Optimize your profile, include your real estate specialties and the areas you cover, use appropriate hashtags for shared content and offer fun polls to take. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Social media enables real estate professionals to stay connected with past, present and future clients long after deals close. It also enables professionals to build new connections in their local networks or with those looking to relocate. To improve social media engagement, agents should ensure their profile is polished like their resume, with the areas they cover and their specialties. Once they optimize their profile, they should use appropriate hashtags for the
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By Marla Martin Rising rates and supply chain issues impacted single-family starts (-1.7%) and permits (-4.8%). But multifamily starts rose 4.6% and permits were up 10%. WASHINGTON – The single-family housing market continued to show signs of softening in March as permits and starts declined due to rising mortgage interest rates and ongoing supply chain bottlenecks that continue to delay construction projects and raise home building costs. Fla.’s March Median Prices Up, Supply Tight Florida Realtors: Fla.’s single-family median price up 21.3% to $396.5K. Condo median price up 27.3% to $308K. Rising rates, prices and tight supply impact sales. Learn
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Arguing investors are keeping families from being able to buy, some HOAs are trying to cap the number of homes that can be rented out, among other steps. NEW YORK – Homeowner associations across the country are rewriting rules to try to prevent investors from purchasing housing in their neighborhoods, The Wall Street Journal reports. Investor Buying Spree May Be Cooling CoreLogic: Investor activity slowed in 4Q 2021 and more investors appear to be holding on to properties longer. Analysts say summer is the time to watch. Learn More ► Some homeowner association groups are concerned that an uptick in homes purchased
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By Amber Randall Some want to age in place, keeping close to family and community. There are also concerns about being able to find and afford another place once they sell. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Despite conventional wisdom saying that downsizing should happen later in life after the kids have left the house, some South Florida baby boomers are deciding to stay put in their homes. Data from Zillow that profiled baby boomers and their selling habits found that of the 2% of baby boomers who moved in 2021, 46% reported downsizing to a smaller home. Baby Boomer Challenge: Find a Home for Downsizing The
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By Jim Saunders Dates have yet to be set for the special session, which will have as its “main focus the reform of the property insurance market,” the governor said. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will call a May special legislative session to address problems in the property-insurance system that have led to homeowners losing coverage and getting hit with large rate increases. DeSantis made the announcement during an appearance in Jacksonville but did not immediately specify the dates for the session. The announcement came a day before lawmakers gather for a special session to redraw
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By Tim Ellis Rising prices and mortgage rates sidelined buyers, even though homes sold at their fastest pace and for more above list price than any other March on record. SEATTLE – It was the hottest March ever for the housing market, with homes selling at their fastest pace and for more above list price than any other March on record, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The median home-sale price rose 6.2% in March, the fastest month-over-month gain at this time of year since 2013, to an all-time high of $412,700. Seasonally adjusted home sales fell 4% as soaring mortgage rates
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HomeLight survey: A rapid rise in equity is encouraging sellers to list their homes and they expect to make a profit; 87% say they expect more than 1 offer. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – More homeowners say they are being motivated by the rapid increase in equity in their homes to list their property for sale, adding they have high expectations for a profitable sale. About half of home sellers recently surveyed said they expected to retain 30% or more of the sale price of their homes, according to the 2022 Buyer and Seller Insights Report released by HomeLight, a real estate
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For-sale inventory is low, the imbalance of supply and demand is pushing up home prices, “home appraisal gaps” are common and mortgage rates are rising. WASHINGTON – While demand for homes has remained red hot, market conditions have slowed the pace of sales nationally compared with a year ago. Below are some facts and figures that show what prospective homebuyers are up against. •Just 870,000 homes were on the market as of the end of February, just above the record low set a month earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. That amounts to a 1.7 months’ supply. •Despite
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Higher mortgage rates may soften demand this spring. NAR has forecast home sales to slip 10% in 2022, mostly due to rising rates pricing out would-be buyers. SEATTLE – Higher mortgage rates may soften demand this spring as worsening affordability prices more buyers out of the market. With mortgage applications down 6% from a year ago, sellers may need to be more realistic about how much they can ask for their property. An increasing number of listings are experiencing price reductions, climbing at the fastest pace since at least 2015, according to a new Redfin survey. Still, only 3.2% of
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MBA: Overall mortgage originations will fall 35.5% from 2021 to $2.58T this year but higher home prices will help fuel a smaller 4% annual growth in volume. WASHINGTON – With swiftly rising mortgage rates making homeownership more expensive to achieve, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) forecasts that overall mortgage originations will fall 35.5% from 2021 to $2.58 trillion this year. MBA’s previous forecast was for $2.61 trillion. MBA reports that refinance applications fell 5% last week from the previous week and 62% year-over-year. The refinance share of mortgage activity dropped to 37.1% of total applications from 38.8% the prior week.
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