Private residential construction spending rose 0.2% in Jan. from Dec.; it’s up 12.5% year-to-year. Analysts cite the lack of existing home inventory as a factor.

Florida lawmakers are expected to pass bills with strong consumer protections for the controversial Property Assessed Clean Energy home improvement loan program.

The switch to online records may be part of the problem. All of Florida’s 67 counties have some sort of property fraud alert program, but more people need to sign up.

NAHB: Buyers say they want smaller homes now and are looking for homes around 2,070 sq. ft., compared to 2,260 sq. ft. 20 years ago.

CoreLogic Case-Shiller’s Home Price Index rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 2.4%, slower than Nov.’s 3% increase. Miami’s price index rose 8%.

Florida regulators have approved proposals by three insurers to take up to 54,386 policies from the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in May.

HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier announced the town of Sebring will get a makeover and be the site for the third season of their spinoff show, “Home Town Takeover.”

Want to see some of the 2024 ads that demonstrate the value of a Realtor and how they help clients? Several TV ads will air nationally this week.

HUD and Census Bureau: In Jan., new single-family home sales rose 1.5% month-to-month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 661,000. The pace is up 1.8% from Jan. 2023.

Economists at International Builders’ Show: Construction should gradually increase as the Fed is on track to cut rates during 2024’s second half with inflation slowing.

Real estate professionals who are watching, learning, and adapting will reap the benefits of new technologies, as the industry is starting to see with generative AI.

Fannie Mae: Homeowners aged 60+ like their homes and expect to age in place. Many feel good about their retirement financial plan and view home equity as a reserve.

Core inflation has declined, but housing costs remain high. Unless those costs cool, some experts doubt core inflation will return to the Fed’s 2% target.

Check the paperwork and read for context. “Non-recourse” is more of a description of how a loan works than a direct term, so it could be described differently.

That’s up from 6.90% last week, marking the 4th straight weekly increase. Rates have been creeping higher as reports show stronger-than-expected inflation.

NAR: Pending sales were down 8.8% year-over-year. Chief Economist Yun noted that “consumers are showing extra sensitivity to changes in mortgage rates.”

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However, showing the smallest such increase in nearly three years, consumer prices were up just 2.4% from a year earlier, down from a 2.6% annual pace in Dec.

NAHB: Builders predict multifamily starts will continue to decline (20%) this year, since units under construction are already near the highest level since 1973.