STUART, Fla. – April 17, 2017 – The city of Stuart wants residents at 105 S.E. Seminole St. to move out of the drug and recovery center and for no one else to live there until there’s proof the building meets the state residential building code.

This is the latest development in the ongoing issues that have pitted the city against the building’s owners and the tenant. Some of the disputes have played out in federal court over the past four years and more recently in state court. Read More

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – March 23, 2017 – Realtor.com®, a leading online real estate destination operated by News Corp subsidiary Move, Inc., has announced its top cities for millennials. At the top of the list: Salt Lake City, followed by Miami and Orlando, Fla., as No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Rounding out the rest of the top 10, in rank order are Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Albany, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.

«High job growth in markets such as Orlando, Seattle and Miami, and the power of affordability in places like Albany and Buffalo are making these markets magnets for millennials.» said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research for realtor.com. «But what really stands out is that all these markets already have large numbers of millennials, which translates into strong populations of millennial homebuyers.»   Read More

NEW YORK – Feb. 24, 2017 – You’ve found the perfect new home for your family, but your current house hasn’t sold yet. You can’t afford to carry two mortgages, or maybe you were counting on money from your sale to help with the downpayment and closing costs.

Before you let that dream home slip away, consider these strategies to help bridge the transition:

Make an offer that’s contingent on the sale of your house Read More

Fla.’s housing market: Median prices rise in Dec. 2016

NAR: Existing-home sales slide in December, but 2016 hits 10-year high.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 24, 2017 – Florida’s housing market had higher median prices and fewer all-cash sales in December, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 22,332 last month, up 0.8 percent from December 2015.

«The trend of tight housing supply continued to have an impact on Florida’s housing market in December,» says 2017 Florida Realtors President Maria Wells, broker-owner with Lifestyle Realty Group in Stuart. «Last month, statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties rose year-over-year for 61 months in row. While that’s good news for sellers, it’s continuing to put pressure on inventory for first-time homebuyers and those who may be looking for their next ‘move-up’ home. Read More

Average 30-year mortgage rate falls to 4.09%

WASHINGTON (AP) – Jan. 19, 2017 – Long-term U.S. mortgage rates marked their third week of declines this week, after snapping a nine-week run of increases.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans fell to an average 4.09 percent from 4.12 percent last week. That was still sharply higher than a 30-year rate that averaged 3.65 percent for all of 2016, the lowest level recorded from records going back to 1971. A year ago, the benchmark rate stood at 3.81 percent.

The average for a 15-year mortgage declined to 3.34 percent from 3.37 percent last week. Read More

The risk Fla. home values will decline? Only 3%

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jan. 11, 2017 – The likelihood of home price declines across the United States over the next two years remains unchanged at only 4 percent, according to the latest Arch MI Risk Index. And in Florida it’s even lower – only 3 percent.

The risk of price declines continues to drop, according to the Winter 2017 edition of The Housing and Mortgage Market Review (HaMMR) published by Arch MI. One year ago, it was 6 percent across the U.S.; two years ago, it was 8 percent. Read More

IRVINE, Calif. – Jan. 10, 2017 – Among the 50 largest U.S. markets, the top five (in order) were Orlando, Palm Beach County, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Dallas, according to Ten-X, an online marketplace. Each metro area had «a vigorous combination of consistently strong demand, home price appreciation, and economic and demographic growth.» Read More