conservation Law was enacted under the Maryland Forest Conservation Act of 1991, requiring all county governments to adopt local forest conservation programs. The purpose of ...

The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is especially true in selling a home in today’s world, where practically all house shoppers start their search online.  Staging a home properly ...

The year 2020 in real estate ended very strong. Here’s an “at a glance” recap of some of the various market stats.• The average sales prices varied monthly throughout the year, but June had the highest ...

This year has produced noticeable real estate market shifts, and in many cases the surge in real estate demand was fueled by the effects of covid-19.Here on the shore, we saw increases in feeder market ...

In a strong real estate market with lower inventory, we are experiencing numerous multiple offer situations, especially on the lower price point category of homes that first-time homebuyers would be seeking.So ...

With two months left in this bizarre 2020, and the continuation of a very strong sellers market, many buyers are asking what impact continued economic uncertainty could have on home prices and will they ...

Cash may be king in a sellers’ market, but buyers need to understand that the same is not true with financial institutions.So, if you don’t have all of the cash funds readily available already in a banking ...

Information from a recent Sears Home Services survey is showing that the pandemic has prompted homeowners to reevaluate their homes.They surveyed about 1,000 people nationwide on how they feel about their ...

With “for sale” inventory limited in many price points, sellers may be able to ask more for their home.But, sellers need to remember that the home will still need to appraise adequately if the buyer is ...

The National Association of Realtors Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, released a video report that dissects the latest homes sales numbers, talks about what could make the market even stronger, and forecasts ...

When listing a home for sale, sellers should make sure they really “come out of the gate running.”The following are do’s and don’t’s for sellers when listing their house for sale to ensure the least amount ...

With the recent Tropical Storm Isaias impacting our coastal area, the importance of having a plan in place for storm events to protect your property is top of mind.In addition to purchasing flood insurance, ...

Below is the final summary of the 2020 legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly on items that were passed and put into legislation affecting the real estate industry as it relates to both ...

Are you looking to buy a home in Wicomico County? The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, in partnership with Wicomico County, is providing attractive financial incentives to help ...

With low inventory in our market, and a high buyer demand, we are experiencing many multiple-offer situations on properties.It’s important to pay attention to contract details to be sure that verbal agreements ...

The appraisal of a home is an important step in the real estate process, one that can certainly make or break a deal.An appraisal is a valuation of a property done by a professional, licensed individual ...

Demand has been very strong in the Ocean City market over the past month due to both being in our spring market (although somewhat postponed due to covid-19) and historically low interest rates.With some ...

Listing inventory is at record lows both around the country and in our local area, and buyer demand is coming back as the country eases restrictions, so it’s a great time to sell if you have been considering ...

The National Association of Realtors® sent out a press release last week commending the Department of Housing and Urban Development for finalizingnew Federal Housing Administration condominium loan policies. ...

Customary in the state of Maryland is a split of transfer and recordation charges between a buyer and a seller. Section 14-104(b) of the Real PropertyArticle, Annotated Code of Maryland provides that, ...

The local multiple list system is called Bright MLS. Bright tracks how long a listing has been active with the use of Days on Market (DOM) and CumulativeDays on Market (CDOM). The DOM provides a look ...

Residential home prices rose in June compared to the same period of 2017, according to Maryland REALTORS. Average home prices rose by 2.9 percent forthe fifth month in a row, while median prices increased ...

Real Estate Report: Millennials, age 18 to 35, are now the largest group of homebuyers, according to the National Association of Realtors. With this in mind, it’s importantto know what it is they are ...

Real Estate Report: A new multiple list service (MLS), called Bright MLS, is gearing up to take effect in the Delmarva area that will cover the entire state of Marylandand Delaware. In total, the new ...

Real Estate Report:With the Federal Reserve raising interest rates last week by a quarter of a percentage point and signaling that the central bank is on track to raiserates twice more in 2018—homebuyers ...

The Maryland Realtors® released their 2018 Legislative Priorities list for Realtors throughout the state to be aware ofthe key legislation being considered that will affect the real estate industry. Here ...

An important affordable loan product for the Ocean Pines area is in jeopardy—the 100% financing USDA loan. The U.S. Department of AgricultureRural Development Maryland/Delaware State Office has ...

With another strong year in real estate coming to a close, let’s take a closer look at our local area to see where the numbers stacked up for 2017 sales.The Maryland Association of REALTORS (MAR), releases ...

Smells are an important factor when listing your home for sale, right up there with the visual presentation of a home. Top smells to check for are:garbage, pet smells, mold, body odor and tobacco.When ...

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) conducted a survey that shows real estate like-kind exchanges are an important vehicle for disposing of andacquiring properties and support the nation's financial ...

As we say goodbye to 2010, it's time to look into this new year with rose colored glasses, but let's temper that optimism with some reality mixed in. In2010, some of our beach markets saw foreclosure ...

I'm proud to announce that I've increased my activities with our local Habitat for Humanity and was invited to join their Board of Directors. I've been working with HFH for over a year now, mostly helping ...

I've just received my SFR designation, which stands for Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource. This is a nationally recognized Short Sales and ForeclosureResource certification. The National Association ...