By Kerry Smith Pandemic numbers are rising again. That’s shaken investors and pushed 30-year mortgage rates lower again this week, though adjustable rates moved a little higher. MCLEAN, Va. – The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.78%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. It’s the fourth week in a row for a drop. “Concerns about the Delta variant, and the overall trajectory of the pandemic, are undoubtedly affecting economic growth,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While the economy continues to mend, Treasury yields have decreased, and mortgage rates have followed suit.” Khater said the “declining rates provide yet
Read More

By Marla Martin Florida Realtors’ data: More closed sales, more new listings and higher median prices (up 24.5% for single-family homes, 22.4% for condos) than a year ago. Chief Economist O’Connor: The ratio of buyers to sellers may be easing; as a result, home price growth could begin to cool down in the future. ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s housing market continued the same trends as previous months with more closed sales, higher median prices and more new listings compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors® latest housing data. Market Stays Hot in June — Plus, Inventory on the Rise Home
Read More

Nationally, cash buyers made up about 1/3 of all 2021 home sales so far, but that percentage rises to 52.6% in West Palm Beach – the top metro for cash sales in the U.S. SEATTLE – More wealthy consumers are closing with all-cash transactions, which can give them an edge in bidding wars. Nationally, almost one-third of U.S. home purchases this year have been made to cash buyers – the largest share since 2014, according to a housing report from Redfin that tracked county records across the country from January 2001 through April 2021. “I’ve never seen more cash in
Read More

By Meredith Caruso On July 22, 2021, Florida Realtors released a new addendum for use with Florida Realtors contracts, the Escalation Addendum to Contract, available through Form Simplicity and other licensed vendors. FAQs and how-to-complete info is available on the association’s website. ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Realtors® released a new form, Escalation Addendum to Contract, on July 22, 2021, available now in Form Simplicity and through other licensed vendors. This form can be used with any of the Florida Realtors contracts, as reflected in the new form. To help members become familiar with the new form, two additional accompanying documents
Read More

Another major Fla. newspaper backed the goal of Florida Realtors’ amendment petition drive to keep “Housing Funds for Housing.” Editors said it’s “nonsensical” to remove “hundreds of millions in designated housing money during an unprecedented affordable housing crisis.” PALM BEACH, Fla. – When the Florida Legislature gathers in Tallahassee, a sweep of the Sadowski Housing Trust Funds to pay for projects that have nothing to do with housing usually follows. State documentary stamp taxes on real estate sales provide the Sadowski funds with $423 million annually for state agencies and local governments to develop initiatives to help people own homes
Read More

By Jim Turner In a likely boost for Fla. tourism and real estate, the Canadian government will ease border rules in Aug. Fla. Policy and Budget official expects “a big jump in people.” TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – State economists expressed optimism that already-rebounding tourism numbers will see a quicker-than-anticipated boost from international travelers as Canada eases COVID-19 border restrictions. While the White House hasn’t announced decisions yet about Canadian travelers entering the United States, members of Florida’s Economic Estimating Conference said Tuesday they anticipate changes that will make it more convenient for people traveling south of the U.S.-Canada border. “The borders
Read More

By Matt Ott It’s a positive turn during a year with wild construction swings. The biggest jump came in the West (up 12.6%) and South (up 9.7%), which includes Fla. SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) – Home construction in the U.S. jumped 6.3% in June, another big swing in a volatile year. The rise in June put home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.64 million units, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Home construction starts rose 12.6% in the West and 9.7% in the South, offsetting high single-digit declines in the Northeast and Midwest. Applications for building permits, which
Read More

By Kerry Smith Mortgage bankers say that many homeowners are coming out of forbearance, with only 7.4%, so far, either selling the home, doing a refi or otherwise paying off the mortgage. 1 in 4 (23.2%) never stopped making monthly payments; another 1 in 4 (28%) ended up having their loans deferred. NEW YORK – The number of homes in forbearance this week (3.5%) dropped again from last week’s numbers (3.76%), according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey According to MBA’s estimate, 1.75 million homeowners are in forbearance plans. Percentage in forbearance by type
Read More

In May, the year-to-year median home price was up almost 24%. The inventory shortage played a role, says NAR’s Yun, but affordability is squeezing some buyers out too. WASHINGTON – Just how wild is the real estate market right now? You don’t hear National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun say this every day: “We’ve never seen price appreciation of this magnitude.” It’s a sobering message in NAR’s latest home sales video, which covers the month of May, when the median home price rose nearly 24% year-over-year, from $283,500 in May 2020 to $350,300 in May 2021. Higher
Read More

In 2020, FHFA made homeowners pay an extra fee if they refinance, but that fee will go away after Aug. 1 – part of a new focus to help owners keep their property. WASHINGTON – Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Sandra Thompson announced on July 16 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will no longer assess a 50 basis point fee on lenders when they deliver refinanced mortgages after Aug. 1. The agency’s scrapping of the adverse market fee is Thompson’s first rescission of a Trump-era policy since she took charge of FHFA last month. Ex-FHFA Director Mark
Read More