Southwest Florida Real Estate News and Market Insight

Many people in the housing industry are wondering why mortgage rates haven’t fallen even as oil prices have dropped from $111 per barrel to less than $73 today. The 10-year Treasury yield is at 4.48% and mortgage rates are near their yearly highs. This is a fair question, and we have already discuss

Mortgage rates are moving higher as 2026 nears its midway point. And sentiment has shifted when it comes to rate expectations as more housing market observers are predicting at least one rate hike this year — a stark contrast to the start of 2026 when multiple cuts were on the table and sub-6% rates

Gymnast Simone Biles has hit back at online critics who questioned her decision to jet off on a luxury vacation to Belize just days after suffering a "serious medical emergency" at her home—insisting that her travel is allowing her to properly "heal" from the undisclosed health issue. Biles, 29, rev

The “emerging trends” in housing story over the past decade or more has been a tale of magnitude variations on a theme: constrained supply eclipsed by growing demand. If there is one conclusion that rises above all others in this year’s “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2026” report, it is that the

Switching from one rental to another is stressful enough. Making the switch from renting to buying is a different challenge entirely. More parties, more variables, and a closing timeline that can shift for reasons entirely outside your control. When things don't line up, the consequences can mean bo

Teresa Troyer bought her three-bedroom townhome in a Central Florida subdivision five years ago, expecting homeowners to decide how their community is run.  But she said it’s clear to her who’s in charge — the developer, not homeowners.  Florida law mandates developers pass on control of residential

Ryan Seacrest has officially offloaded his 40-acre California estate for $18.5 million—two years after listing the stunning Napa Valley property for the much higher price of $22 million. The 51-year-old "American Idol" host first brought the enormous spread to the market in summer 2024, soon after c

Investor activity in the U.S. housing market remained resilient in 2025 even as overall home sales fell to one of their lowest levels in decades, according to a report released Tuesday by Realtor.com. Investors purchased roughly 534,000 homes last year, a 0.7% increase from 2024, while their share o

Finance of America (FOA) announced on Tuesday that it has appointed three senior executives to lead its brand, communications and product functions as the reverse mortgage lender looks to expand its retirement-focused home equity offerings. Colm Murphy has joined as chief brand officer, Jordan Baucu

As part of the ongoing lawsuit between Mauricio Umansky’s ThePLS.com and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the trade association has attempted to subpoena documents from the American Real Estate Association (ARA), the NAR alternative founded by Umansky and Compass agent Jason Haber.  The s

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is rolling out 14 changes to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s single-family mortgage insurance program, including less stringent appraisal rules, expanded flexibility for the 203(k) rehab loan program and simplified closing forms. 

The partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside started roughly three weeks before the building fell, according to federal investigators.  The National Institute of Standards and Technology released a report Monday concluding that a structural failure first occurred at two criti

To see our latest updates on the Nancy Guthrie case, please click here. Savannah Guthrie made an "unprecedented" plea for information about her mother, Nancy Guthrie's disappearance during the latest "Today" show broadcast—after reports emerged claiming that a ransom note sent in the wake of the 84-

Ryan Serhant is expanding his fast-growing real estate empire to the Lone Star State. The star of Netflix's "Owning Manhattan" and founder of Serhant has announced a major expansion into Texas, where the brokerage will officially launch in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas. The move marks ano

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been traded to Miami Heat—just one day after reports revealed the basketball icon was in "serious talks" with both the Heat and the Boston Celtics. The 31-year-old forward was traded to the Florida-based team, along with Bobby Portis. In return, the Buc

🏆 Residential: The priciest recorded home sale was in Manalapan, where an oceanfront parcel at 3070 South Ocean Boulevard sold for $15.1 million. The lot measures 0.3 acres and includes a 1,900-square-foot property. The seller was the Marston family, which had owned the site for decades. The buyer

Investor activity in the housing market remained steady last year—but mom-and-pop investors are taking a larger slice of the pie, according to a new report. The share of home sales to investors ticked up slightly to 11.3% in 2025, up 0.3 percentage points compared to the year before, a new investor

Older Americans are expected to pass down trillions in housing wealth, but new data shows that the rising costs of homeownership may be threatening that inheritance. Homeowners aged 65 and older had the highest cost-burden rate of any age group in 2024, with 28% spending more than 30% of their incom

A Miami-Dade County jury found George Pino not guilty in the death of 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez after less than two hours of deliberation Monday.  The six-member jury acquitted the Doral-based commercial real estate broker on manslaughter and boat vessel homicide charges stemming from a b

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ property tax proposal has constitutional holes because it seeks to deny cuts to newcomers, according to a newspaper’s analysis of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The measure would require new Florida residents to wait five years before qualifying for a proposed homestead tax exemptio