– FBI report: 11,800 internet real estate scams in 2018 In 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received 351,936 internet-related complaints and consumers lost more than $2.7B – $150M of it real estate related. Study: How do most first-time buyers get a downpayment? While 70% of homebuyers used savings,...
– Ginnie Mae: Multiple refinances cause problems In “churning,” lenders pressure homeowners to refinance their mortgage more than once, but investors worry that it’s putting more Americans’ homes at risk. Top reason city dwellers move out? To escape pollution Survey: HSBC survey found that 20% of people who move...
– Want flood insurance for hurricane season? You're late While some Fla. homeowners have private options, national flood insurance has a 30-day waiting period in some cases – and hurricane season starts in 25 days. New Fla. tolls roads would boost development New roads often turn rural areas into...
– Mortgage rates drop – 30-year average at 4.14% After four weeks of rising FRM rates, they dropped this week from last week’s 4.20%. A Fed decision not to raise or lower short-term rates may have helped. New ADA lawsuit alleges that realtor.com isn't accessible The lawsuit includes all...
– Florida Legislature budget finalized, waiting period begins The budget now faces a 72-hour waiting period before a final vote, with Saturday likely the last day the 2019 Florida Legislature will meet. Many Realtor-supported issues did well, including environmental funding, beach restoration and blue/green algae 50% of boomers may...
– Florida Realtors: Commit to Excellence. Be a C2EX.realtor Do you know your real estate profession inside and out? Find out through NAR’s new Commitment to Excellence (C2EX) program. The end result? You, only better. Floridians' consumer confidence hits 17-year high UF’s consumer sentiment index rose 1.4 points in...
– Want flood insurance before hurricane season? Act now In most cases, it takes 30 days for a new NFIP policy to become active, and the 2019 hurricane season starts June 1 – 32 days from today. Census Bureau: Fla. top U.S. state for in-migration More people moved to...
– Long-term mortgage rates hit 4.2%, up for 4th week While rates appear to have temporarily bottomed out, they remain historically low and should still spur home sales during the spring buying season. Assignment of benefits bill heads to governor A six-plus-year effort to pass property insurance AOB reform...
– March new-home sales pace highest since Nov. 2017 New-home sales fell 8.1%-17.6% everywhere but the South, which includes Fla., where they surged 9.6%. Builders appear to be focusing more on lower-end homes. Florida Legislature: Update for the week ending April 19 The 2019 session of the Florida Legislature...
– Study: Consumer demand continues to be more eco-friendly NAR’s Sustainability 2019 Report found that 3 out of 5 residential buyers are interested in sustainability, and 7 out of 10 agents promote it in their listings. Fla.'s housing market: Pending sales, median prices up in March Fla. Realtors data:...
