Wealthy Buy Up Luxury Homes Amid Pandemic
In Feb., the number of homes sold for more than $1M rose by 81% year-over-year, while the number of homes that sold for less than $100K fell 26%, according to NAR.
Fla.’s Home Sales and Prices Up, Inventory Tight in March
Florida Realtors’ data: Single-family home sales rose 23.3% year-over-year, median sales price up 18.9%; condo sales up 52.6%, median price up 15.2%. The coronavirus was first detected in Fla. on March 1, 2020; therefore, last March’s data was the first to reflect the pandemic’s impact.
Traditional Real Estate Marketing Holds Firm Despite Pandemic
A recent broker survey found 41% of real estate pros used direct mail to generate listings and 24% used technology to find which sellers were most likely to sell.
By the Numbers: COVID-19 Vaccinations in Florida
As of April 19, more than 8.14 million people in Florida had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines. Of those, more than half (4.82M) are ages 55 to 84.
5 Insights to Help You Start a Real Estate Business
Some of the steps to a real estate career may include: Write a business plan, get your license, create a strong brand identity and build your online presence.
U.S. Watchdog Cracks Down on Mortgage Servicers
Worried about foreclosures, the federal bureau is reviewing mortgage servicers’ compliance with pandemic relief programs and how they’re handling forbearance requests.
Potential First-Time Home Buyer Program Seeks Equity in Housing
Called the Down Payment Toward Equity Act of 2021, the draft legislation is directed at creating equity in the housing market. Eligible home buyers must be the first generation in their family to own a home; first-time buyers could receive as much as $25K under this proposal.
Regulators Scale Back Citizens Rate Hikes
A 3.2% increase for multi-peril policies was approved instead of a requested 6.2% hike; a request to charge actuarially sound rates for new customers was also rejected.
Delayed Closings: The Most Common Reasons in Feb.
Most homes complete the sale on time, but of those that are delayed, almost 1 in 3 (29%) have a financing issue, and 1 in 4 (23%) confront an appraisal issue.
Fla. Courts Handle 3 out of 4 U.S. Property Insurance Lawsuits
Of U.S. lawsuits filed over property insurance payments in 2019, Fla. had 76%, according to a state report – but it only had 8% of all property insurance claims.