From our friends at the kcm blog
Let’s be real with each other for a second about affordability. Because you deserve someone who will be honest and transparent about what’s going on, especially if you’ve got a move on your mind.
Here’s the full picture of what’s happening and why. The good – and the bad. So, you know what it truly means for your move. Because while rates are certainly a big part of affordability, they’re not the only factor at play.
Mortgage Rates Have Been Rising
After a year or more of rates trending down, they’ve started to climb again. And, if you’re looking to buy, that’s not what you...
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Homes.com|By Caroline Broderick
Mike Carson of Inspired Closets Chicago sees rising demand as clutter grows
Key takeaways
Mike Carson of Inspired Closets Chicago has been in the organization business for almost 40 years and sees the industry expanding.
Whole-home organization is growing in demand as more consumers accumulate items.
Homeowners with custom closets are drawn to specialty lighting and two-tone cabinets.
Mike Carson is president of Inspired Closets Chicago and has been in the organization business for nearly 40 years. (Inspired Closets Chicago)
The closet organization industry is in its teenage years and growing, as Michael Carson, president of Inspired Closets Chicago, describes it. “We’re on the upswing right now with awareness,”...
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From our friends at the kcm blog
You may have seen the headlines lately about mortgage debt in America hitting a record high. And maybe your brother-in-law brought it up at the dinner table like he’s been waiting all week to spark a debate.
Here’s the thing. He’s not wrong. But he only has half the story. And the half he’s missing? It changes everything.
Spoiler: homeowners are on stronger footing than the headlines suggest, and the housing market has more going for it than most people realize.
The Headline Number Is Real, But It’s Missing Context
Yes, according to the Federal Reserve, there is currently about $14 trillion in mortgage debt in the United States....
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From our friends at the kcm blog
When you put your house on the market, you don’t just want it to sell. You want it to sell fast. But the thing is, nationally, it’s taking a little longer to sell lately. And that slowdown can feel frustrating if you want a fast process. Here’s what you need to realize.
In every market right now, there’s one clear exception:
Well-priced, well-presented homes are still selling, and it’s often faster than you’d expect.
If you can tap into that, you can still set yourself up to move quickly, too. Here’s how to get it done.
How Long It Takes To Sell Today
According to Realtor.com, homes are...
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By The Jenn Pfeiffer Team | Source: Single-Family Rental Trends and Their Geography by Nadia Evangelou
The story of American housing is always shifting, and one of the more interesting subplots right now is happening inside the single-family rental market. Over the past decade, the U.S. added roughly 10.7 million single-family homes. During that same stretch, the number of those homes used as rentals actually fell, from 15.2 million to 14.4 million. The share of single-family homes operating as rentals has slipped from about one in five to closer to one in six.
It's a meaningful shift, even if it's a quiet one. And like most housing trends, it...
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From our friends at the kcm blog
At some point, as you start thinking about the years ahead, this question tends to come up:
“Could I stay here long-term… or would it make more sense to move?”
It’s not always urgent. It often shows up in small moments, like going up and down the stairs, keeping up with the maintenance, or just thinking about what the next chapter of your life might look like in this home.
And for most people, the answer is simple. They want to stay.
The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology found about 90% of adults over 65 prefer to stay in their homes as they get older (see below):
But even if staying...
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From our friends at the kcm blog
For a while, buying your first home hasn’t just felt hard. It may have felt out of reach.
Not because you weren’t ready.
Not because you weren’t trying.
But because every time you ran the numbers, they didn’t work.
That’s why so many first-time buyers stepped back.
But after years of sitting on the outside looking in, this Spring could give buyers like you an opening again – especially in some markets.
Metros Where Buyers May Have an Easier Time Breaking into the Market
Zillow just released a list of the top 50 metros for first-time buyers this Spring. And here’s a quick snapshot of the top 10 (see chart below):
According to Zillow, in these top-ranked markets,...
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From our friends at the kcm blog
Did you try to buy a home last year, but you ended up pressing pause?
Maybe you couldn’t find a home that really fit your needs. Or maybe the ones you liked just weren’t affordable. According to a recent survey from NerdWallet, those were the top two reasons buyers gave up on their search in 2025.
But this Spring, there’s one trend that could help fix both of those frustration points: more homes are hitting the market.
The Number of Fresh Listings Is Almost 2x Higher Than a Few Months Ago
Data from Realtor.com shows there are nearly 2x as many new listings hitting the market today as there were just...
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From our friends at the kcm blog
If you’re getting a tax refund this year, here’s something worth thinking about. That money could actually help you get closer to buying a home.
It may not be something you’ve factored into your plan yet, but it can give your savings a nice boost right when you need it most. And whether your refund is a few thousand dollars or more, there are some smart ways to put that money to work as you get ready to buy.
Your Refund May Be Even Bigger This Year
Let’s start with the good news. People are getting even more money back in their refunds than they...
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From our friends at the kcm blog
When your house sits on the market longer than expected, it can get frustrating fast.
You start asking: what now? And for a growing number of homeowners, that turns into: should I just rent it instead?
While it sounds like a simple backup plan, becoming “accidental landlord” is actually a much bigger decision than most people realize. That’s when someone planned to sell, didn’t get the price or traction they hoped for, and decided to rent the house out instead.
And lately, that’s happening more often.
Why the Number of Accidental Landlords Is Rising
If you’re faced with the same choice to rent or to sell, here’s what you need to...
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