Selling a home is often the largest financial transaction a person will make, but that doesn’t mean homeowners want to devote a lot of time to it. More than half—58%—of homeowners who recently sold a home say they spent less than three hours researching the method and professional they chose to sell their home, according to a new survey of 1,000 homeowners conducted by SOLD.com.

A separate survey from the National Association of REALTORS® shows that 75% of recent sellers hired the first real estate professional they contacted to sell their home.

While sellers may have a limited search, that may be because they feel confident. Ninety-four percent of homeowners say they feel confident about how to sell their home (with men moreso at 73% versus 49% of women), the SOLD.com survey showed. But more than half concede they are unfamiliar with any options aside from a traditional real estate agent or for sale by owner in getting a home sold. A majority of homeowners say they are unaware of alternatives, like iBuyer firms, discount and flat-fee brokers, and online technology platforms.

Women surveyed tended to rely more on professional resources to sell their home while men were more inclined to speak with family and friends or do online research, the survey showed.

Homeowners do still express plenty of concerns. The top concern they say they have for selling a home (by 43% of respondents) was “getting the home ready to sell,” such as with home renovations and repairs.

Many consumers also expressed some concerns over the emotional sides of selling a home. Twenty-seven percent said they had stress and anxiety about moving, and 21% said they were concerned about the financial implications of a move. The financial issues that weighted on homeowners the most included 28% who said they were concerned about coordinating the timing of selling and buying a home, and 27% were also concerned about the tax implications associated with the sale.

“These findings highlight the emotional component of selling a home, which can be just as important to people as the enormity of the financial elements of the transaction,” the study notes.

While you help your clients find the perfect home, you can’t guarantee they’ll have the perfect neighbors. “The neighbors’ noise and aesthetics are among the top concerns of home buyers,” says Noah Goldberg, a Redfin real estate professional in Northern New Jersey. “If you have a bad neighbor, that’s something you’ll deal with every single day. You might hate that they still have Christmas decorations up in February or that the family upstairs lets their kids run around at night. Many people list their homes not because of a fault of the property but due to the surrounding situation.”

Goldberg shared on Redfin’s blog some of the most common type of neighbor complaints he encounters, whether from single-family or apartment dwellers, including:

The noisy neighbor. Apartment dwellers may share thin walls with their neighbors, which can be problematic if the neighbors are loud. However, single-family homeowners also have plenty of complaints, from barking dogs to the “7 a.m. lawn mower,” Goldberg notes.

The party animal neighbor. Sometimes you get a neighbor who loves to party. “I’m working with a couple that want to upgrade to a larger ‘forever home,’” Goldberg writes. “We found a fantastic, newly renovated house at a great price. We were planning to submit an offer when we noticed the neighbors’ yard. It looked like a frat house after a huge party. The driveway was filled with old cars, and in the yard was a tiki bar, assorted junk and furniture, and a pool filled with leaves. As much as my clients loved this home, they passed [on it] out of concern they’d be living next to a party house. That property was on the market for a year before the seller opted to rent because no one wanted to live there long-term.”

The pests who become your neighbors. Unresolved pest problems or proximity to wildlife can also bring about some uninvited guests. “The solution to this type of problem is to have an experienced agent on your side who’s a neighborhood expert,” Goldberg writes. “A good agent can steer you to well-built buildings and away from problematic poor construction. They know the neighborhood and can point out issues you likely won’t notice, such as an airport flight path, a rowdy neighborhood restaurant, or whether buses and trucks will use your street as a commute ‘cut-through,’ bringing traffic and noise. We also have good recommendations for trusted inspectors who will be able to identify potential problems we can’t know for certain.”

To avoid bad-neighbor issues, Goldberg advises clients to spend a significant time scouting out an area at different times of day and night before buying a home. Also, he encourages his buyers to talk to potential new neighbors, but make it casual rather than knocking on doors. Spend time in the lobby or common areas for chance meetings. Also, he suggests paying close attention to the exteriors to judge whether the homes in the neighborhood look like they’ve been well-maintained.

Mortgage rates have slowly been inching up over the past month, but they remain below their levels a year ago.

“Despite the recent rise in mortgage rates, both existing- and new-home sales continue to show strength—indicating the lagged effect of lower rates on housing demand,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This, along with improved affordability, should push housing activity higher in the coming months.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending April 25:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.20 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 4.17 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.58 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.64 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 3.62 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 4.02 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.77 percent, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 3.78 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.74 percent.

Housing developers recognize the broad demand among home buyers for modestly priced new-construction homes but differ with consumers on how the nation should boost its supply of so-called “attainable” housing, according to a report from the Urban Land Institute.

Developers say it’s worth limiting community amenities, opting for lower-quality finishes, and building in less-desirable areas to limit costs, according to a ULI survey of its Community Development Council, which shares strategies for planning, financing, and developing master-planned communities. But home buyers see things differently: Research shows they want to live in amenity-rich neighborhoods in attractive locations and are willing to give up space in their homes and live in denser communities to achieve those goals, ULI says. The findings, released during the Urban Land Institute’s spring meeting in Nashville, Tenn., last week, are based on a survey of members of the organization’s Community Development Council conducted last fall.

According to the ULI survey, builders cite the cost of capital, lack of building efficiencies, impediments to financing for buyers, and the cost of materials as the most significant challenges they face in building housing that meets the needs of middle-class Americans. In addition, developers want subsidies and support from communities and local governments to help them build more attainable homes.

Even though participants in the ULI survey believe the market is showing a need for attainable housing, more than a third are not building any homes that fall into that category. Only 15 percent of the developers feel that at least a fifth of the homes they are constructing are affordable to middle-class buyers.

Builders have focused on building homes with at least four bedrooms, even as the percentage of one- or two-person households has increased, contributing to a growing disconnect between the housing needs of the middle class and the supply of newly built homes. Just 10 percent of newly constructed homes have one or two bedrooms, while half come with at least four, ULI says.