Citizens Property Insurance expects to exceed more than 1M policies sometime in 2022 – and private insurers will rack up more than 1B in losses by the end of this year. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s policy count will surpass 1 million next year as private market insurers continue to experience losses expected to reach nearly $1 billion by the end of 2021. Speaking to Citizens Board of Governors, Citizens President, CEO and Executive Director Barry Gilway on Wednesday warned that as Citizens’ policy count grows, so does the risk of assessments on all Florida insurance consumers. A
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By Kerry Smith Energage sends workplace culture surveys to companies on behalf of the Orlando Sentinel, and the state Realtor association was named one of the area’s best places to work. ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Realtors® was named one of the “Top Workplaces” in Central Florida. The yearly ranking is based on an anonymous workplace culture survey filled out by company employees. The Orlando Sentinel operates the program but it relies on Energage, a Philadelphia-based research firm, to oversee the unbiased study. Employees filled out the survey online, and neither the association nor the Orlando Sentinel see the responses. “Creating a
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By Marla Martin Florida Realtors’ data: More new listings and higher median prices – up 18% for single-family homes to $354,000; up 16.1% to $252,500 for condos – than a year ago. Single-family home sales rose just 0.2%, but condo sales were up 13.1%. Chief Economist O’Connor: Condo-townhouse market “remains the hotter market for now.” ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s housing market reported higher median prices, more new listings and a rise in all-cash sales in August compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors® latest housing data. “The data shows that new listings continue to increase, which is hopeful news
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By Kerry Smith NFIP’s Risk Rating 2.0 becomes effective on Oct. 1. Register for Florida Realtors webinar (Tue., Sept. 28) to learn the changes and best practices. WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which oversees the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), is updating its risk rating methodology on Oct. 1. Many industry groups, including the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), say that the new rates – which will be individualized by home rather than set by flood zone – leverage “industry best practices and cutting-edge technology to deliver rates that are actuarily sound, equitable, easier to understand and better reflect
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By Zeke Miller Travelers must be fully vaccinated and have a recent negative COVID-19 test if flying to the U.S., but the change could allow more buyers to physically tour homes. WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will ease foreign travel restrictions into the U.S. beginning in November, when his administration will require all foreign nationals flying into the country to be fully vaccinated. All foreign travelers flying to the U.S. will need to demonstrate proof of vaccination before boarding, as well as proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of flight, said White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff
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By Kerry Smith The Biden administration doesn’t plan to stop FEMA’s “Risk Rating 2.0” from going into effect, leaving Congressional leaders to decide. NAR backs the new structure that charges by individual home rather than flood zone, but it’s facing opposition from other real estate groups. WASHINGTON – Flood insurance is an unusual problem for lawmakers because it doesn’t break along party lines. In general, representatives from coastal states oppose any change that raises rates, while landlocked state representatives do not. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) oversees the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and it has been planning a
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By Martin Crutsinger A better-than-expected rebound came largely from the apartment-construction segment that rose 21.6% compared to a 2.8% decline in single-family-home starts. WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. home construction rebounded a better-than-expected 3.9% in August with the strength coming in apartment construction. The August increase left home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.62 million units, 17.4% above the pace of a year ago, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Housing starts had fallen 6.2% in July. The August strength came in a 21.6% jump in construction of apartment units which offset a 2.8% fall in construction of single-family
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A summer survey found that over 90% of snowbirds expected to return to Fla. this winter – but sentiments have dipped a bit since the COVID delta variant hit. SARASOTA, Fla. – After staying home last winter, more Canadian snowbirds plan to return to Florida in 2021. Wallace Weylie, legal counsel for the Canadian Snowbird Association, said there seems to be a lot of pent-up demand from regular snowbirds to return to a warmer climate. “The sentiment is that they’re not going to spend another winter in Canada,” he says. The first year of COVID-19 saw a lot of Canadian
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By Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy It depends on where you want to live, at least according to a new report that analyzed the top 100 U.S. metros. But no Fla. metros were in the top 10 overvalued markets. McLEAN, Va. – Should you buy a home now or wait? That depends on the market you want to live in. Three metropolitan areas – Phoenix, Las Vegas and Stockton, California – are among the 10 most overvalued housing markets in the nation, according to a new report published by Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. The three had been among the places most harmed by the housing collapse more than a decade ago. Homes in Phoenix and Las Vegas are selling at
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Realtor.com: The shortfall continues and even increased by 1.4M homes since 2019. New-home construction has hit its slowest pace since 1995 and isn’t much headway. SANTA CLARA, Calif. – More real estate listings are coming to the market, but that won’t be able to make up for the fact that America is short millions of homes based on population needs. That likely means homebuyers will continue to face inventory shortages and a dearth of homes for sale in the future. The U.S. is short 5.24 million homes, an increase of 1.4 million homes from 2019, according to research from realtor.com. “The
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