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By Alexandra Clough – Palm Beach Post Staff Writer “The red-hot housing market just put up a warning flag. Existing home sales dropped in February from the previous month, and the National Association of Realtors isn’t sugar-coating the news. Although Chief Economist Lawrence Yun cited winter blizzards and stock market declines as factors, the mainRead more

By Jeff Ostrowski – Palm Beach Post Staff Writer “Amid growing concerns about a housing affordability squeeze in Palm Beach County, a glimmer of hope emerged from this year’s legislative session. State lawmakers approved $200 million for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, a program that offers mortgages and down payment assistance to middle-incomeRead more

  “The Florida Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott didn’t see eye to eye on much during the 2016 session, but they both acknowledged education spending should go up. Even then, however, they couldn’t agree on how to do it. Scott wanted to pay for it almost entirely by increasing a share of property taxes knownRead more

Article:  housingwire.com “Foreclosure processes take longer and even slow the market down in its recovery process in states that require judicial foreclosures, according to Pro Teck. Pro Teck’s monthly Home Value Forecast ranks the single-family home markets in the top 200 core based statistical areas demonstrates the road blocks faced by those in judicial states.Read more

Article: housingwire.com “As part of the growing movement to further protect real estate agents and Realtors when they are showing a house, the state of Florida is currently considering legislation that would ensure harsher penalties for attacks on real estate agents. According to an article from the Palm Beach Post, the bill (SB 214) isRead more

Article: housingwire.com “It’s official. Confirming plans that HousingWire brought to light late last year and further revealed earlier this year, Nationstar Mortgage will indeed be launching a massive rebranding later this year and changing its name to Mr. Cooper. Nationstar CEO Jay Bray confirmed the company’s plan to rebrand as Mr. Cooper during a callRead more

Article via: CBS, wtsp.com: “With Goldman Sachs recently agreeing to pay $5.1 billion to settle claims related to its role in the 2008 mortgage scandal, the firm became the latest big Wall Street bank to reach a deal with the U.S. government. As part of the settlement, $1.8 billion is to be set aside for programs toRead more

Real Estate News : As investors scoop up older housing properties South Beach workers feeling the squeeze by: Nicholas Nehamas, Joey Flechas “Last week’s purchase of 15 older Art Deco-era apartment buildings in South Beach has workers fearing they won’t be able to remain in the area much longer, the Miami Herald is reporting. DevelopmentRead more

By Nicholas Nehamas “Federal authorities on Wednesday announced a temporary anti-money-laundering crackdown on pricey homes bought secretly with cash in Miami-Dade County and New York City. The new policy will require title insurance companies to identify the true owners of shell companies that pay $1 million or more in cash for homes in Miami-Dade andRead more

Little-known program gives up to $2,000 a year to people buying their first homes. By Donna Gehrke-White | Sun Sentinel “little-known state program that pays first-time homebuyers up to $2,000 a year has more than tripled its number of participants in a year.Administrators expect an even higher surge of homebuyers applying this year as theRead more