Mortgage-buyer Freddie Mac reports that the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.82% this week from last week’s 3.86%. Source: Florida Realtors

Short answer: No. Fla. rates shouldn’t go up. Rates are set at the state level, so what happens in Texas stays in Texas, and what happens in Fla. stays in Fla. Source: Florida Realtors

In response to the horrendous Texas flooding, Florida Realtors will send $25K to a Texas Realtors’ aid fund and pay for local efforts to create “Totes for Hope” – a grassroots effort to send personal supplies to Texas families struggling to survive. Source: Florida Realtors

A study recommends gov’t-funded buyouts of high-risk flood properties to mitigate against future problems – and it identified 15,000 of those in Fla. Source: Florida Realtors

Like the weather, the market was hot: Existing single-family home sales up 2% year-over-year, median price rose 7.1%; condo sales up 3.6%, median price rose 6.8%. Source: Florida Realtors

Sales of new U.S. homes plummeted 9.4% – the sharpest one-month drop in nearly a year – but it follows strong sales numbers in previous months. Source: Florida Realtors

Matey Veissi, 2016 president, is 2017 Realtor of the Year; Connie Johnson is Associate Realtor of the Year – awards were given out yesterday at the convention. Source: Florida Realtors

Housing starts fell 4.8% as builders struggled to find workers, though the lion’s share of that drop occurred in the multifamily component that dropped 17.1%. Source: Florida Realtors

The Fed will “likely announce next month” the sale of some bonds acquired during the recession – a move that would probably push mortgage rates a tad higher. Source: Florida Realtors

Two institutional investors – businesses that buy multiple single-family homes to rent out – could merge in a $4.3B deal that controls 82,000 U.S. homes. Source: Florida Realtors