NEW YORK – With mortgage interest rates near 7%, home sellers are pulling out all the stops when it comes to finding buyers. According to Thumbtack, in 2024’s first quarter, requests to hire home-staging companies rose 10% compared to the previous year, and the average cost of staging a home increased 18% to $1,816 […]
NEW YORK – Mortgage rates probably won’t vary much in the first week and a half of June. But starting June 12, it’s anyone’s guess what rates will do. A bunch of factors influence mortgage rates. In the last two-plus years, two items have exerted an especially big impact: the monthly consumer price index, […]
News & Media TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The state sales tax on commercial leases dropped Saturday to 2.0% from 4.5%, providing Florida employers with an estimated $1 billion in tax relief. The tax, also known as the Business Rent Tax, was originally slated to begin on July 1 with a 2.5% reduction. The timing of […]
News & Media SEATTLE — One in six (16.6%) U.S. renters stayed in their home for 10 years or more in 2022, up from 13.9% a decade earlier, according to the real estate brokerage firm Redfin. Redfin analyzed renter tenure by other timeframes: 5-9 years: One in six (16.4%) lived in their home for […]
News & Media TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) released new information about the My Safe Florida Home Program, a Florida Realtors® legislative priority. Under the program, property owners can protect their homes against storms and reduce their insurance premiums. The program received an additional $200 million in the past […]
News & Media ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Realtors announced it postponed its release of updated forms designed to help Realtors in daily transactions. This comes after the National Association of Realtors® extended its deadline for practice changes following the recent settlement. The new Florida Realtors forms, originally slated for May 31, will now be […]
NEW YORK – Buying a dream home is an exciting milestone in anyone’s life, but it’s also a decision that requires careful consideration. There are plenty of factors to weigh before making such a significant investment, including costs, location, and the home’s condition. Here are five key considerations for home buyers to keep in […]
NEW YORK – Real estate experts from around the world held a virtual seminar on Wednesday to discuss how to mitigate the impact of expanded work-from-home opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Volcker Alliance, a nonprofit think tank started in 2013 by former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A, Volcker, hosted the event […]
News & Media NEW YORK – Conventional mortgage loans are one of the most popular options for financing a home, accounting for 77% of all mortgage loans issued in 2022, according to government data. Data show that Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans accounted for 14% of loans and U.S. Department of Agriculture and Veterans […]
MIAMI – After starting a career in engineering in Boynton Beach, Florida, Moisey Abdurakhmanov was renting a home with friends when he decided he wanted his own place. “I realized I was basically paying somebody else’s mortgage every month,” he recalls. So when the lease was up, he moved back home with his parents, […]
WASHINGTON – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched a public inquiry into mortgage “junk fees” to “understand why closing costs are increasing, who is benefiting and how costs for borrowers and lenders could be lowered.” The CFPB said the closing costs borrowers pay in connection with a mortgage have risen steeply in recent […]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — With a potentially volatile hurricane season ready to start, the AM Best financial-rating agency released a report Thursday that said Florida’s property insurance market is showing signs of improvement — but that time will tell. The report said AM Best is “cautiously optimistic” about the Florida market, in part because of […]