South Florida Real Estate

Fla. Single-Family Homes Median Price Flat in April

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Fla. Realtors Chief Economist: At $410K, it’s the same as April 2022, ending an 11-year (135 months) run of rising year-over-year prices. But condo prices rose 4.8%. ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s housing market in April showed continuing trends from the past few months, with more for-sale inventory (active listings) and higher median sales prices for … Read more

HUD/NAHB Host ‘Innovative Housing’ Showcase

A free June 9-11 event in Washington will feature some outside-the-box affordable housing solutions. Two Fla. companies are exhibitors; some events will be online. WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced new details regarding the Innovative Housing Showcase, including the first round of exhibitors. … Read more

April’s Single-Family Starts Show Improvement

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Overall housing starts increased 2.2% in April and the single-family component rose 1.6% – a gradual improvement, though down 28.1% year-to-year. WASHINGTON – April single-family production hit its highest rate so far this year, due in part to a lack of existing inventory and stabilizing mortgage rates. Overall housing starts in April increased 2.2% to … Read more

Inflation Causes Americans to Cut Back on Remodeling

Home Depot sales surged during pandemic lockdowns but fell short of expectations in 1Q 2023. Consumers still want to remodel but they’re now choosing smaller projects. ATLANTA – After years of explosive growth during the pandemic, Home Depot’s revenue during the first quarter fell short of expectations and the company cut its profit and sales … Read more

How Can You Downsize on a Tight Schedule?

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Most people shed possessions slowly over time, but a change in circumstances sometimes requires that it be done quickly. A three-step triage plan can help. NEW YORK – Ideally, you’d spend months or even years carefully purging excess belongings – but life may have other plans. Maybe you or someone you love has a health … Read more

For Some, It’s Not ‘Near the Beach,’ It’s Disney

For prices ranging from a few million to $19M– and yearly fees from $20K to $30K – upscale Disney fans live 5 minutes from Epcot and enjoy a roster of insider amenities. ORLANDO, Fla. – Disneyphiles have flocked to Golden Oak, the only residential community in the world located on Walt Disney Co. resort property, … Read more

A Loss of Small Banks Could Hurt Homebuyers

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NEW YORK – Canandaigua and Manhattan’s Chinatown are about as different from each other as two places in the same state can be. One is a small town in New York’s bucolic Finger Lakes region, where almost everyone is a white English-speaker. Chinatown packs nearly 10 times as many residents, many of them foreign-born and … Read more

NAR Board Meets, Approves Changes

The board met May 11 during NAR’s legislative meetings in Washington, D.C. Votes focused on the 2024 budget, dues, fair housing training requirements and more. WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Board of Directors met in Washington, D.C. on May 11 and took the following actions: Fair housing and diversity training The … Read more

Office Market Snubbed by Life Insurance Lenders

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An often-used form of financing for the office market – life insurance companies – has also tightened its purse strings, even as more loans come due. NEW YORK – A traditionally reliable source of capital for commercial property developers, life insurance companies are turning their backs on office building owners as tens of billions of … Read more

How Does a Recession Shape Newer Realtors?

Lessons learned during hard times often remain even when things get better. The recession lesson for new agents? Hard work and perseverance pay off. NEW YORK – A generation of real estate agents could be shaped by the coming year’s economic headwinds in multiple ways. In 2023, successful agents will owe their success to hard … Read more