News
Demand for Vacation Homes Up 77 Percent From Pre-Pandemic Levels
According to national property broker Redfin, demand for U.S. vacation homes was up 77% from pre-pandemic levels in December 2021. This is slightly below the 80% increase in November and the record 92% gain in January, but up significantly from the 2021 low hit in August. Interest in second homes started to surge in mid-2020…
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Mortgage applications inch up for the first time in five weeks
Mortgage applications inched up last week for the first time since June 24. Total mortgage demand increased 1.2% as the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate made the largest weekly drop since 2020. Applications to refinance a home rose 2%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, but the annual drop was still huge, down 82% since…
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U.S. Tenants Gravitating to Higher Quality Offices in Response to Hybrid Work
According to global property consultant CBRE, there is a “flight to quality” playing out across 12 major U.S. markets as office-using companies adapt their workplaces for hybrid work. A flight to quality traditionally entails users and investors shifting to the highest quality properties in a given commercial real estate sector due to an economic or…
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Vacation Home Markets in the U.S. Remain Strong
Suburban Housing Shift Eases in the Third Quarter Based on new findings of the third quarter National Association of Home Builder’s vacation home Geography Index, the suburban shift for single-family home buying precipitated in large part by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year continues. Yet new data reveals that higher density markets are…
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New Program Gives Florida Homeowners Solar Panels And Battery Backup For $0
Power companies are not happy that homeowners are taking advantage of huge government solar programs to save $1,000’s in electricity costs. These Solar Programs may cover up to 100% of the installation cost. Why now, you ask? Good question. In just the past year or two, solar panels and battery storage costs have dropped fast, allowing solar to become…
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Housing Market Competition in U.S. Eases This Summer
Homebuyers getting relief as sellers slash their prices at a record rate in mid-2022 Based on new data from national property broker Redfin, after years of tipping heavily in sellers’ favor, the scales of the U.S. housing market are finally balancing out. Soaring housing costs caused many house hunters to drop out in recent months,…
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Expert: Covid-19 made it vital to resolve the widening disparity between income and housing costs
Central Florida has a well-documented and dire shortage of housing affordable to working families earning at or below the area median income. New data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s “Out of Reach” report highlights the widening disparity between income and housing costs. Florida continues to rise in the coalition’s rankings — and not…
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New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Spike 54 Percent in U.S.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Builder Application Survey for June 2020 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases in the U.S. increased 54.1 percent compared from a year ago. Compared to May 2020, applications increased by 20 percent. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns. “The new home purchase market continues to recover…
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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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