Skittish investors keep nudging mortgage rates higher. Last week, a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.31%; a year ago, it was 6.66%. LOS ANGELES (AP) – The cost of financing a home surged again this week as the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed to its highest level since December 2000, further dimming the affordability outlook … Read more
The office market – challenged by inflation, more natural disasters and a drop in lease income – also faces insurance costs that have risen 7.6% each year since 2017. NEW YORK – Moody’s Analytics reports that commercial real estate insurance costs rose 7.6% annually, on average, since 2017. The rising cost of insurance piles onto … Read more
Buyers complain about too-few sellers selling – but some homeowners want to move and feel frustrated that an ultra-low mortgage rate has locked them in. BOSTON – One out of every 5 homeowners who moved within the last three years now regret their decision. Many Americans relocated either permanently or temporarily because of the COVID-19 … Read more
161 businesses in 25 Fla. counties hurt by Hurricane Idalia have received Fla. bridge loans as they await insurance or other help. Deadline to apply: Oct. 25. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis says more than $6.4 million has been approved through the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program to small businesses impacted by … Read more
Impacted homes with more than 50% damage (home value only) must rebuild, and in some areas, one owner may just make repairs while a next-door neighbor must rebuild. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) –Between the flooding and the cleanup, Hurricane Idalia survivors have faced many hurdles. Now, a federal regulation, FEMA’s so-called “50% rule,” might cost them … Read more
The government continues routine operations, but a shutdown threat could occur again as Nov. 17 looms – but storm victims were also handed a lifeline. WASHINGTON (AP) – The threat of a federal government shutdown suddenly lifted late Saturday as President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open with little time … Read more
Following a “Call for Action” issued by NAR Fri. night and shared by Florida Realtors Sat., Congress and the president extended government funding to Nov. 17. WASHINGTON – Flood insurance and transactions it might impact are safe for now after a down-to-the wire vote in the U.S. House that was soon passed by the Senate … Read more
While inflation rose 3.5% year-to-year in Aug. – still above the Fed’s 2% goal – it was only up 0.1% month-to-month after backing out higher gas prices. WASHINGTON (AP) – An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve rose in August, boosted mainly by higher gas prices. But measures of underlying inflation slowed in … Read more
NEW YORK – Mortgage rates have risen to their highest levels in more than 20 years, making it harder to afford a home. And yet, out of necessity or desire, hundreds of thousands of people buy homes every month. With the 30-year fixed rate topping 7%, NerdWallet asked real estate agents and mortgage loan officers … Read more
MIAMI – Florida leads the nation in strict building codes, and the decades of hard work have paid off in the increasing number of homes and buildings that survive each time a hurricane slashes the state. But a new report from Swiss Re, a major global re-insurance company, suggests that all those hard-won gains have … Read more
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