WASHINGTON – Existing-home sales retreated for the ninth straight month in October, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). All four major U.S. regions registered month-over-month and year-over-year declines. Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – decreased 5.9% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate … Read more
NEW YORK – Mortgage-backed securities nearly brought down Wall Street in the early 2000s. But what is a mortgage-backed security? Many homeowners think of their mortgage in personal terms. But when grouped together, mortgages represent an investment class that investors – particularly investment banks – trade for profits. Packages of mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, were … Read more
WASHINGTON – Numerous websites promise to qualify any pet as an emotional support animal that the sites claim can go nearly anywhere – inside restaurants and stores, into “no pets” apartments and throughout college dorms. The easily obtained certificates are making it tough for states to crack down on fake support animals without running afoul … Read more
Redfin: Pending home sales and new listings both saw their biggest year-over-year drops since the pandemic’s start, hitting levels roughly on par with April 2020. SEATTLE – Pending home sales and new listings both saw their biggest year-over-year drops since the start of the pandemic, dipping to levels roughly on par with April 2020, according … Read more
An adjustable-rate loan gives buyers more leverage, but it’s risky if mortgage rates keep rising. Unlike the 2010s, though, there’s little risk to the U.S. economy. NEW YORK – Shaken by the higher rates charged for a fixed-rate mortgage, more homebuyers are turning to the savings offered by an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), such as 2-1 … Read more
SARASOTA, Fla. – Sarasota-Manatee’s real estate market had already begun to turn before Hurricane Ian whipped the area with screaming winds and heavy rain, disrupting life and damaging or destroying property. Still, the area was spared the worst of Ian’s perils and – according to local real estate experts – could prompt displaced residents of … Read more
2 out of 3 (62%) buyers worry about climate change, though it’s usually a factor in a moving decision, not a litmus test. Many still pick “near the beach.” SEATTLE – Nearly two-thirds (62%) of U.S. residents who plan to buy or sell a home in the next year hesitate to move to an area … Read more
FORT MYERS, Fla. – In the month before Hurricane Ian hurtled into southwest Florida, shredding Lee County and destroying or damaging more than 32,000 homes, the area reigned as having the most overvalued real estate in the nation. The county of pristine barrier islands and waterfront homes had bullied title-holder Boise, Idaho, into second place … Read more
Here’s a list of most Fla. insurance companies – their websites, phone numbers and other pertinent post-disaster information. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Here are phone numbers, websites and email addresses for property insurance companies serving Florida. Unless they need emergency repairs, policyholders are urged to first contact their insurers with damage claims before signing over … Read more
NAHB credits a short-term decline in mortgage rates (to 5.3%) as a reason for the uptick, as new-home inventory remains at an elevated 8.1-months’ supply. WASHINGTON – Sales of newly built, single-family homes in August increased 28.8% to a 685,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised reading in July, according to new data … Read more
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