The U.S. consumer watchdog’s report on junk fees focused on a range of businesses, such as banking and payday lending, and includes four used by mortgage servicers.
The spring season will likely draw sellers and buyers to the market, but after that, U.S. metros will probably go different directions for buyers’ and sellers’ markets.
In addition to banks and online lenders, homebuyers should check out options from a credit union, which tends to offer better rates for both borrowing and saving.
More Orlando-area owners are being told that state-owned Citizens Ins. is their only option. In a three-county area, the number of policies rose 159% year-to-year.
Fla. is still a home-value exception: The share of U.S. homes worth $1M-plus fell from 8.6% to 7% as of Jan., but it’s gone up in most Fla. metros.
American Rescue Plan money allowed HUD to distribute more than 20K vouchers, over $1.5 billion directly and over $65B to state and local officials.
The pandemic cut the number of foreign buyers traveling to the U.S., but the first wave is reappearing. A Miami condo has seen a 30% increase in Brazilian buyers.
Buyers are more focused on a home’s asking price in the face of higher interest rates. In a sellers’ market, pricing too high may work. Now it might be a deal breaker.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index showed a 5.8% annual gain in home prices for Dec., down from 7.6% through the 12-month period ending in Nov.
The Chinese gov’t cracked down and lots of developer defaults in mid-2021 threatened world financial markets. But the crisis appears to have passed.
