By Jim Saunders In Walton County, commissioners shut down beaches during the pandemic, including private ones. Homeowners sued claiming they deserve compensation, but a judge said no. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a dispute that started after a Northwest Florida county temporarily closed beaches early in the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal judge ruled against waterfront property owners who contended that they should receive compensation. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a 19-page decision rejecting arguments that moves by the Walton County Commission to close beaches in spring 2020 resulted in an unconstitutional “taking” of property. The lawsuit focused on people being
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By Kerry Smith The average for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage moved notably higher this week. Freddie Mac economist blames “the trajectory of both the economy and the pandemic.” MCLEAN, Va. – The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.09%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. It’s a notable increase from last week’s 3.05% and 2.99% the week before that. “Mortgage rates continued to rise this week due to the trajectory of both the economy and the pandemic,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Even as the availability of existing homes is improving, prices remain high due to homebuyer demand and
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By Marla Martin Florida Realtors’ data: Median prices up 18.3% for single-family homes to $355,000 year-to-year; up 17.2% to $255,000 for condos. Single-family home sales down 1.3% year-over-year; condo sales up 4.9%. However, Sept. 2020 saw a huge sales surge because the pandemic shifted transactions into summer and fall, says Chief Economist O’Connor. ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s housing market reported higher median prices, a rise in all-cash sales and constrained inventory levels in September compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors® latest housing data. Sales Still Up in September as Inventory Lag Continues In September, Florida home sales continued
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By Kerry Smith How many new homes are being built? A study looked at building permits and year-to-year increases as of June. Out of all U.S. cities, 10 Fla. metros are in the top 20. ORLANDO, Fla. – Building permits reflect future growth, and U.S. contractors appear to be betting heavily on the Sunshine State. A study of government numbers compiled by Omnis Panels compared 2021 building permits for the first half of the year, through June, and compared them to building permits issued for the same timeframe one year earlier. Of major U.S. cities – those with at least
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Sarasota, Florida By Phil Fernandez The magazine’s 2021 list ranks Fla. metros in the top four spots– Sarasota, Naples, Daytona Beach and Melbourne – but 7 other Fla. metros also made it into the top 20. NAPLES, Fla. – It may be getting more expensive to live, but Southwest Florida remains at the top of the “Best Places to Retire” in the country, based on the latest research by U.S. News & World Report. The state’s metros led the way in the annual findings released this morning by the magazine, with the first four in this order: Sarasota, Naples, Daytona
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By Don Magruder Rising lumber costs pushed new-home prices higher and higher. While that supply-chain problem is easing, however, other building materials are still in short supply, even as builders face a labor shortage and high buyer demand. The bottom line: New-home costs won’t plateau anytime soon. WASHINGTON – Over the summer there has been a massive correction in the lumber and sheathing commodity markets, and although these markets are somewhat higher than last year, most experts agree the pricing is closer to a true market level. From June 1 to September 1, the cost of 7/16” OSB sheathings dropped
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By Kerry Smith The contest to recognize Realtors who serve their communities selects 5 Realtors each year. In 2021, Christina Sauger was honored for her work feeding those in need. CLEARWATER, Fla. – For 22 years, the National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) Good Neighbor Awards has recognized Realtors® who make an extraordinary impact on their communities through volunteer work. One of the five Realtors named this year for a top award hails from Florida: Christina Sauger with Charles Rutenberg Realty Inc. in Clearwater, Fla. “Once again, we have a remarkable class of winners from across the nation,” says NAR President
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By Kerry Smith Starts dropped 1.6% overall, but single-family changed little with multifamily down 5%. Year-to-date, however, single-family starts are up 20.5% compared to last year. WASHINGTON – Single-family housing starts held steady in September as strong demand helped to offset ongoing supply chain disruptions. However, multifamily production declined last month, pushing overall housing starts in September down 1.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.56 million, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The monthly housing-starts number is based on yearly sales, and calculated by assuming that
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Maskot, Getty Images By Andy Uhler An iBuyer program can help homeowners willing to take a slightly lower price in exchange for a quick and easy sale. But sellers aren’t willing to come down too much, and Zillow may not have enough resources under current market conditions to essentially be a large-scale home flipper. NEW YORK – Real estate platform Zillow has said it has too many houses and not enough “operational capacity” to work through all the transactions and renovations required to resell the homes. It’s going to stop buying any new houses for the rest of the year.
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By Kerry Smith The company that created realtor.com’s flood risk tab released a report by city and county. Fla. and Louisiana are top-risk states – but so are Kentucky and W. Virginia. BROOKLYN, N.Y. – First Street Foundation – the science and technology nonprofit that developed the First Street Foundation Flood Model and Flood Factor, which realtor.com adds to listings advertised on its website – released the first nationwide community level flood resilience report. Called “The 3rd National Risk Assessment: Infrastructure on the Brink,” it highlights the 30-year flood risk for every city and county across the contiguous United States.
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