In March 2024, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) released its 2023 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report. Using data from surveys conducted by various public and private entities, as well as qualitative interviews with top-producing buyer’s agents, this report provides insight into the homeownership trends of the Latino population in the U.S. In this article, we synthesize the main points from this report and highlight its key takeaways. 1. Hispanic homeownership rate nears 50 percent. In 2023, the number of Hispanic-owner households went up by 377,000 f ..read more

For the last three years, the multifamily market has seen high demand, double digit rent growth, and increased construction to meet demand. These trends are expected to shift as rent prices begin to moderate and the construction pipeline slows down. Let’s break down the most recent multifamily report for Virginia and see how things have changed in the first quarter of 2024. Construction and Deliveries The National Association of Home Builders recently forecasted that multifamily construction would decline with starts projected to fall 20% this year. This is due in part to the high cost of con ..read more

*Please note: Any questions regarding Legal Hotline Spotlights should be submitted via the Virginia REALTORS® Legal Hotline. Our attorneys are unable to respond to questions through our comments section. Q: “We received a request from a tenant to have their pet fee reimbursed because the tenant says the pet is now a certified emotional support animal. The lease started in April of 2023. At that time, the animal was classified as a pet, and the tenant paid a pet deposit and has since been paying pent rent. According to the tenant, the pet was not an ESA until March of 2024, and the te ..read more

*Please note: Any questions regarding Legal Hotline Spotlights should be submitted via the Virginia REALTORS® Legal Hotline. Our attorneys are unable to respond to questions through our comments section. Q: What is the difference between a “reasonable accommodation” and a “reasonable modification”? A: A reasonable accommodation occurs when a landlord or property manager changes some policy in order to accommodate a tenant’s disability. For example, establishing a dedicated handicap parking space where one didn’t exist previously would be a reasonable accommodation. A reasonable modif ..read more

*Please note: Any questions regarding Legal Hotline Spotlights should be submitted via the Virginia REALTORS® Legal Hotline. Our attorneys are unable to respond to questions through our comments section. Q: I am the selling agent, and my client wants to purchase a house in a Common Interest Community. The seller handed my client a Resale Certificate that is 6 months old. Can my client request a new one? A: If a Resale Certificate is issued more than 30 days but less than 12 months before settlement, the purchaser or even the seller can request an updated Resale Certificate. The purch ..read more

April is Fair Housing Month, and one of the fair housing questions we often get is whether landlords and property managers must accept tenant applicants with housing vouchers. Many times, the hesitation to accept tenants with housing vouchers is the perceived administrative burden of dealing with the housing authority. To start, Virginia Code section 36-96.3 states that it is unlawful to refuse to rent to someone based on source of funds. The law defines “source of funds” as “any source that lawfully provides funds to or on behalf of a renter or buyer of housing, including any assistance, ben ..read more

According to the February 2024 Virginia Home Sales Report released by Virginia REALTORS®, pace in Virginia’s housing market picked up last month. There were 6,733 homes sold statewide in February, a 3.5% uptick over the same time last year. In total, there were 16,004 homes on the market at the end of February. This is 1,446 more active listings than a year ago, an increase of nearly 10%. There was also a large jump in new listings as more sellers decided to put their homes on the market. 1,400 more new listings came onto the market last month compared to February 2023, a gain of 16 ..read more

By Dominique Fair, Research Associate 2023 was a challenging year for homebuyers as interest rates and home prices remained elevated making it harder for people to buy a home. The affordability issue has had a significant impact on younger buyers who tend to have lower incomes from just starting their careers and higher levels of student loan and credit card debt. The combination of these factors has led to smaller down payments by younger buyers which can lead to higher monthly mortgage payments. Last year, the median monthly housing payment in the U.S. rose to $2,715, up 12.6% from the previ ..read more

One of the most important times of the year for the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) is Realtist Week, held one week every April. Founded in 1947, NAREB is the oldest minority professional trade association in the Nation, and its members are called Realtists.  Realtist Week is a time for members to come together and further demonstrate their commitment to democracy in housing. They host various events with partners and throughout their communities, educating and empowering attendees to aid in the goal of increasing Black homeownership. This year, Realtist Week is S ..read more

*Please note: Any questions regarding Legal Hotline Spotlights should be submitted via the Virginia REALTORS® Legal Hotline. Our attorneys are unable to respond to questions through our comments section. Q: I have been working with a family looking to buy a house since January. Since then, I have shown them many houses, but I never got a buyer brokerage agreement signed. A few days ago, the buyers received a text from a friend who is a REALTOR® in another state about a listing. The buyers sent me the listing information, and we set up a showing with the listing agent.   Aft ..read more