Author: josh
Key takeaways A Municipal Utility District, or MUD, provides water, sewer, drainage, and infrastructure in areas that lack city utilities. Homes in a MUD include a MUD tax that helps repay bonds issued to build public infrastructure. MUD tax appears on your property tax bill; however, it is separate from county, school district, and city tax rates. Homestead exemption generally does not reduce MUD tax. Before making an offer on a home in a MUD, Texas buyers should review the MUD disclosure, understand the current tax rate, and confirm whether the rate may decrease. Buying a home in Texas? You…
Dave:2026 is almost here and that means we are still in the swing of prediction season and we got good predictions for you here today. I’m Dave Meyer joined by Kathy Fettke and Henry Washington. And today we’re sharing our boldest predictions and our hottest takes for 2026. We’ve each brought our own ideas about what could surprise investors in the year ahead, what might finally break, and where the biggest opportunities could emerge. Buckle up, this is On the Market. Let’s jump in. Henry, how’s it going, man? How are you? Henry:Fantastic. Good to see you. Good to be…
Seller concessions are closing costs or fees that a seller agrees to cover to help reduce a buyer’s upfront expenses. These costs are negotiated during the offer process, and seller concessions can make a home purchase more affordable without lowering the home’s sale price. In the first quarter of 2025, 44.4% of U.S. home sale transactions included seller concessions — the highest share in several years. Buyer demand and market conditions determine how likely you are to receive seller concessions, but knowing how they work gives you an advantage when you’re preparing an offer. Instead of focusing only on price,…
Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said that artificial intelligence is starting to have a bigger impact on the US economy. “The AI investment’s been building during the year and is probably a bigger contributor next year and the years beyond,” Moynihan said Monday in a Bloomberg Television interview. “AI is kicking in more and more, and so it’s not all attributable to AI, but that’s having a marginal impact that’s pretty strong.” Moynihan, who has led the bank for nearly 15 years, said the firm is predicting a strong economy for the US next year, with…
As home prices fluctuate and buyers focus on affordability, sellers might take a closer look at how they price their homes. One question that comes up often before listing: Can a pre-listing appraisal help set the right asking price before a home hits the market. In most cases, sellers don’t need an appraisal before listing. Homes are typically priced using recent comparable sales, local market conditions, and buyer demand—all of which can change quickly, sometimes even faster than what an appraisal reflects. Still, in certain situations, sellers might turn to pre-listing appraisals if pricing is unclear or a third-party valuation…
Key takeaways Sellers can refuse to pay a buyer’s agent, and commissions remain fully negotiable even after the 2024 NAR settlement MLS listings can no longer display buyer agent commission offers, which means any compensation must now be negotiated off the MLS between the parties involved Not offering a buy-side commission may reduce a seller’s costs, but it can also limit buyer interest, especially among buyers who prefer not to pay their agent out of pocket Sellers can still attract buyers by offering concessions or leaving compensation open-ended, so buyers can propose how to structure their agent’s fee within the…
Is FSBO, or “for sale by owner,” worth it? The short answer is, it depends on your experience, the current housing market, and how much time you have to dedicate to the process. The main advantage of FSBO is the potential to save the listing agent’s commission. The key trade-off is whether those savings are enough to offset the extra work, potential legal risks, and the possibility of selling your home for less than an agent could have achieved. In this Redfin real estate article, we will explain if FSBO is worth it (and when it is not) to help…
In This Article Foreclosure activity doesn’t move in a straight line. It comes in waves. Some months bring a surge of new filings, reflecting fresh financial pressure on homeowners. Others—like November 2025—signal a cooling period in early-stage filings, even though deeper in the foreclosure pipeline, auctions and REOs continue to rise. For real estate investors, the “Foreclosure Starts” stage—also known as the first public filing—remains one of the most important signals. It offers the earliest insight into where distress is beginning to surface, and where motivated seller activity may soon emerge. This month’s numbers show a national pullback in new…
The next presidential election is three years away, but Turning Point USA already knows it wants Vice President JD Vance as the Republican nominee. Erika Kirk, leader of the powerful conservative youth organization, endorsed him on opening night of its annual AmericaFest convention, drawing cheers from the crowd. But the four-day gathering revealed more peril than promise for Vance or any other potential successor to President Donald Trump, and the tensions on display foreshadow the treacherous waters that they will need to navigate in the coming years. The “Make America Great Again” movement is fracturing as Republicans begin considering a future without Trump, and there is…
A photo featuring President Donald Trump that was included in one of the Justice Department files on the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein appears to have been removed online. Late Friday, the department published a trove of documents to meet a deadline mandated by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in Congress, though not all the Epstein files were released, and many that were made public have been heavily redacted. There was little mention of Trump in the text that was available, and White House officials highlighted photos of former President Bill Clinton. But an image of a desk with several pictures…