Florida Realtors News

Christina Pappas, 2022 president, is the 2023 Realtor of the Year. All award winners were recognized Thurs. at the annual convention’s in-person Awards Luncheon.

The money will go to public housing agencies that assist homeless vets. HUD estimates that the money will help move 7,500 more former service members off the streets.

Some veteran Realtors can live off referrals, but the industry’s digital transformation – AI chatbots, virtual tours, data analytics – favors agents with tech expertise.

A 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaged 7.09% this week, its highest level since it was 7.13% in April 2002. It also exceeds a high of 7.08% hit last fall.

An Orlando team leader uses professional RE writers for his website and offers expansive content – blogs plus articles that complement his listings.

“Livability” is subjective, but an exhaustive study attempted to rank states based on how happy they’ll make residents. Fla. was No. 6 – but No. 1 in some categories.

In 2022, more homeowners fought rising inflation by tapping into home equity. In two years, equity lines of credit originations rose 41% as equity loans rose 166%.

Single-family housing permits – a sign of future construction activity – increased marginally by 0.6%, though overall permits dropped 13.9% as multifamily slows.

UBS will pay $1.44B to settle claims it gave mortgage borrowers false and misleading statements in 2006-2007, the last big bank case from the housing crisis era.

The Realtors Relief Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, says the money will “assist with disaster victims’ housing payments as relief and recovery efforts continue.”