– New Fla. laws go into effect July 1 7 real estate laws drafted by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Scott go into effect Saturday, including a Florida Realtors priority: estoppel fee caps. NAR: 71% of owners say it's a good time to sell NAR’s latest consumer...
– Scott vetoes condo sprinkler bill; cites London fire The bill eased fire sprinkler mandates in Fla. condos and had almost unanimous support in the Legislature. But the London high-rise fire that killed 79 people “illustrates the importance of life safety protections,” the governor said in his veto. NAHB:...
– Fed court upholds photo copyright charge against Zillow Using photos that you found on the Internet? Don’t. A second court upheld a copyright charge last week against Zillow, though it lowered damages to $4M. Florida homestead law a 'debtor's haven'? Not always In Fla., courts cannot seize a...
– Long-term mortgage rates down slightly this week The big news is that fixed-rate mortgages didn’t go higher this week, though the drop is marginal. They averaged 3.90% compared to last week’s 3.91%. Congress tackling flood insurance extension Coverage expires in Oct. without Congress approving an extension, but it’s...
– Fla.'s home sales, median prices up in May 2017 Year-over-year, existing single-family home sales rose 7.6%, median sales price up 7.7% to $239,000. Condo sales up 8%; median sales price up 8.1% to $178,000. Citing water losses, Florida insurer approves rate hikes Citizens OK’d to raise homeowner rates...
– Citizens customers could be paying more in 2018 The state-run property insurer wants to raise homeowner rates by an average of 5.3% and commercial accounts by an average of 8.4%, but regulators must OK the hike. CoreLogic: Mortgage credit risk edges up slightly CoreLogic Q1 Housing Credit Index:...
– Gov. Scott signs renewable energy bill Lawmakers passed a renewable-energy bill (SB 90) supported by Florida Realtors after nearly 73% of voters approved the constitutional amendment last August. 10 top threats to today's hot real estate market The Counselors of Real Estate’s annual top 10 list has global...
– The zero-down loan? It's making a comeback Some experts said no-downpayment mortgages led to the housing crisis, but some lenders are starting to offer them again anyway. Could 1031 exchanges go away? A major commercial tax benefit that allows investors to avoid capital gains taxes when they sell...
– Fed again hikes short-term interest rates Credit card holders will soon pay more. So will people with adjustable-rate mortgages or home equity lines of credit. But will it impact long-term mortgage rates? The Craigslist scam: Still around, still a problem It happens often: Scammers pull a Realtor’s pictures...
– NAR answers questions about Zillow 'Instant Offers' Change is constant in the real estate industry, and since many Realtors are talking about a recent Zillow move, NAR published answers to common questions. Root causes for U.S.'s depressed homeownership rate Affordability issues, student loan debt, tight credit conditions and...
