By Kerry Smith A panel of brokers from across the country shared views on market changes and their expectations. For one, this spring season won’t be a usual one. MADISON, N.J. – A recent roundtable discussion with several Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate (BHGRE) brokers across the country revealed that historic seasonality patterns have been affected by today’s market conditions – most notably, record low inventory levels. “As we enter the third spring selling season since COVID-19 emerged, the BHGRE brand wanted to explore what our affiliates were experiencing in different parts of the country,” says Sherry Chris, president
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By Amber Randall Investors stepped up their game this year, buying an estimated 16%-27% of single-family homes, often because they have the strongest financial backing. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Investor purchases of single-family homes shot up this year, bringing more competition for the average homebuyer in an already tense housing market. Data from Redfin shows that investors bought anywhere between 16% to 27% of homes sold in South Florida during the fourth quarter of 2021. On a national level, they accounted for 18.4% of homes bought in that same time period, which is a record high. According to Redfin, investors
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By David Muller Also: A condo made up mainly of older adults wants to make it official and become a 55-plus community. Is that allowed? And how do you do it? NAPLES, Fla. – Question: I recently lost the election at my condominium by a few votes. Although my name was on the ballot, my resume was not included with the ballot mailout. Doesn’t this require the association to have another election? – T.V. Answer: If you timely submitted your candidate information sheet, and you can provide that you did, the election was fatally flawed and a new election must
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The median worker earned about $50K, and the average home made about $52.6K last year, according to Zillow’s home value index. NEW YORK – Zillow Group’s home value index climbed 19.6% in 2021 to $321,634 – a $52,667 year-on-year gain. That’s more than the median U.S. full-time worker earned for the 12 months – about $50,000 before taxes, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. It’s the first time the annual nationwide dollar growth for a typical home value surpassed the inflation-adjusted median pretax income. “The people who are winning the housing bids, typically, are folks who have higher incomes or
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By Marla Martin Florida Realtors: Fla.’s single-family median price up 21.1% to about $381.5K. Condo median price up 24.3% to $290K. Sales down due to tight supply, rising rates. ORLANDO, Fla. – The lack of housing inventory, rising mortgage rates and home prices continued to impact Florida’s housing market in February, slowing closed sales and pushing median prices to increase compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors®’ latest housing data. February 2022: Demand & Prices Continue to Surge There may be some subtle signs of a slowing market, but even with that, demand for housing in Florida is
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By Kerry Smith CFO Jimmy Patronis says the Naples contractors offered homeowners a “free roof” and said they could avoid paying deductibles if they signed “ad agreements.” NAPLES, Fla. – Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced the arrest of Brian Webb and Brandon Jourdan of Webb Roofing & Construction LLC for allegedly operating a homeowner solicitation scheme for free roof replacements related to damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Patronis said the two men allegedly enticed homeowners with rebates that would cover their insurance deductible if they submitted a full roof replacement claim to their property insurance company. According
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By Jennifer Warner Florida Realtors economist: The new “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers: Florida Report” finds that all buyers face challenges – but the bar is extremely high for the state’s first-timers. ORLANDO, Fla – The surge in home prices last year has been a boon to homeowners but has also made it more difficult for first-time homebuyers to enter the housing market. As of February 2022, the increase in the value of the typical home in Florida rose 17% to $381,481, an increase of nearly $70,000 in 12 months. That figure was slightly higher than the median household
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By Kerry Smith The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.16% this week, a height not seen since May 2019. Last week it averaged 3.85%; a year ago, it was 3.09%. MCLEAN, Va. – Mortgage rates veered higher this week, with a 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaging 4.16%, notably higher than last week’s 3.85%. This week’s rate broke the psychologically important four-percent barrier and ended at almost a three-year high, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of rates. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage exceeded 4% for the first time since May of 2019,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The Federal Reserve raising
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By Kerry Smith A disappointing dip in Jan. new-home starts was followed by a surprise surge in Feb. Economists expected about 3.2% growth but starts rose by 6.8%. WASHINGTON – An unexpected drop in January new-housing starts was followed by an equally unexpected increase in February. According to the Commerce Department’s monthly report, housing starts surged 6.8% last month. The surge follows a 5.5% drop in January. Economists generally predicted only a 3.2% increase before the numbers came out. In addition, building permits – a sign of future activity – were down slightly month-to-month by 1.9%, but they were 7.7%
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Seeing increased demand for off-site, flexible office space, a partnership hopes to find success offering short-term rentals nationwide using an Airbnb-type system. NEW YORK – Taking advantage of growing interest in alternative office arrangements, two companies teamed up to build a coworking giant that will allow firms to rent office space whenever-wherever they need it. IWG PLC, a flexible office operator and rival to WeWork, announced it was investing about $350 million in a venture with the Instant Group, which operates an online listing site for office space. The combined companies’ goal: To create the world’s largest online marketplace for
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