Southwest Florida Real Estate News and Market Insight

 

Market data, mortgage rate movement, housing policy, and property news from across the country and here at home in Collier and Lee counties. Anything that affects what a home in Naples, Bonita Springs, or Estero is worth, and what it costs to own one, is worth understanding before it shows up in your closing statement or your tax bill.

 

  • Homebuyers finally catch a break with more inventory

    Homebuyers finally catch a break with more inventory,Logan Mohtashami

    Homebuyers in 2025 are finally getting some good news. Active housing inventory is returning to the levels we experienced before the pandemic, which means the chaotic and unhealthy housing market of the last several years is finally a thing of the past. As someone who was concerned about home prices

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  • Catsimatidis leases entire office space at downtown St. Pete project to financial services firm 

    Catsimatidis leases entire office space at downtown St. Pete project to financial services firm ,Lidia Dinkova

    Billionaire developer John Catsimatidis Sr. fully leased the office space at his downtown St. Petersburg mixed-use project to a financial services firm.  Dynasty Financial Partners signed for the entire 45,000 square feet of space at the 400 Central tower, with plans to open the office next year, ac

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  • 15 commission lawsuit settlements gain final approval

    15 commission lawsuit settlements gain final approval,Brooklee Han

    In a move that’s unsurprising, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Bough has granted final approval to 15 more commission lawsuit settlement agreements.Bough granted final approval to settlements negotiated in the Gibson and Keel suits during a joint hearing on Tuesday afternoon. The settling defendan

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  • Record-high home equity provides opportunity for the reverse mortgage industry

    Record-high home equity provides opportunity for the reverse mortgage industry,Jeff Andrews

    Soaring prices and increasingly strained affordability have made things difficult for prospective buyers shopping for their first home. But for households that own their home already, rising prices have been a wealth bonanza.That’s evident in data from the annual State of the Nation’s Housing Report

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  • Home prices are still climbing, but the pace is slowing

    Home prices are still climbing, but the pace is slowing,Jeff Andrews

    Home prices continue to outpace last year, but at a pace that’s slowing down.The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index for April rose 2.7% year over year, a deceleration from 3.37% in March, 3.9% in February and 4.1% in January. It’s the first data for the Case-Shiller that includes the period

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  • Christie’s affiliate adds five top agents in Northern California

    Christie’s affiliate adds five top agents in Northern California,Jonathan Delozier

    Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno, the largest locally owned and operated independent real estate brokerage in Northern California, is continuing its growth with the addition of five top-producing agents — formerly with Intero Real Estate Services — to its South Santa Clara County operatio

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  • Volly’s new tech tool aims to improve collaboration between lenders, agents

    Volly’s new tech tool aims to improve collaboration between lenders, agents,Jonathan Delozier

    Williston Financial Group (WFG) announced the release of a new digital tool through subsidiary Volly that aims to enhance collaboration between mortgage loan officers and real estate agents.The new feature, known as Volly Network Connections, is part of the company’s broader marketing suite and offe

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  • Does Zillow’s policy really restrict Compass’s business?

    Does Zillow’s policy really restrict Compass’s business?,Brooklee Han

    While the more attention-grabbing parts of Compass’s complaint in its suit against Zillow included late night calls between Robert Reffkin and “co-conspirator” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, and a tense meeting with Zillow executives, the complaint also detailed the business impacts Compass is feeling as

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  • South Florida residential sales plummet in May

    South Florida residential sales plummet in May,Kate Hinsche

    South Florida’s residential sales and dollar volume plunged in May, continuing a monthslong market slowdown. Dollar volume for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties dipped to $5.6 billion, down from $6.1 billion in May of last year, according to Multiple Listing Service data collected by the M

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  • DeSantis signs amended condo safety bills into law on anniversary of Surfside collapse

    DeSantis signs amended condo safety bills into law on anniversary of Surfside collapse,Katherine Kallergis

    Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills amending the state’s condo safety legislation, four years after the deadly Surfside collapse. On Monday, DeSantis signed House Bill 913 and House Bill 393 into law.  The June 24, 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South killed 98 people overnight, ranging in age from ju

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  • CFPB cuts short monitoring of BofA mortgage practices

    CFPB cuts short monitoring of BofA mortgage practices,James Kleimann

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) cut short a five-year agreement with Bank of America over the bank’s alleged submissions of false mortgage data. The agreement was supposed to be in place through at least November 2028.In a filing made public Monday, the CFPB said the bank “fulfilled

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  • Jerome Powell says the Fed isn’t budging on interest rates

    Jerome Powell says the Fed isn’t budging on interest rates,Neil Pierson

    The Federal Reserve has come under renewed fire from the Trump administration in recent weeks as the president and key housing officials battle with Chair Jerome Powell over the direction of interest rates.On Tuesday, while speaking to members of the House Financial Services Committee, Powell was re

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  • Four charts that perfectly illustrate the housing affordability crisis

    Four charts that perfectly illustrate the housing affordability crisis,Jeff Andrews

    Look at all the variables at play in the housing market and it’s hard not to feel pessimistic about the affordability crisis.Mortgage payments continue to increase thanks to high mortgage rates, home insurance premiums are on the rise in markets vulnerable to natural disasters and the rent is still

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  • $13M Palm Beach listing tops county’s signed contracts last week

    $13M Palm Beach listing tops county’s signed contracts last week,Kate Hinsche

    Palm Beach County saw an uptick in signed contracts for luxury homes last week.  Buyers signed 12 contracts between June 16 and June 22 for luxury properties in Palm Beach County, according to a market report authored by Douglas Elliman’s Eklund-Gomes team. Last week’s contracts reached $73.6 millio

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  • Aventura condo association ex-prez Gregori Arzumanov hit with federal charges

    Aventura condo association ex-prez Gregori Arzumanov hit with federal charges,Francisco Alvarado

    Former condo association president Gregori Arzumanov, who is already facing a state racketeering indictment, was hit with federal charges for allegedly stealing more than $700,000 in building funds.  On June 6, a Miami federal grand jury indicted Arzumanov and a second defendant whose identity is re

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  • $15M Apogee closing tops Miami-Dade weekly condo sales  

    $15M Apogee closing tops Miami-Dade weekly condo sales  ,Kate Hinsche, Adam Farence

    Miami-Dade County’s condo sales and dollar volume surged in the third week of June, bucking the market’s traditionally slower summer pace.  Brokers closed 135 condo sales totaling $122 million from June 13 to June 21. The previous week, brokers closed 89 condo sales totaling $67.7 million.  Last wee

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  • Why it’s time to rethink the appraisal default in home equity lending 

    Why it’s time to rethink the appraisal default in home equity lending ,Mark Walser

    With mortgage rates still hovering near multi-decade highs, homeowners are opting to hold onto their ultra-low first mortgages. Instead of refinancing, they’re tapping into their equity through home equity loans and HELOCs to finance renovations, cover tuition, or consolidate high-interest debt. Len

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  • House passes abusive trigger leads ban

    House passes abusive trigger leads ban,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2808) late Monday, bringing a national ban on abusive trigger leads one step closer to reality. The move was widely applauded by mortgage trade groups.The House’s action follows the U.S. Senate’s approva

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  • Anywhere welcomes Barri Rafferty as chief communications officer

    Anywhere welcomes Barri Rafferty as chief  communications officer,Brooklee Han

    Anywhere Real Estate has appointed Barri Rafferty as its new chief communications officer and head of public affairs. In this role Rafferty will lead Anywhere’s public relations, communications, government relations, and events and productions functions.“I’m honored to take on a new challenge at Any

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  • Eichners score approval for mixed-use project in North Bay Village

    Eichners score approval for mixed-use project in North Bay Village,Katherine Kallergis

    The North Bay Village Commission voted in favor of Continuum Company’s proposal for its Continuum Waterfront District, a two-phase, mixed-use development.  Commissioners unanimously approved at a meeting last week a special area plan, site plan and development agreement tied to the 2 million-plus-sq

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