How Hurricane Ida Will Affect Your Insurance Rates By Ron Hurtibise Experts say Ida will drive up rates for reinsurance, which is what insurance firms must buy to guarantee they can pay all claims after a disaster. That’s the pipeline that Hurricane Ida’s higher costs will travel to be passed on to Fla. insurance policyholders. FORT LAUDERDALE,

Large Lender to Offer In-House Appraisal Option On Oct. 1, United Wholesale Mortgage plans to roll out Appraisal Direct, a new option to work directly with appraisers. It will oversee the entire appraisal process. PONTIAC, Mich. – United Wholesale Mortgage has announced that it will offer an option to work directly with appraisers, a change

  By Sydney Czyzon Fla.’s population is up, in part because of COVID-19 and people relocating from elsewhere, putting pressure on housing. But Fla. residents are relocating, too. Floridians moving to St. Lucie from 2019 to 2020 rose by 163%, according to homestead applications tracked by the property appraiser. STUART, Fla. – The Treasure Coast’s population is increasing, in

  Welcome to this week’s Regional Perspective. In this edition, we focus on the expansion of one of the world’s biggest brands in Orlando, the growth of yet another new Orlando company, the announcement of the Orlando Tech Council’s Executive Director, and more news stories you’ll want to share with your networks. 1) Amazon announces 800

By Kerry Smith   Foreclosure listings will likely only come from owners in trouble before the pandemic because the amount of equity owners can access has risen 40% year-to-year. Of U.S. homeowners in forbearance, 98% have at least 10% home equity; during the Great Recession it was only 40%. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – According to Jacksonville-based

Mortgage Rates Dip Lower This Week; 30-year Loan at 2.86% Freddie Mac: It’s down from 2.88% last week and close to the 2.87% the 30-year FRM was at this time last year. The 15-year FRM now stands at 2.12%. WASHINGTON (AP) – Average long-term mortgage rates dipped lower this week as economic prospects continued muted

By Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy   Between now and Oct. 17, most markets across the country will have more homes for sale, lower prices and less buyer competition, according to Realtor.com data. SANTA CLARA, Calif. – If you’re in the market to buy a home, the next five weeks might be a perfect time, according to

By Kerry Smith   38% of homeowner households and 66% of renter households have difficulty paying for usual household expenses, including food, according to NAR’s study. “Housing affordability and food sufficiency are inseparable to families’ balance sheets,” says NAR  VP Jessica Lautz. WASHINGTON – Households burdened by housing costs are more likely to need food

By Kerry Smith   NAR President Oppler says Realtors have “long advocated for many of the policies,” though the promise of 100K homes “is just a small fraction” of the 6 million needed. WASHINGTON-Following the Biden Administration’s announcement (https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/news-articles/2021/09/biden-releases-plan-100k-affordable-housing-units-3-years) of new housing policies to help more Americans buy or rent a home, most housing groups

By Kerry Smith   Realtor.com got 18K more new listings in Aug. 2021 than it did in Aug. 2020 – and more were affordable, entry-level homes. Realtor.com’s economist says it’s still a seller’s market, but a well-priced home might get 3 bids now compared to the 10 it would have received in 2020. SANTA CLARA,