By Joe Van Acker Buyers enjoyed unprecedented buying power last year, according to the National Association of Realtor’s Housing Affordability Index. Cruising past 2011’s record figure of 186, the index is expected to reach an all-time high of 194

By Joe Van Acker With prices rising and inventory falling, Miami is enjoying an increasingly healthy real estate market. The Astor Companies have announced plans to begin construction of Merrick Manor this summer, making it the first new-to-market condo

By Peter Ricci Real estate is often considered the last truly “free” market in the U.S. economy, a sector that, unlike agriculture, manufacturing, education or health care, has avoided the influence of government to grow and prosper – or has it?

Jeff Morr will be the new face of the Miami Chapter of the Master Brokers Forum for the next four years, after being named chairman. Currently a broker and CEO of Majestic Properties, Morr has more than 25 years of real estate and design experience.

By Peter Ricci Well, it’s finally happened. After months of speculation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finally announced its qualified mortgage standards, which are the new, defining lending guidelines for the nation’s

By Peter Ricci Proponents of renting have often argued that renting is less expensive that owning, and admittedly, the argument makes sense; after all, renters do not have to worry about repairs, insurance or property taxes, among the other

By Peter Ricci The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Improving Markets Index, a key measure of the housing markets in the U.S.’ largest metropolitan areas, rose for the fifth consecutive month in January, increasing to a total of 242

By Peter Ricci Federal regulators put the finishing touches on an $8.5 billion mortgage settlement with 10 of the nation’s largest lenders earlier this week, with the majority of the funds going towards delinquent homeowners in danger of losing

By Peter Ricci Things have been looking up for the housing market heading into 2013, and we’re not just saying that because shadow inventory is falling, home sales at their highest mark in years and consumer confidence in the

By Peter Ricci Real estate-related searches on Google have catapulted 253 percent since 2008, according to a joint study by Google and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In addition, the report, titled The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market

By Joe Van Acker It looks like avoiding the apocalypse may have put consumers in the mood to buy. Americans continue to report confidence in the housing market despite concerns for their personal finances and the overall economy. Respondents to

By Peter Ricci A new study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has found that the typical buyer of a single-family home will stay in the property for 13 years before moving out. That’s down from 16

By Stephanie Sims You’ve read all about Gen Y already: they plan to eventually buy, are reshaping the multifamily market, and have positive feelings toward the housing market, in general. But a new study found data that’s valuable to any

By Natalie Terchek Master Broker Forum member, Chris Crystal of Miami Real Estate Co., sold a 5,098 square-foot home nicknamed “Fantasy Island” for $4,700,000. The sale was completed on December 3,

By Peter Ricci So far, news for 2013 is optimistic: shadow housing inventory continued to decline in the autumn months, falling by 12.3 percent year-over-year in October, according to the latest estimates from CoreLogic. In total, there were 2.3

By Stephanie Sims When the U.S. Green Building Council met to discuss changes to its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system in December, it was met with resistance and controversy from several manufacturers. In fact, the manufacturers