NAR: Big Housing Increase in Biden Budget
The president’s budget is mainly a request to Congress, but a 34% increase for HUD suggests an emphasis on the need for more affordable housing.
Find Your Real Estate Niche by Specializing
Realtors who specialize in a niche market create a road map for their career. It makes many decisions easier – where to market, how to market, etc.
Proof that Prices Won’t Fall? The New-Home Market
There’s not enough supply (homes) to meet demand, with little relief in sight. The U.S. needs about 3M more homes, and it will take years for builders to catch up.
New-Home Market Was Broken Before Pandemic
Builders once kept up with demand, but Great Recession cutbacks and worker losses created major problems exacerbated by new pandemic-created challenges.
First-Time Buyers Don’t Want Elevators, Golf Courses
A study of top-demanded and least-demanded items to first-time homebuyers also found that many want hardwood floors – but not cork or bamboo.
How Will Higher Interest Rates Affect You?
Interest rate increases impact mortgages, though indirectly. But Fed rate boosts will also increase the cost of doing business and even maintaining a home.
U.S. Consumer Confidence Moves a Bit Higher
In a switch from the Fla. sentiment index released the same day, Americans were more optimistic about current conditions in March – but less so about future conditions.
Floridians Grew More Confident in Feb.
4 of 5 components tracked by UF rose. Attitudes about the one-year-from-now economy saw the biggest gain, even in the face of inflation and rising interest rates.
Case-Shiller: Jan. Home Prices Surged a Record 19.1%
The increase follows 18.9% in Dec. Top increases in the 20-city index included No. 1 Phoenix (up 32.6%), followed by Tampa (up 30.8%) and Miami (up 28.1%).
Q&A: What’s Considered a ‘Material Alteration’?
A condo board replaced trees with grass and concrete. They cited sidewalk damage, but it changed the common area’s aesthetic. Did they need a vote by owners before doing this?