SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For first-time homebuyers, the Mid-Atlantic and Florida are the best places to kickstart their homeownership journey in 2025, according to the 2025 Realtor.com® Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers report, The report ranked three Florida locations — Villas (Lee County), Altamonte Springs (Seminole County) and Lauderdale Lakes (Broward County) — as […]
News & Media By Matt Ott WASHINGTON — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate ticked up again this week, remaining at its highest level since July. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate loan rate rose to 6.93% from 6.91% last week, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. It was at 6.66% a year ago. It […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Do you have kids currently in college, or maybe one who is about to graduate high school? Or maybe you have customers with high school seniors in their households: if so, make sure they know about about the Student Scholarship Program offered through Florida Realtors® Education Foundation Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that […]
NEW YORK – Making sure your credit score is in good shape could be vital if you’ve got a significant loan application coming up in 2025. And even if you haven’t, it’s still worth checking it from time to time to make sure there’s nothing unexpected on there. John Webb, credit expert at Experian, […]
NEW YORK – Mortgage rates might ride up and down in January and finish lower than where they started, like a road trip that begins in the mountains and ends at the beach. January is dominated by a change in presidential administrations, which dials up the uncertainty. “When things are more uncertain, rates tend […]
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – December 2024 saw a 22.0% growth in homes actively for sale compared with the same time last year nationally, according to the December Monthly Housing Trends Report from Realtor.com. Miami (45.4%), San Diego (42.4%) and Denver (41.9%) led the way with the highest active listing growth year over year amongst […]
News & Media TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Amid efforts to shift customers into the private market, the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. started 2025 with more than 935,000 policies. Data posted on the Citizens website showed it had 935,576 policies as of Friday. That was down slightly from 936,203 policies a week earlier. Citizens was […]
SEATTLE — More than one-third (34%) of U.S. homeowners say they’ll never sell their home, and another 27% say they wouldn’t consider selling for at least 10 years, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin. Roughly one-quarter (24%) of homebuyers plan to sell in five to 10 years, while just 8% plan to sell […]
CHICAGO – Perfecting home staging is an art as much as it is a science. “Unexpected red theory” is gaining buzz in the interior design world, and you may be able to leverage it when preparing homes for sale by crafting more memorable spaces. Here’s how it works. ‘Unexpected Red Theory’ Uncovered Red is […]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Question: After several years of renting, we plan to purchase our first home in the new year. Do you have any advice on how we can find our dream home? — Joan Answer: Buying your first home is an exciting but anxious time. Getting caught up in the process and […]
NEW YORK – The overall decline in mortgage rates over the past year has been a welcome shift for buyers who want to finance a home purchase. But keep in mind that mortgage rates on a second home run slightly higher than they do for primary homes because from the lender’s perspective, the additional […]
News & Media NEW YORK – Florida is attracting lots of Americans. After accounting for households that moved out of the state, Florida gained 125,316 households from other states in the 2022 tax year. And most of the households coming in are bringing higher incomes than those leaving. This influx of new residents can […]