1.Bullish March retail sales brighten growth outlook
“U.S. retail sales recorded their largest gain in 1-1/2 years in March, in the latest sign the economy was emerging from its weather-induced slumber and on track to accelerate in the second quarter.”
2.Evictions from rent-controlled units on the rise in L.A.
“Arie Shashou remembers simple pleasures from the decades spent in his Westside home: helping neighbors with small tasks; the daily chats with the former manager of the complex; the paintings that line the walls of his one-bedroom.”
3.7 of the biggest home-buyer turnoffs
“Home sellers in hot real-estate markets — where there’s not enough for-sale inventory for the number of people who want to buy — may not feel compelled to go all out in preparing their home before listing. And they may not need to, given the reduced competition. “
4.Retail sales spike, signal improving economy
“U.S. retailers saw their biggest gains in more than a year in March, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department.”
5.Technology changes real estate agent’s role
“In days of old, Lori Reiland was in the field with clients 70 percent of her business time and on the computer 30 percent. Now, said the associate broker with the Peoria office of Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, those percentages have flipped.”
6.Yearly foreclosures down, but quarterly increase seen in CA foreclosure starts
“Year-over-year foreclosure activity – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – continued a downward trend in California, with another double-digit decline in March, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac.
7.How open data is changing the business of real estate
“Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff talks about how the explosion in open data that’s available to tech companies will affect the real estate business.”
8.Home Sellers’ Asking Prices Hit Five-Year High
“If housing demand has softened, someone forgot to tell home sellers.”
TonyAlvarez.com