Home buyers cope with stressed-out shopping syndrome

From sweating the down payment to fretting about interest rates creeping up to worrying about overpaying, home buyers face a lot of fears today—particularly in a market where sellers seem to have all the leverage. But with the right help, an organized approach and a positive mindset, they can feel more in control and better manage the process, say the experts.

Learn more about stressed-out shopping syndrome by reading my latest CTW Features article on this topic, available here.

The rec room reimagined

In the 1970s, wood-paneled rumpus rooms were all the rage. By the 1990s, that space often morphed into a game room or dedicated home theater. Today, those concepts have blended into a 21st century entertainment room—a modern multipurpose area where family and friends can binge watch their favorite shows or engage in serious lights-out movie watching, partake in a PlayStation 4 war or roll the dice in an old school board game, and socialize with snacks or bring out the tots’ toys.

Read about how to create the ultimate entertainment room in my latest piece for The Costco Connection by clicking here.

Joining the cloud crowd

A copy of that family photo you took with your smartphone went directly to it. All those messages you sent using the Gmail app are stored there. And that Dropbox file you’re preparing to download continues to call it home.

Indeed, the cloud is an increasingly popular place where all manner of data congregate and everyday tasks – from critical to trivial, professional to personal – get completed. Yet, despite promising greater convenience, lower computing costs, and improved productivity, far less dental business occurs in the cloud than you’d think, say the experts. Learn more about the pros and cons of cloud computing in my latest article for AGD Impact, available here.

Coercive immersive

2016 was the year immersive content went big time. NBC broadcast the Olympics in 360-degree video. Pokémon Go got millions of smartphone-mesmerized people out of the house. Virtual reality made the cover of Time. And major players rolled out headline-grabbing VR devices, including Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Google Daydream View. The era of affordable and viable VR for the masses had arrived. But virtual isn’t the only game in town. There’s also augmented reality and mixed reality vying for consumers’ attention.

In my newest article for EContent Magazine, I explore the current state of virtual and augmented reality content and what innovations the future may bring. Read it here.

Gen Z is not so receptive to digital ads: here’s why

Here’s a worrisome thought for marketers that can keep marketers up at night: Gen Z—a key demographic born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s—comprises 27 percent of the global population, commands $44 billion in purchasing power, and represents the first true generation of digital natives. But your efforts to reach them via digital ads could fail miserably, new research suggests.

A recent study by Kantar Millward Brown titled AdReaction: Engaging Gen X, Y and Z reveals that only 25 percent of 16- to 19-year-old respondents to the study’s survey expressed a preference for online search ads; merely 23 percent indicated a preference for video on laptops or PCs, 22 percent for mobile display ads, and 21 percent for mobile video ads.

Learn more about why young consumers are cold on digital ads by reading my latest article for EContent Magazine, available here.

Yes, home prices are up--but buyers can reap benefits down the road

Real estate prices keep rising. And that’s a steep climb for many home buyers nowadays. But the silver lining is that what goes up today can go up even higher in the future—at a time when the hurdle of home buying is far behind you.

New data show that it’s a rewarding time for sellers. But buyers can cash in on those same rewards years from now by doing their homework, purchasing a worthy property in a good location now, and keeping their homes maintained. Learn more about these strategies by reading my latest article for The Mortgage Reports, available here.