GailandVickie

03/01/2024

02/27/2024

While easing, for-sale inventory remains tight in Florida and across the U.S. Buyers have to stay persistent and manage frustration levels during their home search. MERIDEN, Conn. – Ben Borecki and Raleighe Orszulak-Borecki, both 29, searched for about a year to find their perfect home. They visi...

02/21/2024

Buyers have had it rough, but some experts think 2024 will see improvement in mortgage rates, home prices and availability of both new and existing homes for sale. SAN FRANCISCO – You feel demoralized about the housing market, right? Hold on. After a grim 2022 and 2023, it looks like 2024 is shapi...

02/19/2024

Developers in S. Florida and elsewhere are adding annexes to new construction, which let relatives like elderly parents have their own space in the same house. MIAMI – With the cost of homes out of reach for many families, developers in South Florida are now adding annexes to new construction, a...

02/15/2024

Sellers who want to make top dollar can take simple steps, including proper staging, selling at the right time and sprucing up the outside to increase cub appeal. NEW YORK – The process of buying and selling a home includes many movable parts. North America has experienced historic trends in the h...

02/13/2024

Some of the newest 2024 design trends including ditching paint completely and turning to other materials, such as wood accents, to jazz up a home. WASHINGTON – What home improvement projects should your clients take on this year? After crunching the latest data from Thumbtack, a home services webs...

02/07/2024

The Federal Reserve chair said the Fed misjudged the duration of the 2021-2022 inflation surge, and the central bank moved too slowly to raise its key rate. Rate cuts could begin in May. WASHINGTON — Chair Jerome Powell said in an interview broadcast Sunday night that the Federal Reserve remains o...

01/31/2024

As the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) begins its two-day closed meeting, many wonder when an interest rate cut will come. The post-meeting press conference, later this week, will tell more. WASHINGTON — Chair Jerome Powell will enter this week’s Federal Reserve meeting in a much more desir...

01/23/2024

“Overall, we expect 2024 to be a better year than 2023 for homebuyer affordability and the mortgage industry,” Fannie Mae’s chief economist said. WASHINGTON – The housing market will begin a gradual return to a “more normal balance” in 2024, and mortgage rates are expected to end the yea...

01/18/2024

Christopher Waller, an influential member of the Fed's Board of Governors, said he’s feeling confident the economy is moving in a positive direction. WASHINGTON — A top Federal Reserve official said Tuesday that he is increasingly confident that inflation will continue falling this year back to ...

01/16/2024

Several Florida cities, including Crestview, Deltona and Ocala, are a boon for buyers, coming in among the top 50 U.S. cities that had the most homes sell under the asking in 2023. MIAMI – It's a tough time to be in the market for a new house. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose above 7% ...