By Sam Capogrosso and Arthur Moore In a push to reduce money laundering under the Corporate Transparency Act, FinCEN will require many businesses to state their actual owners’ names after Jan. 1. WASHINGTON – Beginning with the Panama Papers leak in 2016, there has been an increasing focus on the use of business entities to facilitate money laundering and conceal profits of crime and corruption. Europe and the UK are far ahead of the U.S. in the implementation of “beneficial ownership” registers for business entities and trusts and, in recent years, the U.S. has come under increasing pressure to do
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By Kerry Smith Single-family housing permits – a sign of future construction activity – increased marginally by 0.6%, though overall permits dropped 13.9% as multifamily slows. WASHINGTON – July’s overall housing starts increased 3.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Housing start counts are based on a full year, and the July reading of 1.45 million is the number of housing units that would be built if July’s pace continued for the next 12 months. Within that overall
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By Kerry Smith A comparison of teacher salaries to home values within 20 minutes of work found a high of 18% affordable in Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville but only 4% in Miami. ORLANDO, Fla. – The average U.S. teacher can afford just 12% of homes for sale within commuting distance of their school, according to a report from Redfin. That’s down from 17% last summer and 30% in 2019, before the pandemic homebuying boom drove up housing prices. In addition, the average teacher can afford just over one-quarter (27%) of available rentals within commuting distance of their school. The study
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By Kerry Smith The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says changes passed by the Fla. Legislature have attracted new insurers and removed 280K policies from Fla.-owned Citizens. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved Mainsail Insurance Company, a Texas-based property and casualty insurer – the second company to be approved to become an authorized property and casualty domestic insurer following the passage of a property insurance bill by the Florida Legislature this year, HB 837. Mainsail joins Tailrow which, OIR approved in April. OIR continues to accept and review – and even encourage – new insurer
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The Mortgage Bankers’  2Q National Delinquency Survey found that delinquency rates dropped to 3.37% – the lowest rate since it began collecting data in 1979. NEW YORK– Mortgage delinquency rates in the U.S. recorded an unprecedented low during 2Q (second quarter of 2023), driven by a robust job market and prevailing low interest rates on most home loans. This accomplishment is notable, despite a significant increase in mortgage rates over the past two years. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey reported that delinquency rates dropped to 3.37% by the end of Q2, the lowest since the MBA began
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By Kerry Smith It’s not just the house: Some neighborhoods offer more opportunities. In Fla., the home price difference between high- and low-opportunity areas runs as high as 64%. SEATTLE – In a high-opportunity neighborhood, children who grew up in low-earning households went on to become higher earning adults than the typical person who grew up in their metro. The results seem to suggest an advantage to life in a higher-income area even if a specific family’s home is at or below the median home price for the metro. It’s difficult to quantify that kind of difference, but economists at
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By Kerry Smith NAHB’s 2Q comparison of selling prices ($388,000, nationally) to median incomes ($96,300) found only 40.5% of U.S. residents can afford a home at that price. WASHINGTON – Rising home prices and interest rates coupled with elevated construction costs, low existing inventory and solid demand resulted in a significant decline in housing affordability during the second quarter of 2023. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), 40.5% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end of June (second quarter, or 2Q) were affordable to families earning
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By Michael Butler New condo buyers enter a big room, put on a headset and explore empty space in “meta reality,” seeing not-yet-built condos as if they’re on an actual physical tour. MIAMI – Albert Prada was interested in buying a home in LOFTY Brickell, a new 44-story luxury condo building along the Miami River near the city’s financial district. He was on the fence, though, because he wanted a view of Brickell Bay to ensure his place would lure plenty of short-term renters. Through virtual reality technology, Prada was able to take a “virtual” walk-through of the unit, while
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By Kerry Smith An 18-association group that includes NAR sent a letter to federal housing regulators, saying that rent control makes affordable housing issues worse – not better. WASHINGTON – Eighteen associations representing housing providers, lenders and residents sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Sandra Thompson. The letter offered a warning that some policies under consideration could backfire and make the nation’s affordable housing crisis worse rather than better. The coalition, which includes the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), wrote that mandatory rent control and rent stabilization policies will increase rents, reduce the capital needed to
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By Kerry Smith While $1M signified luxury property a short while ago, it’s now 8% of the nation’s housing stock – but a large percentage of those homes are still in Pacific Coast states. SEATTLE – Just over 8% of U.S. homes are worth $1 million or more, near June 2022’s all-time high of 8.6%, according to a report from Redfin. The share of homes worth seven figures is on an upswing after dipping to a 12-month low (7.3%) in February because prices are rising on a year-over-year basis after a decline early in the year. Overall, the median U.S.
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