HOUSING

In news that should come as no surprise to any Sunshine State renter, a new report out of Harvard University found that eight out of 10 areas with the highest year-over-year rent increases were in Florida.

Six candidates are running to fill two open seats on Oakland Park’s City Commission this November. They’re focusing on an array of community concerns, from luring more affordable housing, to battling iguanas, to helping small businesses thrive, to lowering taxes.

Plans for a major housing development on the old Calusa Golf Course are moving forward after Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava refused to veto the decision, standing by county commissioners who voted for the development despite concerns from residents and environmentalists.

We’ve all heard about it by now: Houses are selling like crazy (and they have been for quite some time), interest rates have been at all-time lows, and it seems like everywhere you turn, you learn of another wild real estate story.

Life expectancy declined more in the North West in 2020 than in England overall, a report finds.

Current owners with a tight budget also could benefit with energy-efficient improvements.

Many people shy away from the thought of buying new windows for their home, but the benefits of energy-efficient windows are aplenty.

There’s often no place like home, although that sentiment can sometimes fade when a house starts to rack up energy bills and breaks down in places over the course of time.

Women make up over half of all Airbnb hosts. According to a new earnings report from Airbnb, 55% of their four million Hosts globally are women. Despite this drawback for women, Airbnb has seen a dramatic increase in women becoming Airbnb Hosts in cities all over the world for the very first time — including in Miami. Airbnb announced this week that it estimates new women Hosts (with one listing) have collectively earned more than $600 million since March of 2020. AdIn Miami, new women Hosts who have begun sharing one listing during the pandemic have earned $1.6 million over the past year alone.

Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday that cities and counties in Florida stand to receive more than $850 million to help prevent homelessness. Cities and counties with a population of 200,000 or more will receive the funds from the federal government’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program in the coming weeks, according to DeSantis. Households with below 50% of the area median income should be at the front of the line to receive the funds. This is the page for the previous program. This is the page for the previous program.

As soon as you realize you might have trouble making your mortgage payments, you’ll want to get in touch with your lender. You do not want to wait until you can’t pay your bills to contact your lender. If foreclosure is something you fear you might face, the following are options you may have available to you. Mortgage forbearanceAccording to USA.gov, federally backed home loans can get six months of mortgage help, and Federal Housing Administration reverse mortgages are eligible, as well. There are many options available to you, but the bottom line is: Contact your lender, and do not wait until it’s too late.

Safe to say, a lot of people really buckled down when it came to cleaning over the past couple years, given the COVID-19 pandemic.

Housing's fitful rebound Buyers are eager, but tight credit and higher mortgage rates are holding some back, says Ronald Kaplan, CEO of decking company Trex