By David Goodhue As many as 8,000 new homes and businesses could come to the Keys, sparking worries about traffic and evacuations, among other concerns. MARATHON, Fla. – The state is considering easing strict long-standing limits on development in the Florida Keys, a move that could fuel the biggest building boom in the ecologically fragile island chain in nearly a half-century. It could – at least potentially – open the door to as many as 8,000 new homes and businesses in one of Florida’s most famous tourist destinations and supercharge Monroe County’s construction industry and economy. But it also would
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Gov. Ron DeSantis By Amy Connolly The $114B proposal looks to renew affordable housing programs, lower insurance costs, add tax holidays, encourage growth and boost home mitigation. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his proposed $114.4 billion budget for 2024 earlier this week with provisions that could increase funding for popular housing programs, lower homeowners’ insurance premiums and encourage small business growth. DeSantis’s proposals will go before the Florida Legislature, which begins its session on Jan. 9. The Legislature generally considers the governor’s preferences as it creates its own budget for the next fiscal year. After the legislative session
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By Melissa Dittmann Tracey Survey: Sellers who go-it alone are twice as likely to be unsatisfied with the experience – and more likely to say their earlier opinion, “agents are overpaid,” was wrong. CHICAGO – Homeowners who decline to use a real estate agent to sell their property are twice as likely to say they weren’t satisfied with the selling experience, according to a new survey from Clever Real Estate of 1,000 home sellers in 2022 and 2023. Survey respondents say they realize they likely made less money on their home sale and faced more stress by not having a
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By Jim Saunders Citizens Property Ins. CEO Tim Cerio took issue with a Senate Budget committee info request, saying the Fla.-owned insurer has “never sought a federal bailout, period.” TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Saying the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has “never sought a federal bailout, period,” Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio on Wednesday took issue with a U.S. Senate Budget Committee request for information about the insurer’s finances. Cerio, speaking to the Citizens Board of Governors, tried to tamp down concerns that the Senate committee’s request could cause concern about Citizens’ ability to pay claims. Among other things, a
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Most (72%) real estate investors say the market is as good or better than it was last year, and 75% expect stability or improvements over the next six months. NEW YORK – Real estate investors believe that market conditions have improved and will continue to get better in the coming months according to the Fall 2023 Investor Sentiment Survey from RCN Capital, conducted by market intelligence firm CJ Patrick Company. Almost three quarters of the investors surveyed (72%) said market conditions for investing were better or the same as a year ago, and 75% believed conditions would improve or remain
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By Kerry Smith The new-homes’ growth rate fell in 3Q, as it did in the two previous quarters, says NAHB. Single-family and multifamily saw the biggest expansion in U.S. exurbs. WASHINGTON – For the third consecutive quarter, single-family growth rates were negative for all geographic sectors of the nation, as exurban areas posted the largest increase in market share for both single-family and multifamily construction, according to the latest findings from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) for the third quarter of 2023. “Rising mortgage rates, elevated construction costs and chronic construction labor shortages
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49K more policies could be moved out of Fla’s. “insurer of last resort” by Feb. 20, though it still has twice as many policies (1.4M) as No. 2 State Farm (630K). TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Five property insurers have received approval to remove as many as 39,850 policies from the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp., with almost all of the changes expected to take place about Feb. 20. State Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky last week signed a series of orders that are part of a broader effort to shift policies from Citizens to the private market after Citizens saw its number
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By Jeremy Tanner Lenders are offering free refinancing to get buyers into homes, but proceed with caution and read the fine print. NEW YORK – Some lenders are getting creative and offering free refinancing to buyers willing to take the leap and purchase a house amid America’s crushing combination of lofty home prices and high mortgage rates. The selling point? It can be summed up by the real estate slogan that seems like it was created for 2023: “marry the house, date the rate.” Essentially, fall in love with your home, but remember that you can break up with your
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By Amy Connolly Newly allocated Hurricane Housing Recovery Program funds can be used to pay for repairs, insurance deductibles and down payments, among others. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Home and property owners in 18 Florida counties impacted by Hurricane Idalia may be eligible for state-backed funds for repairs and housing assistance. The Hurricane Housing Recovery Program provided $25 million Thursday through the Florida Housing Finance Corp. for homeowners in counties designated federal disaster areas from the Aug. 30 storm. The funds were distributed to the eligible counties: Charlotte, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco,
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By Cregg E. Dalton The Citrus County appraiser says he’s often unfairly criticized for raising property taxes, when it’s based on millage he doesn’t control. He only appraises home values. INVERNESS, Fla. – As the Citrus County Property Appraiser, I continually hear comments directed towards our office as a whole – “I hope you don’t raise my taxes!” or “Why did you increase my property taxes?” I have even read some similar comments in the Chronicle’s famous “Sound Off” section. These comments are understandable when it comes to the financial obligations of our property owners. It has been one of
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