By Jim Turner The House floated “a suite of bills” to address climate change, including a tax break for owners who elevate homes and money for local governments that create programs. Gov. DeSantis proposed changes earlier, but many differences must now be worked out. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Under proposals announced Friday by Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, Floridians would be asked to approve a tax break for people who elevate their homes to avoid the threat of flooding, and up to $100 million a year would be set aside to help local governments combat rising sea levels. The
Read More

By Kerry Smith Study: Homeowners gained $3.1T in equity last year, prices rose at a rate not seen since 2013, inventory dropped by 24% and 58% of buyers faced a bidding war. SEATTLE – The real estate market is in a constant state of flux, and buyers’ demands change over time. In 2020, however, the pandemic and resulting lockdowns changed sellers, buyers and homeowners. A study by Redfin provides a snapshot of how those changes impacted the market. $3.1 trillion: The amount of home value Americans gained. Despite the economy’s plunge into recession, U.S. homeowners have reaped $3.1 trillion in
Read More

By Nicole Carroll Expect a rosier economy in 2021 as COVID-19 cases drop, business restrictions loosen and stimulus aid juices growth. But many still struggle due to pandemic issues. McLEAN, Va. – Economists this week shared some remarkably optimistic news: Even with the damage of the pandemic, the economy is expected to boom this year as coronavirus cases drop, business restrictions loosen and COVID-19 relief money juices growth. “The thing is, this was supposed to be a dark winter,” said economy reporter Paul Davidson, who reported the rosier outlook in a recent USA TODAY story. “We had obviously a really
Read More

By David Lyons Anyone flying back to Canada must stay in a government-approved hotel at their expense for 3 days to wait for the results of a now-mandatory COVID-19 test. Those driving back must show evidence of a negative test result at the U.S.-Canadian border. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Canadian snowbirds now visiting South Florida will face new layers of COVID-19 rules upon returning back home. Effective Feb. 22, those who fly back to Canada will have to stay in a government-approved hotel at their expense for three days to await the results of a newly required COVID-19 test. People
Read More

By Mark Leverette Landlords have strategies to help negotiate tenants’ rent relief, but they need to know what’s behind the request. Is it a delayed reaction to COVID-19’s impact? NEW YORK – All around the country, commercial real estate landlords are being confronted with a fundamental problem: tenants cannot pay their rents. Again, this is a problem not only for the tenants but for the landlords too, who typically rely upon income from rents to pay their own business expenses. Government has thus far not been much help in this regard. Other than the convoluted Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP,
Read More

NAR: 47% of home buyers said student loan debt was the biggest obstacle to down payment savings; 43% said high rent or mortgages; 36% cited credit card debt. WASHINGTON – According to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 47% of potential home buyers said student loan debt was the biggest obstacle they faced in saving for a down payment on a home. An additional 43% cited high rent/mortgages, and 36% cited credit card debt as barriers to buying a home. This year, the number of first-time home buyers dropped to 31% from 33%
Read More

By Kerry Smith Rising rates say good things about the U.S. economy, but it’s not great news for homebuyers. Still, most experts predict something a bit above 3% for most of 2021. MCLEAN, Va. – In 2020, a weak economy that kept getting weaker sparked a series of record-low mortgage rates announcements in Freddie Mac’s weakly survey – but the trend has reversed over the past few weeks. In this week’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.97%. It’s a notable increase from last week’s 2.81%, which was itself a notable increase from the week before
Read More

By Kerry Smith Homeowners with mortgages held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac cannot be evicted through June 30, nor can renters in buildings acquired by the lending giants. Forbearance was also extended for three additional months, allowing some owners to skip mortgage payments for a total of 18 months. WASHINGTON – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced extensions of several measures – foreclosures, evictions and forbearance – to “align COVID-19 mortgage relief policies across the federal government.” Foreclosures FHFA announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – two massive secondary mortgage lenders that own over half of all
Read More

By Kerry Smith While down a bit compared to Dec., pending sales hit a Jan. record high. The South region, which includes Fla., was the sole area to see a modest month-to-month rise. WASHINGTON – In January, pending home sales took a step backward as a lack of inventory held back prospective buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The South – one of four regions that includes Florida – was the lone region with a modest gain month-to-month. The other three U.S. regions experienced month-over-month decreases in January. However, pending sales increased in year-to-year comparison nationally and
Read More

By Gary M. Singer Mom didn’t qualify for a mortgage and her daughter agreed to help by co-signing the deed and the loan. But Mom stumbled financially and won’t leave. Now what? FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Question: I bought a house with my mom two years ago because she did not qualify for the entire home loan based on her income and credit score. The first year I helped with mortgage payments and told her before purchasing the house, I would only help for one year, so she would have to find another income source. Since then, she was late
Read More