By Wendy Cole Over a year ago, “our board directed us to develop a solution to address the growing lack of choice in this technology sector, given the natural fit with our current lockbox business,” says Scott Fisher, founder and CEO of SentriLock, a wholly owned NAR subsidiary. CHICAGO – Many brokers and agents will soon have a new showing-service option. SentriLock LLC, a real estate tech provider, announced that it will launch SentriKey Showing Service for all of its current lockbox customers on March 31, 2020. It will be widely available to all Realtor® associations and multiple listing services
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Rocked by stay-at-home orders and facing a tight home inventory, a few people snapped up houses without fully considering options. Now some have buyer’s remorse. NEW YORK – Homebuyers shouldn’t rush into a purchase because, unlike expensive jewelry or clothing, homes can’t be returned if they’re unhappy. However, millions of Americans made home purchases last year during the pandemic that they now regret, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. Some left behind small apartments, bought vacation homes, or just wanted a change of scenery during lockdown. Now, however, some of the people rushing to get out of
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By Romina Ruiz-Goiriena and Aleszu Bajak An analysis finds that the $25B allocated to pay back rent isn’t enough, and the federal distribution plan favors smaller states on an amount-per-capita basis. NEW YORK – Starr Lewis’ aunt and great-uncle both died from COVID-19 at the New Orleans hospital where she worked as a cook. Lewis, 27, kept going to work as others in the kitchen, too, fell prey to the coronavirus. Soon, the hospital started cutting her hours. By April, she was out of a job. Bills piled on. She fell behind on rent and utilities. Even many months later,
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By Dara Kam, Jason Fischer How – and who – should oversee Fla. vacation rentals? The Florida Legislature has debated the topic for years, and it’s still a high priority issue for Florida Realtors. This year’s version would make Airbnb collect taxes, remit them to the state, ensure proper licensing and more.  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A years-long effort to block local governments from regulating vacation rentals is on the move again, as House and Senate leaders revive a proposal to prevent cities and counties from inspecting and licensing properties offered on platforms such as Airbnb. In a 10-7 vote on
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By Kerry Smith ATTOM: In Jan. 2021, Fla. foreclosures were down 83% year-to-year, in part due to the foreclosure moratorium, which “doesn’t reflect market reality.” IRVINE, Calif. – ATTOM Data Solutions’ January 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report found a total of 9,702 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – a drop from 11% from a month earlier and 80% from a year ago. In Florida, the number of REO properties was down 83% year-to-year in January.  “January foreclosure activity declined at least in part due to the Biden Administration’s decision to continue the
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By Kerry Smith HUD now considers sexual orientation and gender identity to be protected classes under the Fair Housing Act, calling its change “the correct reading of the law.” WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) made the announcement in a memorandum, which says HUD interprets the Fair Housing Act to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and direct HUD offices and recipients of HUD
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By Kerry Smith HUD now considers sexual orientation and gender identity to be protected classes under the Fair Housing Act, calling its change “the correct reading of the law.” WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) made the announcement in a memorandum, which says HUD interprets the Fair Housing Act to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and direct HUD offices and recipients of HUD
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By Marla Martin Florida Realtors’ latest data: Single-family home sales in 2020 up 5.8% year-over-year, median price at $290K up 9.6%. Condo-townhouse sales up 2.5%, median price at $215K, up 12% from 2019. Chief Economist O’Connor: “Sales of Florida homes in the 4Q were very strong.” ORLANDO, Fla. – Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic challenges, Florida’s housing market wrapped up 2020 with more sales, higher median sale prices and more pending inventory compared to the year before, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. “For much of 2020, our homes became the hub for
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By Kerry Smith ShowingTime has a working relationship with hundreds of MLSs across North America, with a network that includes almost a million real estate agents. SEATTLE – Zillow Group announced a definitive agreement to acquire ShowingTime.com Inc., an online scheduling platform for home showings, for $500 million. In announcing the acquisition, Zillow said ShowingTime is an industry leader and it will continue to invest in ShowingTime to increase engagement with agents and partners. “ShowingTime will remain an open platform available to all industry participants, and we expect to grow ShowingTime’s engagement through all channels to ensure touring is easier
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By Kerry Smith At-risk homeowners can now postpone mortgage payments (via forbearance) for 15 months. Foreclosure and REO-related eviction bans run until March 31. WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have extended their moratoriums on single-family foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) evictions until March 31, 2021. The foreclosure moratorium applies to single-family mortgages and only those backed by Fannie and Freddie. The REO eviction moratorium applies to properties they’ve acquired through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions. The current moratoriums were set to expire on Feb.
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