– Household incomes see first big gain since 2007 Census: It appears that Americans got fatter paychecks in 2015 – the first significant hike since 2007. U.S. median household income rose 5.2% to $56,516. Don’t put your clients on hold Survey: People still want to talk on the phone...
– CoreLogic reports 34K completed foreclosures in July 2016 Completed foreclosures down 16.5% from a year ago; U.S. foreclosure inventory down 29.1%. Fla. still leads the nation in completed foreclosures, at 57K, in July. Aggressive tenant screening creates class of ‘unrentables’ Many people can’t rent a place to live,...
– Yet again, penalties pile up at Wells Fargo In its latest regulatory black eye, Wells Fargo must pay $185M in civil penalties for actions allegedly taken by about 5,300 employees, who secretly opened millions of accounts without customers’ permission. Luxury buyers are more likely to bid on a...
– Hermine: Losses seen up to $500M, could have been worse, insurers say Insurers: It could have been much worse, with some saying the Category 1 hurricane was “a good quiz” for the catastrophe plans of companies doing business in Fla. First-time buyers are slowly re-emerging Realtor.com: In Aug....
– Natural hazard risk holding back home sales Report: In the first half of the year, home sales rose 4.2% in counties with low natural hazard risk, while counties with high risk only showed a 1.9% gain. Why aren’t mortgage applications higher? Some housing analysts point out that slowing...
– More renters staying in apartments as prices rise RealPage: The share of renters opting to renew their leases hit an all-time high of 53.8% through the first seven months of this year, up from 52.9% in 2015. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recalled over fire fears Sales of the...
– U.S. will extend HARP home loan program Fed Housing Finance Agency: It will continue through Sept. 2017. More than 3.4M homeowners have refinanced their mortgages under HARP since it began 7 years ago. With Florida Realtors E-Celebration, a 2nd chance for 2016 convention For two weeks, Sept. 12-26,...
– Tropical Storm Hermine prompts Florida hurricane watch If Hermine attains hurricane strength before landfall – somewhere along the Big Bend area – it will be the first hurricane to hit the state in 11 years. U.S. average 30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.46% The mortgage rate increase comes...
– NAR: Pending home sales tick higher in July The Pending index hit its second-highest reading in almost a decade, but with too-few listings, “buyers still have few choices and little time” to act. Voters add solar tax break to Florida Constitution The amendment exempts solar and other renewable...
– U.S. consumer confidence hits one-year high The monthly survey found both a short-term and long-term improvement in attitudes about business conditions, the labor market and personal income. Case-Shiller: Slowdown in home price gains Home prices rose 5.1% in June, but in some U.S. cities, the rise simply matched...
