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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 7 A look at facts you didn't know you couldn't live without. Compiled by the DS News Staff A forecast released by Colorado State University predicts "below average activity" for the 2018 hurricane season, with 11 named storms anticipated between June and November. Four of those storms are forecast to be hurricanes, and one a "major hurricane." According to an Urban Land Institute report entitled "The New Geography of Urban Neighborhoods," population growth in urban neighborhoods in the nation's 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas between 2010 and 2015 approached suburban growth rates for the first time in decades. REAL ESTATE PROS GO MOBILE INSIDE THE JOURNAL // ON THE WEB // THE APP SPECTRUM // MOVERS & SHAKERS TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS D ATA B I T S Source: WalletHub, "2018's Best & Worst Cities for First-Time Home Buyers." * WalletHub compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 27 key indicators of market attractiveness, affordability, and quality of life with a data set ranging from cost of living to real-estate taxes to property-crime rate. THE 10 BEST CITIES FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS* THE 10 WORST CITIES FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS* 1 BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 35.96 2 DETROIT, MICHIGAN 37.21 3 FLINT, MICHIGAN 37.36 4 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 37.85 5 SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA 38.27 6 OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 38.31 7 MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 38.55 8 ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY 39.38 9 NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 39.43 10 ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 39.61 1 BROKEN ARROW, OKLAHOMA 67.09 2 TAMPA, FLORIDA 65.79 3 CENTENNIAL, COLORADO 64.74 4 BOISE, IDAHO 64.69 5 GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN 64.65 6 THORNTON, COLORADO 64.49 7 FRISCO, TEXAS 64.26 8 MCKINNEY, TEXAS 64.26 9 CARY, NORTH CAROLINA 64.03 10 GILBERT, ARIZONA 63.98 Real estate professionals are spending an increasing amount of time conducting business on their smartphones, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). About one-third of real estate professionals spend more than seven hours per workday on their smartphone or tablet, up from 18 percent a year ago, according to the 2018 Realtor Mobile Usage Report from NAR. About half of that third estimate they spend more than nine hours per day on their devices. Also, 35.7 percent of real estate professionals use their mobile devices between four and six hours per workday. Fewer than five percent of real estate professionals say they use their smart devices less than one hour per day, and less than half a percent do not use a mobile device at all. It's not surprising then that an overwhelming majority—85.3 percent—of real estate professionals consider their mobile devices "very important" in their daily work and another 10.6 percent consider them "important." Tablets are popular but not universal among real estate professionals. About 34.8 percent of survey respondents said they do not use a tablet at all. Apple devices are favored among real estate professionals with 70.4 percent saying they use an iPhone for their business. About 28.9 percent use an Android. When it comes to tablets, however, it's just about Apple or nothing. While a little over a third of respondents said they do not use a tablet, 48.7 percent said they use an Apple tablet. Fewer than five percent of respondents said they use a Google or Microsoft tablet. e task real estate professionals complete most often on their mobile devices is, naturally, client communications. About 93.6 percent of survey respondents said they use their mobile devices for client communications. Other common uses for mobile devices were housing research, cited among 70.7 percent of respondents; social media (70.7 percent); arranging home showings (62 percent); accessing contact management systems (60 percent); and making financial calculations (56 percent). Half of the respondents said they use their devices to track mileage and business expenses, and nearly half rely on their mobile device's camera. NAR also questioned respondents about their favorite mobile apps. Professionals most often cited RPR, Homesnap, Zillow, ShowingTime, Realtor.com, and area MLS apps. An overwhelming majority of real estate professionals consider their mobile devices "very important" in their daily work. PAGE 34 Partner, Risk Management & Compliance, McCarthy & Holthus, LLP COUNSEL'S CORNER WITH Andrew Boylan RANKING CITY TOTAL SCORE RANKING CITY TOTAL SCORE

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