Fla.’s building codes top all other states, according to a report that found the state’s newer construction was better able to withstand Hurricane Irma damage. Source: Florida Realtors

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun calls home construction “the key to economic prosperity” but sounds an alarm because numbers are moving in the wrong direction. Source: Florida Realtors

The Fed meets again this week to consider hiking interest rates, which directly impact short-term mortgage rates and, indirectly, fixed-rate loans. Source: Florida Realtors

The construction slowdown came from a 28% plunge in multifamily building starts. Groundbreakings for single-family homes rose 2.9%. Source: Florida Realtors

The average rate on a 30-year FRM slipped to 4.44% from 4.46% last week due, in part, to a government report that inflation pressures may be easing. Source: Florida Realtors

Millennial purchases ticked up year-to-year, but a tight inventory and higher costs subdued activity, and forced many to keep living in their parents’ basements. Source: Florida Realtors

Every marginal increase in mortgage rates makes homeownership unaffordable for a few more buyers, so it’s now-or-never for some families. Source: Florida Realtors

HUD might change its mission statement to remove “antidiscrimination language.” Sec. Ben Carson, who has led the charge, also wants to add “self-sufficiency.” Source: Florida Realtors

The cost of a loan continues to rise on the brink of the traditional spring home buying season, and buyers will now confront higher borrowing costs. Source: Florida Realtors

Commercial executives are braced for multiple rate increases throughout the year, and they see that higher cost of borrowing as a top challenge in 2018. Source: Florida Realtors