How To Increase Homeownership Rates For Millennials

By KIMBERLEY HAAS Addressing affordability issues by allowing for creative living solutions may be the key to getting more Millennials into homeownership. According to the 2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report published by the National Association of Realtors, the share of Millennial buyers has declined. Millennials between 24 and 42 years old made up 28% of all buyers surveyed. The share of Millennial buyers dropped because Baby Boomers between 58 and 76 years old were on the move in the last half of 2021 and the first half of 2022. They made up 39% of buyers and were the largest share of homebuyers, taking the top spot from Millennials, who had held the position for eight years. Overall,…

A New Green Space: Can Cannabis Save Retail?

By PATRICK LAVERY In a Hunterdon County, New Jersey, strip mall long characterized by higher-end retailers like Ulta Beauty and Talbots, one trio of newer storefronts may seem incongruous. Start at Axeiom, a women and LGBTQ+-focused axe throwing space, then walk a few steps to Aunt Mary’s, a cannabis dispensary opening first for medical cardholders and eventually for adult-use, and then buy a burrito at Pancheros Mexican Grill. Sounds like an amusing night, right? But this potential scenario may hinge on the future of an industry that has caught the imagination of those who rent retail space and investors interested in making a buck from marijuana. A 3% dropoff compared to the rest of 2022 in Q4 rents collected by…

Finding A Mortgage On Your Phone? FinTech Companies Catering To Those Customers

By KIMBERLEY HAAS The typical American spends between five and six hours a day on their mobile phone so mortgage companies are developing new technologies to help them meet customers where they are. Brett Bivenour, Chief Technology Officer at Nationwide Mortgage Bankers in Melville, New York, explained during an interview with The Mortgage Note last week that for too long, the process seemed arduous for the average person. Even prior to the pandemic, consumer expectations about what they could do online had shifted because of what was happening outside his industry, he said. “As more and more aspects of people’s everyday lives were happening online, that certainly influenced their expectations of what it looks like to get a mortgage in…