Simone Roetman Miami Real Estate

For Some, Smart Homes May Be Too Smart Is the TV listening to me? Could a company get hacked and leak my doorbell videos? Smart devices make life easier but also make some people uncomfortable. NEW YORK – While smart-home technology adds convenience to a homeowner’s lifestyle, many Americans worry about potential shortcomings when it...

NAR 4Q: Most Metros Saw Double-Digit Price Growth \67% of metro areas in NAR’s 4Q report saw double-digit price growth.. WASHINGTON – The fourth quarter of 2021 saw home prices continue to increase, although at a slower pace. Even though two out of three metro areas saw double-digit price growth in the fourth quarter (4Q) of 2021, it’s down f...

What Do 2022 Buyers Want? NAHB Lists Preferences The pandemic continues to influence demand for outdoor amenities, bigger homes and the suburbs. But all ages still like laundry rooms and walk-in pantries. ORLANDO, Fla. – During the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recent convention in Orlando, researchers issued a list of the home fe...

Mortgage Rates Hit Two-Year High: 3.69% After three fairly calm weeks, the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.69% from last week’s 3.55%. WASHINGTON (AP) – Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped last week to their highest level in more than two years, potentially bumping some homebuyers out of the market w...

NAHB: Too Few New Homes and Rising Costs in 2022 At the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, economists said the industry has too few laborers, and interest rate and price increases will deter more buyers. ORLANDO, Fla. – Low existing home inventory and strong buyer demand will keep housing moving forward in 2022, according to economists a...

NAR’s 2021 Buyer-Seller Report: Moving Earlier, Selling Quicker Between July 2020 and June 2021, U.S. homes sold at a record pace. However, many owners didn’t stay in their home as long, with average tenure dropping from 10 years in last year’s report to eight years this year. Still, 9 out of 10 buyers (87%) and sellers (90%) used an agent or broker. WASHING...

Big Rent Increases Convince More People to Buy More renters are wondering: “What happens next year if my rent went up $200 this year? And what do I have to show for this lost money anyway? NEW YORK – More renters are making moves toward homeownership quickly, pressured by rising mortgage rates on the buying side and skyrocketing monthly paym...

Mortgage Rules Eased for Self-Employed Buyers Fannie/Freddie started requiring extensive recent financial info from self-employed workers due to COVID, but some may now find it easier to qualify for a loan. PASADENA, Calif. – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finally eased the two biggest COVID-19 era loan obstacles of the past two years, opening th...

Mortgage Rates Remain Stable This Week at 3.55% After a notable increase for a few weeks, the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage stopped rising, remaining relatively flat for three weeks. WASHINGTON (AP) – Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates were flat for a third straight week after rising about a half percent early in the year. ...

Record Number of Young Adults: “Mom? I’m Home” In 2020, the share of 25-34-year-old adults moving home hit numbers not seen since 1960 – almost one out of five (17.8%). In 2021, it was still 17%. CHICAGO – As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, more young adults chose to move back home with their parents. In 2020, the share of young adults aged...

Institutional Home Investor Sees ‘Remarkable Results’ Blackstone, which invests in single-family homes and commercial property, had the “most remarkable results in our history on virtually every metric” in 4Q. NEW YORK – Investment management company Blackstone reported that high returns in its real estate investments fueled record-setting fourth...

More Luxury Agents Should Understand Cryptocurrency Many nuevo-rich buyers made money working with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency, and they’ve shown a strong fondness for investing profits in real estate. NEW YORK – Newly made cryptocurrency millionaires and billionaires are showing a love for real estate, flooding the luxury market and driving...

The IRS Wants (Requires) Your Photo? Americans won’t need identification for basic tax services via the IRS website, but for some functions, such as a childcare tax credit, they must register with ID.me. WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service says that beginning this summer, it will require people who pay their taxes online to u...

Fed Says It May Raise Interest Rates in March In the face of persistent inflation, the Fed announced Wed. it would soon raise interest rates. That’s likely to push all types of credit rates – including mortgages – higher. WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it plans to begin raising its benchmark interest rate ...

Dec. New Home Sales Up 11.9% Month-to-Month Buyers worried about rising interest rates and home prices pushed new-home sales to a 10-month high in Dec. SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) – Sales of new single family homes in December rose to their highest level in 10 months as buyers took advantage of lower prices in anticipation of higher interest ra...

Spring Buying Season May Have Arrived Early Home prices continue to rise and mortgage rates appear ready to follow. Some skittish buyers are jumping into the market now, fearful what could happen if they wait. NEW YORK – After registering month-to-month gains of over 1% starting in September 2020 and reaching a high of 2% in July 2021, the ...

Spouse vs. House? Single Women Buying More Homes Two out of three single women – the second-largest buying group – don’t need wedlock to buy a home, with 71% willing to move a future spouse in later. NEW YORK – A growing number of single women buy real estate on their own. More than two-thirds of single women said they’d rather not wait...

Loans for Condos? New Rules Start to Have an Effect Fannie’s tighter loan requirements post-Surfside collapse started Jan. 1; Freddie’s start Feb. 28. In the meantime, the list of no-loan condo projects will likely keep growing. HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. – A nightmare scenario looms for condo buyers applying for certain types of federally backed mo...

Single-Family Rents See Record Growth U.S. rent grew 11.5% year-to-year, according to a CoreLogic index. NEW YORK – Property owners are charging more for their single-family rentals as demand soars and they’re still finding willing tenants. Single-family rental prices continue to rapidly increase with record growth, according to Cor...

MBA: Lenders Make it Easier for Buyers to Qualify As interest rates rise, fewer homeowners refinance. As a result, lenders are sitting on more cash and willing to ease lending criteria, notably for jumbo loans. WASHINGTON – The availability of mortgage credit increased in December, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a rep...

2022 Market? AP Interviews NAR’s Top Economist Increased supply and some chopping of demand due to rising interest rates should make the market less competitive, with price increases returning to normal. LOS ANGELES (AP) – The U.S. housing market had another scorcher of a year in 2021, aided by low mortgage rates, a swell of demand that outstr...

How to Get HOA Approval with a Low Credit Score RE Q&A: A potential condo buyer avoids credit cards and debt, but is financially secure. How can she make that clear to an HOA board that considers credit scores? FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Question: I am having trouble getting approved to buy a condo due to my lack of credit. I do not use a credit ...

Buyers Rushing to Lock in Mortgages Mortgage rates remain in near-all-time-low territory, but recent upticks have panicked some buyers who now hope to land a home sooner rather than later. NEW YORK – The housing market doesn’t appear to be following its typical seasonal slowdown this winter. Homebuyers appeared in a rush last week...

Is it Better to Rent or Buy? It’s Not that Simple New ATTOM data suggests it’s cheaper to rent than buy in some areas – but it doesn’t consider future rent increases or savings, via equity, in homeownership. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – As many struggle to find affordable places to live, new data suggests that it might be more affordable to ren...

‘Energy Efficient’ a Selling Point for Older Homes Sometimes buyers’ general desire for a newer home can be countered by an older home that has been upgraded to be considered “energy efficient.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today’s homebuyers put energy efficiency high on their “must-have” list, and many also want something that’s no more than...

More Middle-Class Buyers Using Cash-Offer Services In today’s competitive market, more buyers are turning to a cadre of relatively new companies that help them submit an all-cash offer. MIAMI – Luis Alberto and his wife made an offer on a home in Miami they were hoping to buy, only to have another buyer beat them by offering cash. Over the next ...