Stephen D. Smith - Bespoke Florida Realty

03/04/2024

In 2023, the dream of homeownership faced a challenging reality: Household formations outstripped single-family home construction by a staggering 7.2 million homes. Even when considering multi-family constructions, a significant gap of 2.5 million homes persists. 📈🏗️

Despite this, the surge in new construction brings a glimmer of hope, potentially easing the strain on the housing market. With a notable increase in affordable new homes, especially in thriving sunbelt metros, opportunities are emerging for buyers seeking value. 🌞🏡

Interestingly, today's new construction buyers are younger, wealthier, and more inclined towards pets, showcasing a shift in market dynamics. These savvy millennials prioritize newness, customizability, and location, underlining a change in consumer preferences. 🐾👥

As we navigate through these evolving trends, EMERALD Realty Brokerage remains committed to guiding you towards making informed decisions in this complex market. Let's explore the possibilities together.🔍

03/01/2024

Florida lawmakers approved Live Local Act amendments that loosen floor area ratio and parking restrictions.

03/01/2024

Hotel owners in Miami-Dade County are flying high as occupancy rate tops 25 other markets in the nation.

05/17/2023

U.S. News & World Report for 2023-2024: Sarasota ranked No. 5 and Naples No. 6. Fla. cities landed 7 of the top 50 spots and 12 of the top 100 spots.

03/07/2023

Fla. is still a home-value exception: The share of U.S. homes worth $1M-plus fell from 8.6% to 7% as of Jan., but it’s gone up in most Fla. metros.

03/02/2023

FHFA’s 4Q home-price-increase rankings for Florida metros

1. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton: Up 20.1% year-to-year, 0.7% quarter-to-quarter

2. Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Sunrise: Up 18.2% year-to-year, 0.9% quarter-to-quarter

3. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach: UP 17.8% year-to-year, 0.4% quarter-to-quarter

4. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford: Up 16.9% year-to-year, 0.6% quarter-to-quarter

5. Cape Coral-Fort Myers: Up 16.2% year-to-year, 0.9% quarter-to-quarter

7. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: Up 15.8% year-to-year, down 0.1% quarter-to-quarter

14. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall: Up 13.3% year-to-year, 0.0% quarter-to-quarter

31. Jacksonville: Up 10.4% year-to-year, down 1.8% quarter-to-quarter

The FHFA HPI is considered one of the best indicators of changing U.S. home prices, measuring all 50 states and over 400 American cities. It uses seasonally adjusted, purchase-only data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The FHFA House Price Index in 4Q 2022 found an 8.4% year-to-year rise – but 20.1% in top-ranking Bradenton. Of 100 metros, none in Fla. was lower than 31.

11/21/2022

In real-world terms, this week’s mortgage rate drop (from 7.0% to 6.61%) saves typical buyers $1,200 per year – or gives them $12K more in purchasing power.

10/21/2022

If damage exceeds 50% of a home’s market value, owners can’t just repair what was destroyed – they must upgrade the entire home to current building codes.

10/19/2022

Great Wolf Resorts Inc. is bringing its first Florida indoor water park resort to Naples, about two driving hours from either Bradenton or Miami.

Construction on the Naples location is expected to take 18-24 months, with a grand opening in spring/summer of 2024.

It’ll be about 2 hours from both Bradenton and Miami.

09/05/2022

Shrinkflation Comes to Luxury Real Estate

A Typical $1 Million U.S. Home Is Smaller and Older Than Before the Pandemic

It also has fewer bathrooms.

It also has fewer bathrooms

09/05/2022

Bargaining Power is Back; 92% of Recent Sellers Accepted Buyer-Friendly Terms.

Home sellers are once again making repairs and accepting contingencies as we move toward a more balanced housing market SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 30, 2022 -- The days of frenzied sales with waived inspections might be behind us, as buyers regain a bit of bargaining power. According to a new...

08/12/2022

Is single-family zoning good or bad? It’s a hot issue, but affordable-housing advocates say it’s one of the problems, and Gainesville might nix it altogether.