By Amy Connolly Funding through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund (JGGF) is aimed at infrastructure improvements and workforce development in the Big Bend region, the governor’s office said. LIVE OAK, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an award of more than $66 million to Hurricane Idalia-impacted communities, including more than $9.2 million to the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners, Madison County and Big Bend Technical College through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund (JGGF) for infrastructure improvements and workforce education expansion. Another $50 million, through the Hurricane Idalia Recovery Grant Program, is aimed at assisting impacted communities with
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By Amy Connolly President Joe Biden called for a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and the construction of two million homes during his State of the Union address Thursday. WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden called for legislation that will lower homeownership costs, build millions of new homes nationwide and reduce rental costs. Biden, in his State of the Union address, also announced new steps to lower homebuying and refinancing closing costs and highlighted his efforts to protect renters from burdensome fees. Biden called on Congress to create a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and people who sell their
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By Rebecca San Juan An increasing number of South Florida condo associations are selling their properties to developers as condo regulations and insurance costs rise. This opens the door to new construction. MIAMI — South Florida saw the highest number of condominiums selling out to developers since the pandemic. More buyouts are in the pipeline, raising questions about the future of South Florida’s skyline. Miami-Dade and Broward saw 18 condo buyouts last year, the highest number since 2019 when both counties had a total of 23 buyouts, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The
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By Anna Helhoski Renters care about affordability more than anything else, but the persistent housing shortage is keeping rental inflation high, one expert says. When will it end? The answer isn’t easy. WASHINGTON – An ongoing boom in apartment construction has helped slow down rental inflation — but renters shouldn’t expect prices to drop dramatically from their pandemic-padded highs. That means affordability will remain the dominant narrative in rental housing in 2024. The combination of a pandemic economic rebound, a longtime shortage of rental housing stock and high interest rates on mortgages created a perfect storm for rental prices to
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By Alex Veiga The average rate on a 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped this week and applications rose for the first time in six weeks, a Freddie Mac economist reported. LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged lower for the first time in five weeks, a welcome shift for home shoppers this spring homebuying season. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage slipped to 6.88% from 6.94% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.73%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also
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By Amy Connolly Home touring activity increased, mortgage-purchase applications are up and three Florida cities saw huge gains in new listings in the four weeks ending March 3, a new report showed. WASHINGTON – New listings rose 13% year-over-year nationwide during the four weeks ending March 3, the biggest increase in nearly three years, the real estate brokerage firm Redfin reported. After eight months of declines, February is the first month the number of homes for sale has increased on an annual basis.  The new listings helped bring the total number of homes for sale up 1.7%. At the same
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By Fatima Hussein The Treasury Department said the ruling only applies to the plaintiff and its members. Other businesses must follow the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) registry requirements. WASHINGTON — In a blow to the Biden administration’s effort to increase corporate transparency, an Alabama federal district judge has ruled that the Treasury Department cannot require small business owners to report details on their owners and others who benefit from the business. U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke decided late Friday that the Corporate Transparency Act, a landmark U.S. anti-money laundering law enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization
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By Katlyn Brieskorn A new study found St. Petersburg to be the most affordable ZIP code in the state to buy property. The least affordable is Key Largo. TAMPA — If you are in the market to buy a house but want to save some money, you may want to check out the results of a recent study that found the “most affordable” ZIP codes to buy property in every state. American Shield Home said it determined which ZIP codes were the most affordable by using the U.S. Census databank to find the population of every ZIP code in the
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By Christopher Rugaber Fed Chair Jerome Powell said a balanced approach is needed in cutting the key interest rate. He offered no hints about the timing of potential cuts. WASHINGTON — Chair Jerome Powell reinforced his belief Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate this year but that it first wants to see more evidence that inflation is falling sustainably back to the Fed’s 2% target. Powell noted that inflation is slowing for both goods and services and did not express concern about the government’s latest inflation data, which showed some pickup in price increases in
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By Melissa Dittmann Tracey Color is a hot trend in home design but use caution when choosing one. Bright colors, like red and lime green, can turn potential buyers away. CHICAGO – There’s a reason why home stagers prefer white or neutral colors when preparing a home for the market. Some colors can be distracting and a turn-off to home buyers. Rethink a red-painted living room or dining area; red is the most off-putting color, according to a survey of home staging and design professionals conducted by the home remodeling site Fixr.com.  “Red is an extremely strong color and may
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