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Category Archives: Smart Homes


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What’s Up With Housing?

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While the rates on ARMs and FRMs can rise on their own, the Fed’s latest report to Congress suggests little policy change until it sees the economy’s next move.
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The DeNunzio Group hopes to develop a true mixed-use building unlike anything else offered downtown, with a range of uses including retail, office, hotel, residential, and, hopefully, public parking.
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If you’re looking to draw in buyers this year, start in the laundry room. According to the latest What Home Buyers Really Want (2019 edition).
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The most expensive home defects—uncovered in 9 to 20 percent of the homes studied—ranged in repair prices from slightly more than $1,000 to less than $10,000.
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Starting in 2023, no new building permits will be issued in the Florida Keys, a stipulation of a 1970s state mandate aimed at controlling development in the environmentally sensitive archipelago.
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Surveying buyers, the builders say that most of them want a house with a median size of about 2,066 square feet… down from average size of 2,576 SF in 2018.
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If there is one thing we know about the future, it’s that smart technology will increasingly be an everyday part of our lives.
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Attitude of Latitude Margaritaville is that “good times” are a big business idea for 55+ home shoppers.


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What’s Up With Housing?

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A hybrid of orange and pink, this sunset-inspired shade is an instant mood booster for both you and your guests.
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Are you a homeowner looking to take advantage of your home equity by investing in a vacation home?
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New modular systems, lower-cost products, and consumer interest in energy efficiency are bringing a 30-year-old German-based construction method into the mainstream.
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For Realtors, any impact from the government shutdown depends largely on their location – rural vs. city – and whether they sell many lower-cost homes.
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Refinance index rises 35% for the week ending Jan. 4th as rates drop across all loan types according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
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That’s right, toilets with internet-connected features, voice assistants built in, and more. Oh, and some are even for your dog and cat as well.


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What’s Up With Housing?

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Lower-priced homes have appreciated at greater rates than homes at the upper ends of the spectrum due to demand from first-time home buyers and baby boomers looking to downsize.
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The housing market is not falling apart. We are just returning to a more normal market which, in the long run, will be much healthier for you whether you are a buyer or a seller.
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It’s not a news flash to learn that Millennials—people born between 1977 and 1996—love living in the city. But what cities and urban areas in particular do they favor?
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Early signs of a softening market, after years of sellers having overwhelming control, signal even more seller struggles into the future.
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While AI is poised to make a splash in transportation, medicine, manufacturing, and consumer tech in coming years, it also has the potential to disrupt the apartment leasing industry.
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Urban Land Institute’s survey predicts continued economic expansion, but lower rate of returns growth on CRE for the next three years.


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What’s Up With Housing?

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A quarterly survey of 100 real estate economists found that 43% expect a buyer’s market to return in 2020, and 25% think it will happen before the end of 2019. However, 18% predict 2021, 6% pick 2022 and 9% think it will take longer.
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Statewide, home flips accounted for 5.7 percent of all home sales in the period, down 18 percent over the year and the 10th highest rate in the U.S.
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Don’t wait until disaster strikes to find out if your homeowners insurance policy has you covered. Discover the surprising truth about perils that are not included in a standard policy, and learn how to minimize your risk while saving money on premiums.
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Researchers and real estate experts say people are aware of potential risks in smart homes — and are willing to accept them.
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If the right thing for you and your family is to purchase a home this year, buying sooner rather than later could lead to substantial savings.
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Few residents knew that garage doors present a major risk; that generators silently kill; or that cleanup costs can be prohibitive even with homeowners insurance.
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New York, New Jersey and Florida remain the top three states for the risk of mortgage fraud as fraud on mortgage applications ticks up nationally.

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What’s New With The Housing Market?

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There are a number of reasons why lenders turn down mortgage applications, but some of the most common can be avoided quite easily.
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Four Secrets to a Stylish Smart Home.
Smart Home products don’t always prioritize looks. That’s fair, since what most consumers want out of a smart device is brains, not beauty.
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Florida’s housing market reported rising median prices, fewer days to contract and a continuing tight supply of inventory in June, according to the latest housing data.
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Here are the worst mistakes real estate agents say sellers make when listing their homes — and what you should do instead.
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“The good news is that builders continue to report strong demand for new housing, fueled by steady job and income growth along with rising household formations,”

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What’s Up With Housing?

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It’s been 10 years since the Great Recession, but most home prices in the Tampa Bay area still haven’t reached their pre-recession peak, according to numbers released by Zillow.
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The CFPB had about 1,200 reverse-mortgage consumer complaints over 3 years. People cited “confusion and frustration over the terms” and loan-servicing problems.
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Home buyers young and old want high-tech features in their homes. Across the board, and across the generations, security and convenience are of primary interest.
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Despite rising prices, Tampa remains one of the best cities in which to flip houses ranking 10th among 172 cities compared on such metrics as median purchase price and average remodeling costs.
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The Senate approved a bill this week, and the president signed it, to keep the National Flood Insurance Program operating for 4 more months.
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Young People Don’t Want Construction Jobs…
Disinterest in construction work is contributing to a labor shortage that has meant fewer homes built and rising prices—possibly for years to come.
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What’s Up With Housing?

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As early investors in bitcoin gained massive wealth, interest in the cryptocurrency also grew and started reaching other industries — real estate, in particular. Some real estate startups have launched tokens backed by property assets while another created a blockchain for recording real estate transactions, leading to the first-ever U.S. property transfer recorded using blockchain.
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Land and construction costs have increased sharply since the end of the last boom a decade ago, and construction activity remains at an almost 60-year low.
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Florida Building Codes Thwarted Hurricane Damage…
Florida’s building codes top all other states, according to a report that found the state’s newer properties were better able to withstand Hurricane Irma damage.
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The key component of smart homes and home automation is the Internet of Things (IoT). It has allowed us to connect our devices and home appliances with each other with the help of internet.
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Home sales jumped in February, showing buyers may not be as concerned about interest rates and taxes as previously thought.


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What’s Up With Housing?

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A new NAHB survey confirms that consumers are definitely intrigued by smaller homes, 600 square feet or less. 53% said they would likely consider buying one.
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Disabuse buyers and sellers of these common misunderstandings about what constitutes a true smart home and what different technology features are actually worth.
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The median price of a house in Pinellas shot up 14% to $245,000. That was the biggest year-over- year increase since May. But the number of closed sales plunged by 12.8%.
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The cure may be in an architectural concept that sounds new but is as old as the hills. Take a dose of biophilia and read how your home’s design can help you live a healthier, less stressful life.
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A stronger economy at the beginning of the year increased the chances of more rate hikes, according to minutes of the Fed’s January 30-31 meeting released Wednesday.


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What’s Up With Housing?

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There are several headwinds that need to be addressed—if not this year, then soon, some industry experts say.
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Urban Planning101 Small Ways You Can Improve Your City…
Sometimes the smallest things we can do for our neighborhoods can have the biggest impact.
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They had stronger positive outlooks about what their finances should be like a year from now, as well as how they expect the U.S. economy to fare a year from now and five years from now.
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Some urban planners call it “missing middle” housing. That’s low-rise housing built at a scale compatible with single-family houses, but at higher densities, making them candidates for meeting a growing demand for walkable urban housing. Four-plexes are an example.
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Whether it be for convenience, safety, or just a fun tool to have, more home and garage smart-features are hitting the market and creating a new wave for the “techies” of the world.
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Tesla will set up designated spaces in over 800 Home Depot stores that will highlight its renewable energy products and is reportedly in talks with Lowe’s.


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What’s Up With Housing?

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Public Housing MuseumA Former Chicago Project Will Become A Museum Dedicated To Public Housing.
The space will tell the stories of three families who once lived in the building, and host events to engage visitors in much-needed discussions around affordable housing and equitable communities.
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A connected future holds possibilities of more efficient ways of interacting with the technology in our homes, workplaces, and even our urban environments.
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Once again, buyers of Tampa Bay’s priciest home wanted to be on the water — a third of the top 25 sales were of homes with addresses on Gulf Boulevard in Pinellas County. Rivaling Tampa’s Davis Island for the most sales (four) was the exclusive Pinellas community of Belleair Shore.
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The Indianapolis company plans to build a $50 million six-story project with 251 multi-family units and over 12,000 square-feet of retail space.
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How do you store solar energy so it can be used when the sun doesn’t shine?  Some cities are revamping electrical grids and adding batteries.
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Spending on home remodeling is projected to rise 7.5% this year to almost $340 billion. Homeowners see an average return of 56% of the cost of the remodel when they sell the house.