Agencies can’t ding credit scores of owners skipping monthly payments via forbearance. As a result, their scores are up 14 points; non-forbearance owners are up only 7. NEW YORK – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York warned that credit scores – which can be used to determine if consumers qualify for a home loan, auto insurance loan or any other type of loan – may have become less reliable during the coronavirus pandemic. Banks and financial companies use credit scores to determine a consumer’s willingness and ability to pay them back. During the pandemic, however, unemployment surged and large
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By Jayme Deerwester Fla. real estate’s top source for international business faces visiting restrictions for at least another month. Until then, only trade and essential travel is allowed. WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security says the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will remain restricted through at least June 21, with only trade and essential travel allowed. The DHS confirmed the move Thursday and said it is “working closely with Canada & Mexico to safely ease restrictions as conditions improve.” The agency, in conjunction with its Canadian and Mexican counterparts, originally closed the U.S.’s northern and southern borders to
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By Marla Martin Florida Realtors’ data: April had more closed sales, more new pending sales and higher median prices (up 22.4% for single-family homes, 19.6% for condos) than a year ago. Pres. Lambert says, “keep in mind the comparison data comes from April 2020 when Fla. was experiencing the full impact of the pandemic.” ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s housing market remained strong in April, with more closed sales, higher median prices, more new pending sales and increased pending inventory compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors® latest housing data. However, note that the April data is being compared to
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By Kerry Smith It’s the third monthly decline in a row. NAR cites the lack of inventory for the slowdown, as well as the increase in median price to $341,600, up 19.1% year-to-year. WASHINGTON – Existing-home sales waned in April, marking three straight months of declines, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). All but one of the four major U.S. regions tracked by NAR saw month-over-month drops in home sales, but each also registered double-digit year-over-year gains for April, in part due to the rise of the pandemic one year ago. Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that
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By Kerry Smith NAR had 1.48M Realtor members at the end of 2020, up from 1.4M one year earlier, and 4 out of 5 (79%) plan to stay in the profession at least two more years. Realtors with 16 years-plus experience made $75K, down from 2019’s $86.5K – but 1 in 4 members made $100K or more. WASHINGTON – The No. 1 problem Realtors® had to deal with in 2020? A lack of inventory, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) 2021 Member Profile, an annual report analyzing members’ business activity and demographics from the prior year. Members can
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By Kerry Smith Overall, rising home prices lifted all boats. Homes in Opportunity Zones had first quarter price increases pretty much matched by homes in more affluent areas. IRVINE, Calif. – Attom Data Solutions released its first quarter 2021 report analyzing qualified low-income Opportunity Zones established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. It looked at 4,579 zones around the U.S. with at least five home sales in the first quarter of 2021. According to Attom, median home prices increased year-to-year in 75% of Opportunity Zones with sufficient data, and rose by at least 10% in
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The Florida Realtors/Florida Bar Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase and the As Is version (rev. April 2017) have the same interlocking provisions that stitch together to define dates and deadlines. Before we look at some key provisions, a great starting question is to determine who will calculate timelines – and to the maximum extent possible, buyer and seller should calculate deadlines. They sign the contract, and they’re the parties who may reap the benefits of good planning or suffer the consequences of poor planning. If you choose to try and help calculate these timelines, please note that you’re assuming
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By Ashalata Shettigar A 2017 tax overhaul changed the rules; a new proposal could do the same. Investors should understand all possible changes before they select new investment options. WASHINGTON – The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) created a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax landscape – the biggest set of changes in 30 years. Among the key provisions from that legislation for real estate businesses were: Corporate tax rates were lowered to a flat 21% of taxable income Broader tax base and a territorial tax system One-time tax on overseas earnings that are deemed repatriated Limitation
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By Kerry Smith Most sellers list for personal reasons, but a survey found that 1 in 4 (24%) who plan to list within the next 12 months are doing it because of the profit potential, with 53% expecting to get their asking price and 24% anticipating more. And 25% expect to have an offer within one week. SANTA CLARA, Calif. – According to a new realtor.com survey, sellers are almost giddy with anticipation as more enter the market this year. Multiple offers, bidding wars and high prices are just the beginning of what sellers expect. HarrisX conducted the survey for
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By Bendix Anderson Faced with a dearth of affordable existing homes, single-family investors say they’ll spend big money creating new rental-home developments in Fla. and other states. NEW YORK – The single-family housing market is red hot with prices rising at record-shattering rates. Homebuyers, who were briefly sidelined during the pandemic, have been hungry to take new space and take advantage of low mortgage rates to buy homes. Nationally, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of property values climbed 12% in February from a year earlier, the biggest jump since 2006. So, it might seem like a challenging time for investors
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