Gerald “Jerry” Rosengarten, author of “Jump on the Train (to make money)” is a serial entrepreneur with a storied career, from designing the leisure suit—a hit in the 1970s—to building landmark projects like The Bowery Hotel in New York. Here, he shares a bit about how he got into commercial real estate more than 50 years ago, as well as some of the challenges he’s overcome since. The Leisure Suit Born in Brooklyn, Rosengarten’s career took off after designing the leisure suit, which he manufactured in an MGM building in New York City. He also ended up subletting the space, which he found to ..read more

Did you know May is Home Improvement Month? It’s important to think about the overall health of your home, and the cracks in your walls can tell you a lot about it. “Some cracks can appear within the first year as your house settles and dries out, but timing and severity of certain cracks depend on factors like your home’s construction type, building quality, foundation and soil conditions,” Courtney Klosterman, home insights expert at Hippo home insurance group, says. “Small cracks? Not an immediate issue. Big ones? Don’t let them become big problems. Catch them early and you may save yours ..read more

Seventy-two percent of Americans underestimate housing prices in their city, according to a survey conducted by All Star Home. Whether buying or just browsing, it can be a fun game to guess the value of homes in nearby neighborhoods. In fact, 65% of those surveyed admitted to trying to guess the price of a home when passing by one for sale. About 1 in 3 look up home prices in their area at least monthly, and boomers (36%) are most likely to look up home prices, followed by millennials (30%), Gen X (28%) and Gen Z (22%). To find out how good Americans are at guessing home prices, All Star Hom ..read more

As Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month comes to a close, PAR recognizes one more Realtor® in the AANHPI community and shares his journey in real estate. Benjamin Wong, a member of Tri-County Suburban Realtors®, has been a Realtor® and a homeowner for 11 years. It was the process of buying a home that inspired him to pursue a career in real estate. “It all started 11 years ago,” Wong recalls. “My girlfriend at the time, who’s now my wife, and I were looking for our first home. We went through the buying process, which didn’t feel like it was explained to us tho ..read more

Real estate coach and author Josh Cadillac shared his advice on how to work confidently with and stand out to real estate investors in PAR’s monthly webinar last week. In addition to speaking and writing, he is a top producer in the residential market and runs the commercial and crypto/metaverse division of the Real Estate Empire Group. Cadillac shared three essential keys to working with real estate investors. 1. Rapport Cadillac emphasized the importance of keeping clients in real estate. While many real estate professionals try to improve business by increasing clients, he reminded Realto ..read more

There has been a noticeable increase in the number of calls coming into the PAR Legal Hotline that involve some variation of the buyer terminating the agreement. So, if you’ve found yourself in this position recently, know that you’re not alone. Questions come in from both the buy and sell side, so let’s review a few common ones and the answers we may give. Q: The buyer sent a notice of termination. Does the seller have to sign it? A: These questions usually involve the Termination and Release of the Agreement of Sale (Form TERAREL). It’s important to understand that this document is really ..read more

Realtors® are skilled at working with all types of clients and transactions, but defining your niche market can help transform your business in an ever-changing market. Realtor® and Triple Play 2023 speaker Brandon Johnson shares his advice for defining your niche and how doing so can help you and your real estate business thrive. What is a niche market? A niche market includes clients whom Realtors® are most interested in and most enjoy working with. This could be anyone from rural homebuyers interested in farms to luxury cabin seekers. As the name suggests, niche markets include unique or ..read more

Seventy-two percent of home insurance policyholders reported rate increases in 2023, according to a survey completed by ValuePenguin. Of those who saw their premiums rise: 26% said they increased less than 5% 37% said they increased 5% to 9.99% 18% said they increased 10% to 19.99% 6% said they increased 20% to 29.99% 3% said they increased 30% or more 10% said they didn’t know how much premiums increased Regardless of whether respondents experienced insurance rate hikes, the majority (72%) blamed inflation, while rising home prices, homeowners filing more claims, insurance company greed ..read more

The deadline to renew Pennsylvania real estate licenses is just days away. All real estate licensees must renew their license through the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS) by May 31, 2024. The Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission emailed licensees to notify them that renewals must be completed online by the deadline. If you miss the May 31 deadline, the SREC considers the license expired and you must cease practice immediately or be subject to possible discipline. For the renewal process: Agent renewals can’t be completed until their broker’s license is renewed. Update your profile ..read more

The Pennsylvania median home sales price reached an all-time high of $280,000 last month, according to a report prepared for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. The median home sales price vaulted nearly 25% from March when it was $224,757, and it was up 7.6% year over year. Pennsylvania is following trends seen nationally. During the National Association of Realtors®’ Legislative Meetings this month, NAR’s Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Dr. Jessica Lautz noted that the country has seen a record high home price of $389,800 but the worst sales since 1995. She not ..read more