NAR: It’s the lowest level in a decade. Foreign buyers purchased 107K properties, down 31% from the prior year, as the COVID-19 pandemic led to a strong global economic slowdown. For the 13th straight year, Fla. remained the top destination for foreign buyers, with 21% of all international purchases.
Lumber prices had been cooling in recent weeks. However, lumber producers warn price hikes likely are on the horizon if the Western wildfires aren’t contained.
Two of the 20 Realtors chosen for the 10-month program that begins in Jan. 2022 are from Florida: Carlos Alleyne, Boca Raton, and Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Miami Shores.
ShowingTime: Those 5 days are “hyperactive with double-digit showings and offers submitted quickly”– 64 markets averaged double-digit showings per listing during June.
NAR says it faces “steep resistance” but will keep advocating for a Realtor exemption to proposals: “Congress must recognize real estate’s unique place in the economy.”
Private fair housing groups may request money and use it to blind test housing groups, respond to complaints or propose new projects related to COVID-19 challenges.
Cloudstar, a cloud service used by many title companies, shut down after a ransomware attack last week. As a result, some brokers now can’t register transactions or closings. “We are still very much in the containment and remediation phase,” the company says.
Year-to-year home prices rose 23.4%, the second-highest on record. However, a 3.3% inventory uptick may start to slow price increases and give homebuyers more hope.
Pandemic numbers are rising again. That’s shaken investors and pushed 30-year mortgage rates lower again this week, though adjustable rates moved a little higher.
Nationally, cash buyers made up about 1/3 of all 2021 home sales so far, but that percentage rises to 52.6% in West Palm Beach – the top metro for cash sales in the U.S.