By Alex Veiga That’s up from 6.90% last week, marking the 4th straight weekly increase. Rates have been creeping higher as reports show stronger-than-expected inflation. LOS ANGELES (AP) – The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for the fourth consecutive week, another setback for prospective homebuyers just as the spring homebuying season gets going. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.94% from 6.90% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.65%. The average rate is now just below its highest level since mid-December, when it was 6.95%. Floridians Show Positive
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By Alex Veiga That’s up from 6.90% last week, marking the 4th straight weekly increase. Rates have been creeping higher due as reports show stronger-than-expected inflation. LOS ANGELES (AP) – The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for the fourth consecutive week, another setback for prospective homebuyers just as the spring homebuying season gets going. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.94% from 6.90% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.65%. The average rate is now just below its highest level since mid-December, when it was 6.95%. Floridians Show
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NAR: Pending sales were down 8.8% year-over-year. Chief Economist Yun noted that “consumers are showing extra sensitivity to changes in mortgage rates.” WASHINGTON – Pending home sales in January dropped 4.9%, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Northeast and West posted monthly gains in transactions while the Midwest and South recorded losses. All four U.S. regions registered year-over-year decreases. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) – a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings – decreased to 74.3 in January. Year-over-year, pending transactions were down 8.8%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of
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By Melissa Dittmann Tracey While U.S. tax law supports the current definition of an “independent contractor,” recent changes to U.S. labor law call it into question, and that could potentially impact Realtors. WASHINGTON – Recent legislation challenges the classification of real estate professionals. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) recent final rule regarding how workers should be classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) could pose a risk to real estate professionals’ classification as independent contractors, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). As written, the DOL rule may be misinterpreted and lead to greater litigation and confusion
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By Shannon Allen A listing broker didn’t tell their seller they received a finder’s fee from the buyer – but the fee didn’t impact the Realtor’s honest and ethical advice. Why is it an issue under the Code of Ethics if the finder’s fee was negotiated before taking the listing? ORLANDO, Fla. – Dear Shannon: I’m a highly professional, well-respected commercial broker, and I negotiated a finder’s fee with a potential buyer to locate a small commercial property. The buyer had specific requirements and said they didn’t have room to compromise. We agreed the buyer would pay me a finder’s
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By Joel Maxson Before leaving a real estate brokerage firm, associates should thoroughly review their independent contractor agreement to find out what portion of commission, if any, the associate will be entitled to after leaving. ORLANDO, Fla. – Question: I’m a sales associate who switched real estate companies a few months ago. I thought everything was in order, but when my former broker paid me for a transaction that closed, the amount didn’t match the split we had when I worked there. My former broker can’t do this to me, can he? Answer: It generally depends on the terms of
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By Meredith Caruso Your exhausted seller received five offers in one day. Four are over asking price, but the last one offers $50,000 less, possibly making it a waste of time for an already overwhelmed seller. Must you still present it? Perhaps not – but only under very specific conditions. ORLANDO, Fla. – In today’s fast-paced market, sellers receive many competitive offers on their properties. Some sellers may choose to ask for highest and best; some sellers may just accept one of the offers presented to them. This article isn’t about that though. This article focuses on the agents involved
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It’s the fifth month in a row Florida residents’ optimism has resulted in a rise in consumer sentiment, to 74.1 in Feb., up 1.5 points from Jan. GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Consumer sentiment among Floridians increased for a fifth month in a row in February to 74.1, up 1.5 points from a revised figure of 72.6 in January, reinforcing the optimistic outlook set at the beginning of the year. “The last time consumer sentiment increased for five consecutive months was before the pandemic, in early 2019,” said Hector H. Sandoval, director of the Economic Analysis Program at UF’s Bureau of Economic
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By Paul Wiseman Consumer spending, which grew at a 3% annual pace during the quarter, fueled the upswing. The nation’s economic growth has topped 2% for six consecutive quarters. WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy grew at a robust 3.2% annual pace from October through December, propelled by healthy consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday in a slight downgrade from its initial estimate. The expansion in the nation’s gross domestic product – the economy’s total output of goods and services – slipped from a red-hot 4.9% from July through September. The fourth-quarter GDP numbers were revised down from the
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By Ron Hurtibise Recent reports note Fla.’s condo market faces rising costs. But an influx of high demand during the pandemic may also be a factor influencing current conditions. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Sharp increases in what it costs to own a condominium in Florida are driving down prices that owners can get when they sell their condos in the state, according to a report released Tuesday by national real estate brokerage Redfin. The report, written by Redfin data journalist Dana Anderson, cited higher costs of insurance and homeowner association fees as reasons that the number of condo listings in Florida increased by 28.2% in January compared
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