States That Grew the Most This Year

States That Grew the Most This Year

More Americans are moving to the West, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Half of the fastest-growing states are all in the western part of the U.S.—however, Texas and Florida did nab the number one and two spots on the Census Bureau’s list for receiving the most new residents over the past year.

But the West is definitely gaining ground. Nevada and Idaho’s populations grew by 2.1 percent between July 2017 and July 2018. Other Western states, like Utah, Arizona, and Washington, all saw their populations grow by 1.5 percent or more during that period.

Texas saw 379,128 new residents over the past year, followed by Florida with an increase of 322,513 new residents. California hit third with 157,696, and Arizona got fourth with 122,720.

Overall, the most populated state is California with more than 39.5 million residents. Texas ranked second, but with 10 million less. On the other hand, the least populated state is Wyoming with 577,737 residents.

The state that lost the most residents over the past year is New York, whose population fell by 47,510 over the past year. Other states that saw population declines in the past year were Illinois, West Virginia, Louisiana, Hawaii, Mississippi, Alaska, Connecticut, and Wyoming.

The U.S. population rose by 0.6 percent over the last year and is now at about 327 million.

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FHA Raises Loan Limits for 2019

FHA Raises Loan Limits for 2019

Biggest Pests of 2018 for home owners

Biggest Pests of 2018 for home owners

Bigger Role in House Hunting: What Agents Rely On

Bigger Role in House Hunting: What Agents Rely On

Consumers increasingly rely on the web in their home search, and real estate pros are finding it’s vital to meet them in that digital space.

The top technology tools that pros say provide them with the highest quality of customer leads are: social media (47 percent); MLS suite (32 percent); a brokerage’s website (29 percent); and a listing aggregator site (29 percent), according to a new report, Real Estate in a Digital Age, published by the National Association of REALTORS®.

Real estate pros acknowledge that staying up-to-date with technology is important, but cited it as one of the biggest challenges for firms over the next two years, according to the survey.

The typical buyer in 2018 used a mobile device to search for properties online, looking at websites with photos, home listings, and information about the home buying process. Then, they contacted a real estate agent and visited a median of 10 homes over 10 weeks before purchasing a home, the survey found.

“Consumers have the ability to do more home buying research online than ever before,” says NAR President John Smaby. “Still, REALTORS® present tremendous value to buyers from every generation and every background. While consumers have more technological tools at their fingertips, REALTORS® continue to be a large part of the home buying and selling equation.”

Buyers surveyed ranked finding the right property as the most difficult step in the home buying process. Forty-four percent of buyers say they looked for properties online as their first step. However, 87 percent of buyers bought their home with assistance from a real estate agent; for millennials, that percentage stood even higher, at 90 percent.

Millennials ranked photos and online property information as being the most important for website listing features. Virtual tours and direct contact with a real estate agent were most important for the baby boomers surveyed. Older buyers tended to find virtual tours more useful than younger buyers, the survey found.

REALTORS® and their firms are embracing more technology to serve clients, the study found. Real estate pros surveyed say they prefer to communicate with their clients via email (93 percent), text message (92 percent), and instant messaging (37 percent).

Pros are also very active on social media for connecting with clients. Facebook and LinkedIn are the most used social media platforms, at 97 percent and 59 percent, respectively. Instagram is used by 39 percent of real estate pros.