Lower Rates to Draw Buyers – Sellers Not so Much While mortgage rates moving closer to 6% will draw buyers into the 2024 housing market, several economists don’t think it will create a similar rush of sellers listing their homes LOS ANGELES (AP) – Several housing economists are projecting that mortgage rates will ease moderately next year, though the forecasts call for the average rate on a 30-year home loan to remain…
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Diana
Buyers’ Tactics in the Face of High Mortgage Rates Buyers may be able to make rising mortgage rates less onerous by using one or more of these nine tips suggested by RE agents and lenders. 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…
Gas, cars and airfare cost less last month. Prices rose 3.2% year-to-year in Oct. – still higher than the Fed’s 2% goal – for the smallest increase since June. WASHINGTON (AP) – Inflation in the United States slowed last month in a sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are continuing to cool the consumer price spikes that have bedeviled consumers for the past two years. Tuesday’s report from the Labor…
Artificial intelligence (AI) – really just a giant computer network – needs space to operate, making digital-data space a high growth commercial-market niche. NEW YORK – A corner of the U.S. commercial property market is flourishing as developers erect data centers – brick-and-mortar homes for digital data. In especially high demand? Buildings designed for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, which require extreme levels of power and cooling to operate. Watchers say data centers…
The scams begin with a hunt through public records for vacant land, an absentee owner and no mortgage. Look for red flags, like a refusal to talk in person. CHICAGO – Real estate professionals should watch for these red flags in the course of the transaction. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center warns that losses from real estate and rental scams are steadily increasing, reaching more than $396 million last year. Scammers are plotting…
SEATTLE – Baby boomers planning to downsize in retirement face a dilemma: Should they sell now while home prices are high since rising mortgage rates could push a drop in those prices – or should they hold onto their current home that’s too large because their current interest rates is somewhere in the 3% range? Life goes on regardless of any current real estate market, and the decision covers more issues than…
Frustrated with the lack of existing-home inventory, more buyers turned to new construction in Sept. despite mortgage rates that topped 7%. WASHINGTON – Despite elevated mortgage rates averaging above 7%, single-family starts posted a solid gain in September as more buyers turned to builders after facing a dearth of inventory in the resale market. Overall housing starts increased 7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according…
Property Insurance Fix Likely Won’t Lower Rates FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Home insurance costs in Florida are unlikely to fall even as reforms enacted by the state Legislature last year drive down litigation rates, a national insurance analyst predicted in a newly released report. The report by Karen Clark & Company, titled “Managing Expectations: Why Florida Homeowners Insurance Premiums Are Not Likely to Go Down,” says rising inflation rates, reinsurance costs and…
Property appraisal tax rules vary by county, but they’re similar. A Q&A with the Citrus County property appraiser offers insight about a sometimes confusing concept. CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. – Question: “Does my spouse need to apply for Homestead even though they’re not listed on the deed?” Answer: If you guessed yes, you are right! Married couples can claim only one Homestead Property Tax Exemption. If both of you currently own a homesteaded property,…
Study: Fla. leaped past New York to be No. 2 in housing values, trailing only Calif. S. Fla. (No. 5) and Tampa (No. 18) made the “top 20 most valuable metros” list. SEATTLE – The total value of the U.S. housing market surged more than $2.6 trillion over the past year, according to a Zillow analysis, largely due to rising home prices and the value of new construction. Florida has been at…