Luxury Listings Making Comeback After a Sharp Spring Collapse
Zillow is reporting this week that a rush of high-end homes hit the U.S. market in June 2020, reversing a trend that saw them drop the farthest and fastest when the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year.In April and May, new listings of the most expensive homes slowed severely, dropping by about half compared to…
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Orlando hotel occupancy rate shows improvement during pandemic
Visitation is clearly down in Orlando due to the Covid-19 virus, but activity is picking up a bit for the region’s hotels. The region’s average hotel occupancy rate has been on a steady climb — more than 12 weeks in a row – to 29.3% for the week ending July 4, said data from STR…
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New townhomes planned near Valencia College
Local builder Park Square Homes plans to construct 60 townhomes near Valencia College East Campus. The homes will go up off Valencia College Lane in Orlando, according to plans filed with the state. Orlando-based Park Homes is listed as the developer, while Hamilton Engineering & Surveying Inc., which operates an Orlando and Tampa office, is…
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Mortgage Rates in U.S. Hit Another Historic Low in Early July
According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.03 percent in the U.S. It is the lowest rate in the survey’s history dating back to 1971. “The summer is heating up as record low mortgage rates continue to spur homebuyer demand,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “However,…
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Business accelerates in Orlando for home sales tech firms
Michael Gerrity describes the real estate market in March — the onset of the pandemic in the U.S. — as an “abyss.” But in the months since, Gerrity’s online real estate listings firm hasn’t just avoided the woes created by the pandemic. In fact, the company, which has its East Coast headquarters in Orlando, has reached…
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Orange County approves a way to unsnarl housing holdup
Eighteen proposed housing developments stalled by a contradiction between Orange County’s rezoning process and a state law now have a path forward. The Orange County Board of County Commissioners on July 7 unanimously approved a change to the county’s comprehensive plan and voted to abate a county ordinance dealing with school capacity. This temporarily pauses…
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Osceola County to offer more grants to small businesses hurt by pandemic
Osceola County is offering more small businesses grants to those hurt by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to federal funding. The county government on June 29 opened its process to apply for funding with expanded criteria. In total, the county will provide about $3.2 million in funding for businesses for certain expenses such as rent,…
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Orange County to vote on pausing some building permit fees
It may become more affordable to build in Orange County — for a limited time — in an effort to spur more construction activity. The Orange County Board of County Commissioners will weigh on July 7 offsetting $10 million in building permits for a six-month period, according to county documents. And developers may be able…
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Florida’s initial unemployment claims show slight improvement
Florida saw a slight decrease in week-over-week first-time unemployment claims for the week ending June 27 — but it still ranked among the worst five states. Total first-time claims in Florida were 84,608, down from 95,683 the previous week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Florida was No. 5 in the nation for the…
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DeSantis vetoes $10 million for Osceola’s BRIDG tech center
Gov. Ron DeSantis killed a $10 million appropriation for Osceola County’s BRIDG advanced manufacturing center as part of sweeping round of vetoes aimed at slashing the state budget by $1 billion in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. The BRIDG veto was a gut punch to the $70 million facility that anchors…
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