At 4.67%, this week’s average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is up from last week’s 4.42% and notably higher than 3.18% one year ago. WASHINGTON (AP) – Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose again this week as the key 30-year loan rate vaulted over 4.5% and attained its highest level since the end of 2018. Against a backdrop of inflation at a four-decade high, the increases in home loan rates come a few weeks after the Federal Reserve raised by a quarter point its benchmark short-term interest rate – which it had kept near zero since the pandemic recession
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By Ron Hurtibise Insurers need an A rating from Demotech, a ratings firm, to remain viable, and Lighthouse Property Ins.’ loss of an A make its future business unlikely. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In yet another ominous sign for Florida’s failing property insurance market, Tampa-based Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. lost its financial stability rating, which means it will likely be placed under state receivership and dissolved. On Wednesday, ratings firm Demotech announced the withdrawal, effective Tuesday, of Lighthouse’s former A rating. “Despite a substantial capital contribution in the fourth quarter 2021, the operating loss in 2021, which reflected the evaluation of
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The 2022 survey is based on 2021 data. No. 1 for sides is HomeServices of America Inc. (388,098). For sales volume it’s Compass: $251,019,336,511. NEW YORK – Which brokerages are emerging as the giants in the real estate space? The RealTrends 500 report ranks the performance of the top residential real estate brokerage firms each year. The 2022 survey is based on 2021 data. RealTrend’s Top 10 brokerages ranked by closed transaction sides HomeServices of America Inc. 2021 transaction sides: 388,098 Realogy Brokerage Group 2021 transaction sides: 376,892 eXp Realty 2021 transaction sides: 355,627 Compass 2021 transaction sides: 224,067 Hanna
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By Jim Turner More needs done to fix Fla.’s property insurance market, and the governor expects the Legislature to “have another bite of the apple very, very shortly.” TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis expects lawmakers to make changes in Florida’s troubled property-insurance system sometime this year, at the latest after the November elections. DeSantis did not include property insurance issues as part of a special session that he called Tuesday on congressional redistricting, leaving a decision on insurance to legislative leaders. But he said more legislative action is needed after lawmakers passed a property insurance bill in 2021. The
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By Chris Arnold There’s not enough supply (homes) to meet demand, with little relief in sight. The U.S. needs about 3M more homes, and it will take years for builders to catch up. BOSTON – Emerson Claus has been building houses for 45 years. But he has never faced delays like he is now trying to get basic building materials. “I had a client ask me to add a door,” he says at a job site outside Boston. “We just waited six months to get it.” “That’s a door in a frame,” Claus says, exasperated. “That’s kind of crazy.” He
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By Jennifer Warner Florida Realtors economist: You don’t have to be an economist to sound like one. Get CE credit by creating local-data charts and graphs that market your business. ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Realtors®’ members have exclusive access to SunStats, the powerful housing-statistics program that creates individualized charts and graphs that show customers why they should work with you. SunStats is a research tool that puts information into easy-to-understand infographics that can be shared with clients and team members via print, email or social media. Unsure about data and new technology? A new two-hour webinar will show you how
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By Kerry Smith The increase follows 18.9% in Dec. Top increases in the 20-city index included No. 1 Phoenix (up 32.6%), followed by Tampa (up 30.8%) and Miami (up 28.1%). NEW YORK – The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 19.2% annual gain in January – up from 18.9% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase was 17.5%, up from 17.1% in the previous month, and the 20-City Composite posted a 19.1% year-over-year gain, up from 18.6%. Phoenix, Tampa and Miami saw the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities in January. Phoenix
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Builders once kept up with demand, but Great Recession cutbacks and worker losses created major problems exacerbated by new pandemic-created challenges. NEW YORK – Almost every real estate economist has said for years that “We need more new homes” to end problems such as rising home prices and housing for low-incomes Americans. However, the housing market continues to face low inventory and high home prices, and experts continue to hope that home builders can increase supply. The lack of new-home inventory doesn’t just impact the new-home industry – it also pushes more buyers into the existing-inventory home market. But builders
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By Kerry Smith 4 of 5 components tracked by UF rose. Attitudes about the one-year-from-now economy saw the biggest gain, even in the face of inflation and rising interest rates. GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Consumer sentiment among Floridians ticked up 1.7 points in March to 69.7 from a revised figure of 68 in February, even as the same index for the U.S. reached a new decade low, according to the University of Florida’s (UF) monthly study. Among the five components that make up the index, four increased and one decreased. Current conditions: On the one hand, perceptions of personal financial situations
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By Avi S. Tryson A condo board replaced trees with grass and concrete. They cited sidewalk damage, but it changed the common area’s aesthetic. Did they need a vote by owners before doing this? NAPLES, Fla. – Question: The board of our condo association has removed several trees in our community and replaced them with concrete, rock, and grass. Their stated purpose for the tree removal is that the roots are growing out of control causing the sidewalk and pavement to lift and crack. This replacement of the trees with grass or concrete has changed the entire aesthetic of the
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