Facebook is removing thousands of targeting options from its advertising platform after the Department of Housing and Urban Development accused the social media giant of discriminatory practices with its housing ads.HUD filed a complaint last Friday against Facebook that claimed the social network’s advertising platform allowed users to discriminate against prospective renters and buyers by being able to limit who saw their ads based on the us
Lots located next to power lines tend to sell for a whopping 45 percent less than similar lots further away from high-voltage transmission lines, according to a new study in the Journal of Real Estate Research. Lots that are non-adjacent to power lines but are located within 1,000 feet of them often sell at a discount of 18 percent, researchers Chris Mothorpe and David Wyman, the authors of the study, found.The study focused on the value of vaca
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is accusing Facebook of violating the federal Fair Housing Act and allowing landlords and home sellers to use the social network’s advertising platform to engage in housing discrimination. A Facebook tool enabling advertisers to filter which users see housing-related ads based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, or ZIP code limits housing options for prot
Alliance Residential Company, one of the largest multifamily developers and managers in the U.S., is rolling out a new initiative to outfit 25,000 luxury apartments across the country with smart-home technology through partnerships with Google, Nest, and Dwelo, among others. “We wanted to ensure that from the moment our residents move in, they are able to control multiple aspects of their home—access, climate, and lighting—from a single, si
More than 43 percent of renters say they’ve found online rental listings that seemed fraudulent, and more than 5 million say they’ve actually been scammed—sometimes to the tune of thousands of dollars—according to a new report released by rental website ApartmentList.com.Renters may be less diligent in researching apartments when feeling the urgency to move, says Igor Popov, chief economist at Apartment List. “There are lots of cases wh
A new partnership between digital notary platform Notarize and Title Resources, a national title company, is ushering in faster and fully digital closings on real estate transactions in a handful of states. Consumers are able to complete a 100 percent digital closing process in 15 states, where they won’t have to be present at the closing table.Many lenders and title companies now offer digital applications and underwriting processes. However,
A smartphone that boasts a bendable screen is expected to hit the market early next year. Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest phone maker, reportedly plans to introduce its long-awaited foldable-screen smartphone in 2019, The Wall Street Journal reports. The screen can be folded in half, like a wallet.The prototype—known internally by its nickname, “Winner”—features a screen of about 7 inches, or about the size of a smaller t
A new home will often come with a warranty from the builder, but that doesn’t mean the builder is on the hook for anything that breaks. Warranties differ from builder to builder, but they typically cover only specific features such as: Concrete foundations and floors Clapboard and shingles Carpeting Thermal and moisture cover Waterproofing Insulation Roofing and siding Doors and windows Garage doors Plumbing Electrical Heating and cooling Septi
The majority of home shoppers will want to see a place in person before they buy, but some house hunters are increasingly relying on video call tours—through Apple’s FaceTime, for example—to shop for a home, The New York Times reports.About 20 percent of buyers said they submitted an offer on a home without visiting it first, according to a recent survey by Redfin of more than 1,000 agents. In a survey of 45 New York–based agents, more
One of the fastest growing cybercrimes in the U.S. is wire fraud in real estate. About 9,600 people were victims of wire fraud in the real estate and rental sector in 2017, with losses of more than $56 million, according to FBI data.The highest reported fraud in real estate last year was Business Email Compromise/Email Account Compromise. Fraudsters will assume the identity of the title or real estate agent and forge the person’s email and othe
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