NEW YORK – The $2.4 trillion office building sector continues to struggle with property values falling for aging buildings, high interest rates on new loans and refinancing, and poor tenant demand after the pandemic. Opportunistic buyers have found some large office buildings at a steep discount up to 70%, making the office market an […]
MINNEAPOLIS – Last year, after Deb Jerikovsky’s husband died, she decided to swap the lake home where they planned to spend retirement for a house in the metro that’s closer to family. She put that plan on hold, however, once she realized 7% mortgage rates would force her to dip too deeply into her […]
News & Media MIAMI – Even with more housing inventory available in the Florida market, developers of single-family homes appear undeterred. Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda, an analytics firm specializing in new construction, said, “The rise in [housing] inventory in Florida has definitely caused rumblings in the new home industry. We’ve had builders […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Home loan borrowing costs eased again this week as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage declined to its lowest level since early April. The rate fell to 6.87% from 6.95% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.67%. This is the third straight weekly […]
WASHINGTON – Single-family and multifamily housing starts fell in May as high interest rates for construction and development loans and mortgage rates held back both housing supply and demand. Overall housing starts fell 5.5% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department […]
WASHINGTON – One in 3 adults between the ages of 18 and 34 are living with their parents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Several economic factors are leading adult children back home, including student loan and credit card debt as well as rising rents. Bobbi Rebell, 54, chief executive officer of Financial Wellness […]
News & Media SEATTLE – U.S. home prices rose 0.3% month over month in May — the smallest increase on a seasonally adjusted basis since January 2023, per a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin. Prices climbed 7.2% from a year earlier, but annual growth showed signs of plateauing. Links to Realtors strive […]
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 […]