News / Features

The Built-for-Rent Market – a Temporary Phenomenon?

By Peter Ricci The surging residential rental market – and the uptick in multifamily construction that has accompanied it – has been one of, if not the biggest outcomes of the post-boom housing market, and according to recent data pulled

CFPB Releases New Regulations for Mortgage Servicers

By Peter Ricci Just a week after releasing new standards for residential mortgages, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is at it again this week, releasing the first nationwide standards for mortgage

Are Price Reductions Becoming More Infrequent?

By Peter Ricci Heavy price reductions were one of the ugliest side effects of the housing downturn, but a new study by Trulia suggest that price reductions may be happening with fewer frequency as the housing market

2012 Ends on Solid Footing in Redfin Real-Time Price Tracker

By Peter Ricci The U.S. housing market ended 2012 on solid footing in the Redfin Real-Time Price Tracker, with home prices, housing inventory and home sales all improving over 2011. A monthly measure of the housing market’s key fundamentals, the Real-Time

Housing Starts Soar in December to Highest Level Since 2008

By Peter Ricci Housing starts soared in December, climbing 12.1 percent from November and 36.9 percent from December 2011 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 954,000, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the

Builder Confidence Holds Firm in January Housing Market Index

By Peter Ricci Builder confidence in the newly built, single-family homes market held firm in January, remaining at a level of 47 in the NAHB’s Housing Market Index, the industry’s leading measure of builder confidence. That’s the eighth consecutive month of

Mortgage Markets Show Improvement in 2012

By Peter Ricci The national foreclosure inventory declined by 10 percent from September to November and mortgage origination remains strong, according to the November Mortgage Monitor from Lender Processing Services

HUD, Cyndi Lauper Join Forces For America’s Homeless

By Joe Van Acker Turns out, girls just wanna…count the homeless. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is partnering with ’80s pop icon and Grammy Award-winner Cyndi Lauper to determine the size and characteristics of the country’s

Home Prices Increase 7.4 Percent in CoreLogic HPI, Hit Six-Year High

By Peter Ricci Home prices increased 7.4 percent from November 2011 to November 2012 in the lastest CoreLogic HPI, which is the ninth straight month of year-over-year home price increases and the strongest showing from home prices since May

Will Added Competition Threaten First-Time Homebuyers?

By Peter Ricci First-time homebuyers, as any agent knows, are one of the most important demographics to a healthy real estate market, and the increasing market share of first-time homebuyers has been one of the many positive developments of

Miami Slow, But Primed, For Green Homes

By Joe Van Acker The Magic City has been surprisingly slow to adopt green technology and building techniques, but that’s starting to change. Sustainable Development Services, LLC broke ground last week on the first two green homes to be

CoreLogic: Total Home Sales Increased 6 Percent from 2011 to 2012

By Peter Ricci Total home sales increased 6 percent in 2012 over 2011 according to the January MarketPulse report from CoreLogic, a wide-ranging analysis of the housing market that anticipated good things for the real estate industry in 2013.

NAR’s Housing Affordability Index Soars to New High in 2012

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

Miami’s Comeback Continues with Merrick Manor

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

Smarter Growth America: Govt Spends $450 Billion a Year on Real Estate

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?

Miami Chapter of MBF Taps Jeff Morr as Chairman

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.

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