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Form Simplicity and Tech Helpline won 2023 HW Tech100 awards for “the most innovative technology companies serving the mortgage and real estate industries.”ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Realtors®’ Form Simplicity and Tech Helpline have both been recognized as individual winners of the 2023 HW Tech100 Real Estate awards from HousingWire, a leading source for U.S. mortgage and housing news. Form...

AEI/CRL: If lots of inflation-hit owners refinance to take cash out, their temporary financial fix may lead to foreclosure if the funds run out or their home value falls.WASHINGTON – Inflation has hit many American households, and some homeowners see a cash-out refi – a refinance mortgage loan where they also take some additional equity out of their home to use for other things – as a possible...

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The future of Southwest Florida real estate looks bright, three high-profile area real estate experts say, but just how bright depends on several factors few of us have any control over: percentages, pricing and politics. Randy Thibaut, founder of LSI Companies and CEO of Sage Communities likes to call them the three “Ps.” Percentages refers to interest rates. Pricing is the...

Buyers are lowering down payments thanks to inflation, high home prices and more sellers willing to negotiate. At $42K, it’s the lowest money down in two years.SEATTLE – The typical U.S. homebuyer’s down payment fell 10% year-to-year in January. At a median of $42,375 – it’s the lowest level in nearly two years, according to a report from Redfin. The median down payment is down 35% from the...

In Fla., 7 agencies get part of the $2.9M under 12 grants. The money fights discrimination, and includes funds to private investigators for “testing and enforcement.”WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $54 million to 182 fair housing organizations across the country under its Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). The grants provide $28,200,000 to...

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve extended its year-long fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point despite concerns that higher borrowing rates could worsen the turmoil that has gripped the banking system. “The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient,” the Fed said in a statement after its latest policy meeting ended. At the same time, the...

Fla.’s State Broadband Officer will use $5M from HUD to connect some of the 11% who can’t access the internet, including the 3% who have no connection options.WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a new guidebook for states and organizations to consider when deploying high-speed internet service projects. The guide was created to help multifamily housing...

Florida Realtors: Closed single-family sales fell 21.3% last month amid inflation and higher interest rates, but for-sale inventory rose 131.4% to a 2.7-months’ supply.ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s housing market in February continued to show increasing inventory (active listings) and higher median prices compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors®’ latest housing data. Still, economic...

Real estate is a time-tested, tried-and-true investment for people who can afford it, but it also involves work. Not everyone wants to be a landlord.NEW YORK – Real estate has been a popular investment for a very long time – for those who can afford it. But in recent years, trends such as house flipping, “house hacking” (living in one room of a property while renting out the others) and...

A senior-housing project aimed at middle-class adults gives them an option other than “dying in my house.” The Mass. prototype charges only $1,800 per month.NEWTON, Mass. – The developer 2Life Communities broke ground March 6 on a senior housing project that’s affordable to middle-class residents. Monthly rents will be as low as $1,800 at the $100 million development in Newton, Mass. Comparable...

Is that buyer or seller a “person” or a “side in the transaction”? The former builds customer loyalty over the long term – the latter not so much.NEW YORK – Austin Nielsen is broker/owner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sioux Falls Real Estate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He says what he likes most about his career is being able to help agents understand that they are overseeing a...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Single mother of two Ebony Dennis lived in the same condo for 11 years until last year when her rent shot up by $400. The fear of not being able to afford rent if it kept increasing and the desire for stability led her to apply for a second time to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando and Osceola County’s homeownership program. Dennis, who is working toward an associate degree at...

Last week some pundits thought the Fed might keep rates steady at its meeting this week, but most now say that would make the bank issue look like a big deal.WASHINGTON (AP) – Still grappling with persistently high inflation, the Federal Reserve faces an entirely new – and in some ways conflicting – challenge as it meets to consider interest rates this week: How to restore calm to a nervous...

WASHINGTON – In the previous financial crisis, the nation’s biggest banks were the villains. This time, they may be the heroes. Wall Street titans whose actions once angered voters on the right and left have become safe havens for anxious Americans and a source of financial backing for wounded institutions. Tens of billions of dollars in deposits have flowed into the coffers of giant banks such as...

Thanks to exchange rates and other things, Canadians buy Fla. homes today mainly for sunshine and warmth – and it still draws in 45% of its U.S. neighbors to the North.CALGARY, Canada – When Canadian snowbirds descend on the United States, where do they roost? Calgary.com examined data from the National Association of Realtors’ 2022 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report...

NEW CASTLE, Ind. – Home values in some states began to fall at the end of last year and may continue to drop, according to the latest data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Prices NSA Index, the leading measure of U.S. home prices. Nationally, prices decreased 0.6% from June to November 2022. But despite a growing trend of falling prices the last few months, house prices are...

Nest Seekers Chief Economist Erin Sykes says the market’s long-term health works best if rates stay in the 6% range. After a 2% flash sale ends, sellers just hunker down. NEW YORK – While mortgage rates may have dipped slightly this week due to several bank failures, five consecutive weeks of increases have undone the temporary decrease that began last November. And with the Federal Reserve warning...

An insurance watchdog group alleges insurers illegally reduced disaster estimates after Hurricane Ian and says it will submit the crime evidence to Fla. law enforcement.ORLANDO, Fla. – An insurance industry watchdog group says that it will submit to Florida law enforcement evidence of crimes committed by insurance company employees in the aftermath of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian last...

ChatGPT fake writing can now be used with software that imitates voices. That means a seemingly personal call from a client, title agent or friend could be a scam.NEW YORK – You have just returned home after a long day at work and are about to sit down for dinner when suddenly your phone starts buzzing. On the other end is a loved one, perhaps a parent, a child or a childhood friend, begging you to...

There is no “right way” to plan an estate – but there are wrong ways. Plans could include wills, life estate deeds, trusts and joint tenancy, individually or in combination.FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Question: My daughter wants me to put my apartment into a joint tenancy with survivorship to make things easier when I eventually pass away. I want to make things easier, but I don’t know what this...

A Newsday report on Long Island, N.Y., housing discrimination led the state’s attorney general to investigate. This week she announced a settlement with Coldwell Banker.NEW YORK – Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday a settlement with Coldwell Banker, putting an end to the real estate brokerage’s alleged discriminatory practices against Black, Hispanic, and other homebuyers of...

Handwritten correspondence was once expected. Today it suggests a personal relationship and Realtor who actually cares, even though machines can now pen letters.CHICAGO – For several years, Ben Graham with Graham Group Real Estate in Chandler, Arizona, sent printed mailers and marketing materials via snail mail to prospective customers, but he wasn’t getting much feedback. However after he opted...

Census Bureau: Over a five year period (2016-2021), the number of these renters who can afford to buy rose 87%. Reasons vary, but most understand the value of ownership.NEW YORK – High-earning Americans are more likely to rent their place of residence than they did in the past. The number of renter households making $150,000 or more a year rose by 87% between 2016 and 2021 to more than 3 million,...

HUD announced a new office focused on equity for “not-so-privileged households” in disaster recovery efforts. Fla. and 4 counties will receive a combined $2.789B.WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced an overhaul of the agency’s disaster recovery efforts: It created the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) in the Office of the Deputy Secretary, and the...

After five weeks of increases, the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.6% from last week’s 6.73%. One year earlier it was 4.16%.NEW YORK – The average long-term U.S. mortgage inched back down this week after five straight weeks of increases – good news for homebuyers as the housing market’s all-important spring buying season gets underway. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac...

Multifamily starts surged 24% in Feb., suggesting future relief for renters and condo buyers, but single-family starts rose only a marginal 1.1%.WASHINGTON – Hopes for a surge in new single-family homes failed to appear in February, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau – but overall housing starts rose 9.8% (1.45 million units per year if the...

MIAMI – A line in the Florida Legislature’s latest attempt to fix the state’s fractured home insurance market promises to have big impacts on more than a million Floridians. It will force them to also buy flood insurance – even if their homes aren’t in designated flood zones. The provision, included in a sweeping insurance bill passed late last year, will make flood insurance mandatory for...

Attom ranked four Fla. counties near the top as strong markets for 2023 single-family investments: Palm Beach, Indian River, Collier and Charlotte counties.IRVINE, Calif. – Attom’s Q1 2023 Single-Family Rental Market report, which ranks the best U.S. markets for buying single-family rental properties in 2023, listed four Florida counties near the top as rental-return opportunities for single-family...

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Homeownership is likely to remain a pipe dream for many Americans this spring homebuying season. The nation’s worst housing slump in nearly a decade stoked hope among prospective buyers that homes could be scooped up more easily. But while prices appear to have peaked last summer, they still ended 2022 higher than they were at the end of 2021. And the median U.S. home price has...

Nationally, it’s 45.5%, though slightly less in the two Fla. metros noted: 41.7% in Miami (up from 31.8%) and 41.3% in Orlando (up from 33.3%).SEATTLE – Home sellers gave concessions to buyers in 45.5% of home sales recorded by Redfin agents during the three months ending Feb. 28, 2023, in a year-to-year comparison, according to a report from Redfin – the highest share of any three-month period in...

Is that property really for sale? A Realtor and title company saved an Oregon couple $136K. Their agent noted red flags and researched the “owner” selling the property.MADRA, Ore. – John and Mary Miller (not their real names) almost lost $136,000 dollars trying to buy the perfect piece of property. They want to tell their story so no one else falls into this trap but asked us not to use their real...

The main benefit expected from artificial intelligence (AI) is speed. A home valuation, for example, could arrive in minutes. Other routine tasks are already faster.NEW YORK – Supporters of artificial intelligence (AI) in the real estate sector anticipate that machine learning tools will create prompt and precise valuations of homes in real time. Existing AI tools already do that. They’re...

The agencies’ “statement of interest” in an appraisal bias court case says lenders can’t rely on an appraisal if they knew, or should have known, it was discriminatory.WASHINGTON – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a Statement of Interest in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Connolly & Mott v. Lanham et...

In Central Fla., an increased number of homeless people is “almost exclusively the result of rising housing costs,” says the director of the Homeless Services Network.ORLANDO, Fla. – Homelessness appears to be worsening in Central Florida, though agencies paid to house more than 3,400 people last year. An ongoing housing crisis and soaring rents are pushing more and more people to the brink of...

Real estate agents should have a unique personal brand that can follow them if they make any changes during their career.NEW YORK – Real estate agents should create a consistent and effective personal brand that holds up even if they switch offices. Three strategies can ensure that the brand follows agents with the transition: First, select meaningful “colors” for content and marketing –...

Today’s homebuyers’ monthly mortgage payments are almost 30% higher than year-ago buyers due to higher mortgage rates.TAMPA, Fla. – Increased mortgage rates across the United States means increased monthly payments for homebuyers. According to new data on mortgage payments from Redfin real estate, payments are up almost 30% from March 2022. Redfin’s data shows that as of March 5, the typical...

About 50% of millennials say higher interest rates keep them from buying right now, but 75% also suspect a housing bubble will bring lower costs later in 2023.SEBRING, Fla. – In the past two years, skyrocketing home values have priced many millennials out of the real estate market. Now with interest rates hovering around 6.5%, millennials face yet another costly barrier to homeownership. About half...

Financially astute wealthy buyers don’t like the uncertainty of today’s market, so some have taken a wait-and-see attitude with home buying.SEATTLE  – Sales of luxury U.S. homes declined a record 44.6% year over year during the three months ending Jan. 31, 2023, according to Redfin. That drop outpaces a record 37.5% drop in sales of non-luxury homes, according to data collection that began in...

A major bank failure has scared investors. It’s unclear if things will get worse, but financial stress could lower mortgage rates and push the Fed to reconsider rate increases.NEW YORK – The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature banks has scared investors. If a bank the size of Silicon Valley can go under, they wonder, what could be next? As a result, stocks ran sporadically lower and bank...

In 4Q 2022, builders found a “persistent shift in buyer preferences to live outside of densely populated areas” with the share of new urban homes dropping to 44.5%.WASHINGTON – Nationwide single-family housing starts have slowed in the past year, with the largest drop (percentage basis) in the most dense counties, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Home Building...

If homeowners with an FHA loan default, they may still be able to keep the house through a mortgage modification, which now includes a 40-year option.WASHINGTON – The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published a final rule in the Federal Register, Increased Forty-Year Term for Loan Modifications, that allows homeowners who default on an FHA loan to opt for a 40-year, fixed-rate loan (from 360 to...

A major housing bill strongly backed by Florida Realtors passed the Fla. Senate Wed. The House may suggest changes, but it’s a good start early in the 2023 session.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Moving quickly on priorities of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, Florida senators Wednesday passed measures aimed at spurring more affordable housing for workers and boosting a trail network and wildlife...

It’s the fifth weekly increase in a row. Last week, the 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaged 6.65%. One year ago, it was 3.85%.WASHINGTON – The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for the fifth straight week to its highest level since breaching 7% in November, just as the spring buying season gets ready to kick off. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark...

On March 16, an online webinar called “Records Access – What You Should Know!” will be hosted by DBPR reps, Fla.’s condo ombudsman and the Fla. Bar.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – An online educational webinar on Florida’s condo regulations will take place on Thursday, March 16, from noon to 1 p.m. Realtors®, unit owners, board members, prospective buyers, and Floridians in a related field are invited...

Job reports, hourly earnings and price data suggest inflation may be slowing even as bank troubles stir recession fears. But a bond-price drop could help lower mortgage rates.NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks are falling Friday as worries flare about the banking system and the painful effects of high interest rates meant to drive down inflation. The S&P 500 was 0.7% lower in midday trading. It’s heading...

A credit crunch has infected commercial real estate investors struggling to pay 2023 bills in the face of lower operating income and a higher cost of financing.NEW YORK – At the end of 2022, credit card and auto delinquency rates continued to rise at a rate 80 points higher than in the fourth quarter of 2021. So it should come as no surprise that the credit crunch has also infected commercial real...

A number of people who bought homes during the bidding wars – often foregoing inspections and making offers sight-unseen – are discovering problems with the property.NEW YORK – Some homeowners who bought their homes during the pandemic say they are starting to feel some buyer’s remorse, especially those who bought their homes sight unseen. “I feel lied to and ripped off,” Mikhekla...

SOUTHGATE, Mich. – A federal court has denied a city’s motion for summary judgment against a man who sought to keep six chickens as emotional support animals. The man, who was diagnosed with acute stress disorder and major depressive disorder, recurrent and general anxiety disorder, brought suit against the city for violations of the Fair Housing Act and Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil...

One year ago, mortgage rates started their rise, and people scrambled to buy homes. That means stats comparing March 2023 to March 2022 won’t make a lot of sense.CHICAGO – Are negative headlines about the housing slowdown giving homebuyers the jitters just as the busy spring season approaches? Homebuilders think so. Nearly 80% of builders say the media is stoking fear among consumers about the real...