Millennials Are House Hunting Virtually to Save Time
The days of homebuyers going from one house to another, looking for the perfect fit, may be over. Real estate agents now want to bring listings to you!
Bill Brown, the CEO of virtual and 3D camera company Matterport, says that millennials welcome the added convenience.
“People can go and see 20 or 30 properties in the time that it’ll take them to drive and see 1 or 2 properties,” Brown said. “It makes the process that much more efficient, you don’t waste a lot of time going and walking through properties that you could’ve easily eliminated upfront.”
Matterport’s technology allows homebuyers to digitally tour and explore a home they might want to move into through headsets, tablets, or other devices.
The trend is catching on. Real estate firm [Redfin](https://www.redfin.com/) says that 1 in 3 people buy homes they have not seen in real life. And the number of people making offers on properties they’ve only visited virtually grew 19 percent in 2017.
Millennials particularly are jumping on board. Redfin says the demographic is three times more likely than Baby Boomers to bid on a home, sight unseen.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-reality-of-real-estate).
Pilots at American Airlines have voted to authorize a strike, and Southwest Airlines pilots are preparing to join them, as unions put more pressure on the airlines to approve new contracts with hefty pay raises.
Cheddar News takes a look at The Day Ahead as the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting kicks off on Tuesday while earnings season continues with some big-name companies such as Ford, Pfizer, Starbucks and Uber on tap to report quarterly results. The JOLTS report is also due to be released ahead of April job numbers.
Dan Geltrude, managing partner of Geltrude & Co., joined Cheddar News to discuss why it's vital for a college student to begin budget preparations early for college tuition. "It's developing good financial habits," he said. "I'm a strong proponent that in high school, there should be some teaching, some course ... about personal finance."
Brian Vendig, president of MJP Wealth Advisors, joined Cheddar News to discuss the market ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting on Wednesday and as investors digest JPMorgan's takeover of First Republic Bank, which was recently seized by regulators. A slew of earnings are also slated to be released this week as well.
