The Counselors of Real Estate releases its annual list of the hot-button issues for the industry in the year ahead.

Real Estate Webmasters has a system to help you track the data that will inform your next business move.

Professional development relationships sometimes disappoint people who neglect the difference between a mentor and an advocate, writes Kaelin Peterson, a doctoral student in performance improvement leadership. Clarify whether guidance or advocacy is the goal and ask for it, notes Peterson, who suggests seeking connections through professional organizations, school alumni groups, LinkedIn and networking events.

A recent study from Reworking America and Thumbtack provides a breakdown that includes potential savings on utility bills.

Microunits and co-living are emerging housing options, particularly for retirees and empty-nesters. These choices offer affordability and social benefits with the trade-offs in terms of space and privacy.

Hackers can infiltrate online meeting platforms, posing as a legitimate party to a real estate transaction. Learn how to spot them.

Google Photos has incorporated artificial intelligence to enable montage videos to be done quickly, with the technology selecting the relevant photos for the user.

The Biden administration seeks to address affordable housing shortages and empty office space with a multi-agency initiative. To encourage office conversions to apartments, the plan allocates more than $35 billion lending assistance from two Department of Transportation programs.

An interim report by the Technical Mapping Advisory Council, established by Congress in 2012, recommends that the Federal Emergency Management Agency designate more areas as having a high risk of flooding, a move that could make flood insurance mandatory for millions more property owners. About 8.5 million properties are in areas that FEMA has deemed as facing high flood risk, although the First Street Foundation says the designation should apply to an estimated 19 million properties.

Problems in the commercial property sector are posing risks for hundreds of U.S. banks exposed to an estimated $5.5 trillion of debt in the sector, much of it related to office space. An expected post-pandemic return to offices has not fully materialized, and occupancy rates remain at about 50% of their pre-pandemic levels. "Lenders are starting to capitulate, realizing that they need to mark down loans. This is going to pick up momentum as we go into 2024," says real estate executive Scott Rechler, a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.