Beware: Your buyers could struggle to be approved for a home loan. As lenders tighten standards,  home loan approval is becoming more difficult, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that mortgage credit availability, which measures lenders’ willingness to approve mortgages, is at its lowest level since 2014.

“Because mortgage credit is more difficult to obtain, it is a more competitive environment overall,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, told The Wall Street Journal.

Mortgage lenders are issuing more home loans at record levels. But those mortgages are most often going to those with stellar credit histories and borrowers willing to make large down payments. About 70% of mortgages granted in 2020 went to borrowers who had credit scores of at least 760. That is up from 61% in 2019, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Among borrowers with approved mortgages, the median credit score was 786 in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Lenders are being cautious in issuing loans as the housing market surges from strong homebuyer demand and higher home prices. Mortgage loan availability plunged about 35% annually in 2020. Lenders are being cautious as they look to protect themselves from making loans to borrowers who might lose their jobs amid the pandemic.

Forbearance is another fear of lenders. To receive approval for a mortgage, some borrowers are reportedly being asked to sign statements saying they have no intention of requesting forbearance after they are approved for a mortgage.

As The Wall Street Journal reports: “The meteoric growth of home prices has made some lenders reluctant to take on first-time home buyers or others they view as slightly risky. Lenders who were comfortable offering mortgages of $300,000 or $320,000 to borrowers with good-but-not-great credit histories might not be willing to lend the $350,000 or more now required to buy the same property.”

Mortgage lenders weigh multiple variables in approving applications, including the borrower’s employment history, income, credit score, and debt level.

Rejected mortgage applicants may find better luck soon, however. Credit requirements likely will loosen slightly this year as mortgage rates rise and prompt a decline in lenders’ bustling refinance business, Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s chief economist, told The Wall Street Journal. “Since lenders aren’t being flooded with calls to refinance, more of their resources can be used to reach out to first-time buyers for purchases.”

To get more exposure for a $5.3 million Santa Monica, Calif., listing, real estate pro Rochelle Maize is turning to TikTok to create buzz for her soon-to-be-listed property. During the month of April, TikTok influencers can apply via an online form to spend two hours filming in the staged home. They’ll get access to several of the home’s “viral-worthy vignettes,” including its two-story pool slide, music room, recording studio, arts and crafts room, game room, and more.

In return for TikTok users using the home as a backdrop for their videos, they have to agree to tag the real estate pro and the seller to help get added exposure for the home as it hits the market later this market.

The TikTok influencers “get to film great content in locations they wouldn’t otherwise have access to, and we ask them to tag the house to get more exposure,” listing broker Maize of Nourmand & Associates told The New York Post. “We’re getting younger, different eyes on the property.”

The 6,600-square-foot, six-bedroom, nine-bathroom home, dubbed “TikTok West,” was first listed in October 2020 for $5.8 million. It will return to the market on April 9—with the help of TikTok users.

So far, The New York Post reported last week that the agent had received 15 applications from TikTok influencers. One TikTok influencer already has filmed in the house, capturing the home’s chandelier that hangs over a spiral maple staircase with a curved glass railing.

Across the Midwest, farmland prices are rapidly climbing, fueled by a recent rally in grain markets and low interest rates, The Wall Street Journal reports. Prices are rising even higher than the previous farm boom about a decade ago.

Farmland values increased during 2020 as higher grain prices buoyed revenue for farmers. Land prices in the region that covers parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin saw a 6% increase last year, which marks the largest hike since 2012, according to the Federal Reserve Banks.

Prices for farmland are expected to continue to rise this year. A recent survey of Iowa farmland specialists conducted by the Iowa chapter of the REALTORS® Land Institute shows average farmland values were up nearly 8% since September.

Farmers eager to cash in are selling parcels of land, leading to an investor shopping spree. Large farmers dominate among owners of the nation’s 900 million acres of farmland. Seventy-five percent of cropland in the U.S. is controlled by about 13% of the nation’s farmers. Smaller farmers are finding it more difficult to afford a down payment on land parcels or compete for land leases, the Journal reports.

Indeed, competition is fierce as supply for farmland remains low. U.S. farmland has decreased by 25%—or 305 million acres—since 1950, according to USDA data. Investors are scooping up farmland: Pension and hedge fund companies view it as a lucrative alternative to stocks and bonds.

Pets have become trusted allies—and coworkers of sorts—to a growing number of remote workers during the pandemic. Now companies who are welcoming employees back to the office are realizing they may also need to invite workers’ furry friends. And that means building operators may need to ease restrictions to allow for more pet-friendly workspaces.

Fifty percent of C-suite executives say they are considering allowing employees to bring their pets to work when they return to the office, according to a survey from Canfield Pet Hospital and OnePoll. Fifty-nine percent of executives say they would allow “more flexibility” for employees to take care of their pets during the workday.

Such a policy may help entice more employees to return to the office after working from home for an extended period. Sixty-three percent of pet owners report anxiety over how their pets will cope with their post-pandemic work routine, according to a separate survey from Banfield Pet Hospital and OnePoll.

Executives also express an understanding and tolerance for pets, with 75% percent saying that being a pet owner has made them a better, more compassionate business leader. Other findings include:

• Among executives who are crafting a specific pet policy in the workplace, 59% say their plans were motivated by employee requests.
• Fifty-eight percent say they understand that staff members have gotten used to being around their pets all day.
• Forty-two percent say a pet perk at work would entice employees to return to the office.

Research also has shown that dogs at work can make employees more collaborative and less stressed, Inc.com reports. “We’ve seen the human-animal bond only get stronger during the pandemic, and it’s no surprise that owners are thinking about how they can best be there for their pets when they start to spend more time outside of home,” says Brian Garish, president of Banfield Pet Hospital. “We believe we can advance human health through pet health, elevating societal well-being.”

Executives who already had a pet-friendly workplace policy before the pandemic say it prompted an increase in employee socializing, encouraged more employees to come to work, effected an uptick in employee productivity, and made employees more willing to stay at work later. However, those suffering from pet allergies or who do not have a fondness for pets may not be as happy about pet-friendly policies at work.

Companies are making changes to protect workers from COVID-19 as they prepare for a return to the office. But beyond more attention to cleaning protocols and added divisions for social distance, companies also are considering additions, such as new tools for remote workers.

More than 80% of companies are reportedly considering a hybrid work model where employees will be able to split their time between the office and working remotely, according to a survey from KayoCloud, a real estate technology platform.

New modes of work will likely transform the design of many workspaces. For example, the need for personal desks may be replaced with “hoteling” workstations or “hot desks,” which can be used by whoever is at the office that day. Employees may have to reserve their “hot desk” for the day prior to just showing up.

“A year ago if I had interviewed people, they would have said they definitely need three file cabinets and a bookshelf,” Andrea Vanecko, a principal at NBBJ, an architecture firm, told The New York Times. “Now there’s a very different answer.”

Also, conference rooms could be replaced by Zoom rooms. A large screen on the wall might become a necessity for presentations or to allow remote co-workers or others to appear on video. Some closet-sized phone booths may be added and transformed into private stations for videoconferencing booths with built-in screens.

Holograms could also be coming to the workplace. Some companies are reportedly exploring the use of holographic representations of employees who plan to stay remote full-time. Devices that use 360-degree cameras, microphones, and speakers can be placed on a table or tripod to improve the sound and visibility of video conferencing and even possibly one day projecting a remote employee into an empty seat in the physical world as they join in the discussion virtually, The New York Times reports.

Whether they’re trying to get ahead of the competition or have concerns about COVID-19, more buyers are still choosing to purchase a home without ever stepping foot inside. Clients are relying on virtual tours or video walkthroughs from their real estate agent to help decide which home is right for them.

“I see virtual deals as a trend that will only grow,” Ryan Serhant, CEO of the luxury real estate brokerage Serhant and star of BRAVO’s “Million Dollar Listing New York,” writes for Forbes.com. Even prior to COVID-19, “people were already getting used to seeing homes through their phones and computer screens—not just in person.”

Over the past month, Serhant says he has sold four properties in South Florida for more than $10 million each without a single in-person showing. The deals occurred completely virtually. In July 2020, the real estate brokerage Redfin reported 45% of its consumers who purchased a home in the past year made an offer on a property without first seeing it in person.

Video walkthrough tours—like those offered by agents via FaceTime, Zoom, or Google Meet—may continue to grow in popularity, saving your clients a trip to view the home themselves. It also provides a competitive edge in markets with limited inventory, allowing clients to act more quickly. These video tours could also grow more common among those shopping for investment properties or house hunting due to job relocation in a different state.

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Real estate professionals have become virtual agents, Serhant notes. They’re leveraging technology in more ways to showcase homes virtually to make buyers feel more comfortable buying without having to step foot inside the home first. For example, house hunters are using Google Maps street view and exterior shots as well as HD and 3D listing photos, 360-degree, drag-and-move panoramic room tours, as well as full-house video tours to view homes.

With the added help of technology, real estate professionals are also able to stretch beyond just their local market to appeal more to buyers relocating from other markets and even those from other countries.

“We have clients who don’t live anywhere near us, and showing to out-of-state and foreign buyers over the phone has become increasingly common, pandemic or not,” Serhant writes for Forbes.com. “As agents, we are here to fill in any gaps that technology hasn’t closed; If my client can’t fly in from across the country to see a home, I can be there to see it for her and take her on a tour via FaceTime. If my client wants to buy a home in another country, I can make it happen virtually without requiring him to get on a plane or even leave his home. Serving foreign and out-of-state purchasers is easier than ever before because we can do it without any travel and minimal interruption to the client’s life.”

The flexible office giant WeWork is the latest real estate company to use a special purpose acquisition company to go public. The wave of real estate companies turning to SPACs is growing, such as with Cushman & Wakefield, RXR Realty, Simon Property Group, Tishman Speyer, Opendoor, and Matterport, among others.

SPACs, also often called “blank check” companies, are public entities formed to buy existing firms and take them public. SPACs offer startups a faster route to go public without the traditional risks of a traditional initial public offering. Their popularity is surging: SPAC IPOs have drawn $96.7 billion in 2021 so far—up from $83.3 billion in all of 2020. For comparison, in 2019, SPAC IPOs attracted $13.6 billion, according to data from SPAC Insider.

The SPAC wave has particularly taken off among proptech companies. For example, Latch, a keyless entry firm, recently used a SPAC transaction to go public, and the homeselling platform startup Knock also reportedly is considering using a SPAC merger to also go public soon.

“You’re seeing a lot of proptech SPACs created by real estate people,” Zach Aarons, CEO of MetaProp, a proptech-focused venture capital firm, told Commercial Property Executive. “You’re also seeing general SPACs buying proptech companies.”

This marks WeWork’s second attempt to go public. WeWork recently announced plans to merge with BowX Acquisition Corp, a SPAC formed by the management of venture capital fund Bow Capital, before announcing it would become a publicly listed company. The acquisition deal valued WeWork at about $9 billion. This deal is also estimated to provide WeWork about $1.3 billion of cash to help it grow, Commercial Property Executive reports.

WeWork manages 859 office locations across 152 cities worldwide. Real estate analysts have predicted growth in the need for co-working space as work adjusts to new setups in the post-pandemic world.

Read more: Co-Working Spaces May Soon See a Surge in Activity