This Valentine's Day, an engagement may be off the books for many unmarried couples striving to afford a property together.

You probably have a story you always tell from your time in the field. Whether it's poignant, funny or a bit nerve-wracking, we want to hear about it. Submit your story and you might end up in REALTOR® Magazine!

Leverage direct messaging on Instagram for sales by identifying your target audience, being intentional about your engagement and starting with meaningful comments on potential customers' posts before connecting, writes the co-founder of Y Not You Media, Tony Pec. If your business is product-based, offer a personalized discount, and if your business is experience or service-based, you can offer insightful conversation, added value, or just a compliment to build engagement, Pec suggests.

Why might single women be buying more homes than single men? Financial education targeted to women could be a contributing factor.

The drop in commercial real estate prices is being exposed by an increase in sales across the U.S. Office buildings are selling at steep discounts, and with more than $1 trillion in commercial real estate loans set to mature by the end of 2025, the fallout is expected to be felt far and wide.

Improve the chances of your top talent sticking around by creating a sense of belonging, encouraging them to think outside the box and leveraging AI in training to help them improve communication skills, writes Juan Betancourt, the CEO of Humantelligence. "Meeting each employee where they are will go a long way toward fostering the trust and belonging you need to execute your vision for the team," Betancourt notes.

In this celebrated New York neighborhood, Black homeownership has been the rule for many decades.

Local developer Swerdlow Group is proposing a major mixed-use project in a depressed section of Miami that would include nearly 5,000 affordable and workforce apartments. The $2.6 billion plan submitted to Miami-Dade County in response to a request for proposals also includes a rail station and big-box stores in a 65-acre area that is now mostly industrial

A proposal known as Basel III Endgame, which would require banks to set aside more capital, "could be the end of bank real estate finance as we know it," says Bob Broeksmit, CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Broeksmit notes that Basel III covers banks that handle half of all commercial real estate financing, and he says that the proposal would stifle lending if it were to be approved.

The Federal Reserve's rate increases used to slow consumer spending in the past, but now, despite the fastest rate hikes in 40 years, the economy has remained resilient. Consumers are still spending and the labor market added 353,000 jobs last month. Resilient growth has eased concerns over a recession and given the Fed time to delay rate cuts.