HUD Offering $145M to Help Homeless Youths
Up to 50 local or rural communities can apply for money through a competitive funding program that’s designed to help youth “change the trajectory of their lives.”
April’s New-Home Sales Flatten – Builders Blame Affordability
Rising home prices, material costs and a labor shortage have taken their toll, builders say, and more potential new-home buyers have been priced out of the market.
Property Coverage Cancelled? Avoid Force-Placed Insurance
When private insurers cancel a policy, homeowners should find replacement coverage ASAP to avoid forced insurance that can cost up to 10 times as much.
U.S. Could Double Tariffs on Canadian Softwood Lumber
A rising cost for lumber has added thousands to the price of a new home, and an ongoing U.S.-Canada dispute could make things worse. Pres. Trump raised tariffs to 20% in 2018 and later lowered them to 9%. The Biden Admin. now proposes an 18.32% tariff.
Small-Town Buyers Having Big-Town Investor Problems
As more urban dwellers moved to small towns with affordable home values, investors moved with them. In many smaller towns, more first-timers are losing bids to cash investors.
Fed: Pandemic Laws Make Credit Scores Less Reliable
Agencies can’t ding credit scores of owners skipping monthly payments via forbearance. As a result, their scores are up 14 points; non-forbearance owners are up only 7.
Want to Thrive on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube? 7 Tips
An Arizona agent with 427K TikTok followers says a lot of her leads come from parents who say their child saw one of her educational posts and told them about it.
Florida To Have 3 Tax ‘Holidays’ – Disaster Prep Starts Friday
Consumers won’t pay sales tax for many disaster supplies starting Friday, a back-to-school holiday is in Aug., and a new July holiday nixes sales taxes on leisure events.
NAR U.S. Existing-Home Sales Drop 2.7% in April
It’s the third monthly decline in a row. NAR cites the lack of inventory for the slowdown, as well as the increase in median price to $341,600, up 19.1% year-to-year.
Tech Making Website Accessibility Easier for the Disabled
As businesses struggle to make websites accessible for disabled users, technology continues to help on the other end, creating new tools those users can tap for help.