WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates that continue to hover in the 7% range, along with elevated construction financing costs, continue to put a damper on builder sentiment. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 43 in June, down two points from May, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo […]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — While saying Florida’s insurance market is improving, the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Board of Governors on Wednesday backed a proposal that would lead to customers across the state seeing double-digit rate increases in 2025. The proposal, in part, would lead to an average 13.5% rate increase for the most-common type of […]
News & Media By Kevin Accettulla TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – President Joe Biden on Tuesday approved a disaster declaration for Florida after several areas were affected by deadly tornadoes and other storm damage last month. Links to Applications are currently being accepted for members of the Florida Realtors family who sustained damage during: Flash flooding […]
MIAMI – Looking for the sunnier side of the short-term rental market? You’ll find it in Florida, home to three of 2024’s leading Airbnb cities. Tampa took the number one spot in a new study from Clever Real Estate, followed by Orlando and Jacksonville. Boston, Massachusetts, ranked fourth, and Miami rounded out the top […]
NEW YORK – The Federal Reserve had hoped that 2024 would be a year for cutting interest rates. However, with inflation proving more persistent than almost anyone had anticipated, these expectations are quickly fading. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed this on June 12, when he and his fellow policymakers indicated there would be only […]
News & Media NEW YORK – Bond prices have risen in June, pushing down yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note by nearly a half percentage point since late May. On June 14, the yield fell to 4.212%, the largest two-week decline of 2024. The 10-year yield is influenced by investors’ expectations for short-term […]
SEATTLE— More than four in five (86%) luxury homebuyers rank double vanities as must-haves when searching for a home, making them the most asked-for kitchen and bathroom features among high-end buyers this year. Next come kitchen islands and granite or quartz countertops, with 85% of luxury buyers asking their agents for each of them, […]
NEW YORK – Inflation is still running well above plan, and that means the Federal Reserve is keeping its finger firmly on the pause button. The central bank raised rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023, with the expectation that it would reverse course this year. But as inflation has stayed above 3%, it […]
MIAMI – Tens of thousands of homeowners in Florida will soon be required to buy flood insurance, and the flooding that inundated large areas of Broward and Miami-Dade counties this week shows why insurance experts say it’s necessary. In Broward County, 88,913 parcels that were previously in low-risk flood zones on flood hazard maps […]
ORLANDO, Fla. – Each month, Florida Realtors® publishes a bevy of housing statistics, but few are examined as often as the median sale price of homes. The market price stat rolls all the closed sales in the previous month together, with 50% of homes closing for prices above and the other 50% of homes […]
NEW YORK – Real estate professionals can improve closing rates from listing appointments with some preparation and a good dose of confidence. The first step is to know the homeowner, which can entail reviewing their social media for recent life events, job changes, hobbies and where they vacationed last. This information can open the […]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida homeowners who’ve been struggling with the volatile insurance market may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. So far this year, nine homeowners insurance companies have filed for rate decreases in Florida, and 10 have filed to keep their rates unchanged in 2024, according to the Florida […]