Two REALTORS® share what tools they're using to be able to put away more money for a comfortable future. Learn how you can use these financial wellness tools, too, in the latest "Level Up" video.

Many real estate pros express their appreciation to their sphere through cards, gifts and special events. But other gestures, large and small, can provide support to your wider community. Here's what some brokers are doing this year.

Add some compelling titles to your reading list as we explore the literary favorites of these rising stars in the real estate industry.

This year, 36% of consumers in a Digiday study will do some of their holiday shopping on TikTok, and 23% will find gift inspiration on the platform. TikTok attracted spending from 78% of companies last quarter, compared to 54% at the start of the year.

Buyers, on the other hand, face steep competition for limited housing inventory as mortgage rates hit a 20-year high.

A survey found an uptick in mortgage credit availability last month, while the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says mortgage application rates fell to 4.3% from 6.7% a year earlier. The application rejection rate declined in the past four months, and creditworthiness has improved among new mortgage applicants this year, a New York Fed survey found.

Single-family rental home landlords Invitation Homes, AMH and Tricon Residential each reported rent increases that were larger than 6% in the third quarter compared with the previous year. These properties are posting larger rent increases than the rest of the rental market. Single-family rental homes are often in high-quality neighborhoods, and high mortgage rates are causing tenants to delay home purchases.

The ability to work remotely tops the list of features that matter most to people in a job, narrowly surpassing salary, according to results of a survey by Flexjobs. Sixty-three percent of respondents said remote work was their most important consideration, two-thirds said they would be open to a pay cut in order to work from home, and more than half said they know someone who has left a job or plans to quit over employers' return-to-office mandates.

Charlotte, N.C., is lacking tens of thousands of affordable rental units despite recent efforts to close the gap. City leaders are questioning recent changes in zoning policy to encourage development.

The number of U.S. bank branches is just short of 78,000, the smallest total since the 1980s, after 1,376 closures in the last 12 months. However, branch density in the U.S. is 23.5 per 100,000 people, while the UK has about one-third of that level of density, and European countries such as the Netherlands have even lower branch density.

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., SmartBrief will not publish Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24.