New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a legislative package on Dec. 21 totaling nine bills geared at combating housing discrimination and addressing issues raised in a Newsday expose entitled “Long Island Divided.”
The centerpiece of the legislation is the Anti-Discrimination in Housing Fund that will permit the state to conduct fair housing testing. Other initiatives included in the bills signed into law range from increasing training and raising the maximum fines for misconduct by real estate brokers and salespersons, to emphasizing that all state and local agencies that administer state housing programs have an obligation to “affirmatively further fair housing.” These new bills, spearheaded by Senate Housing Committee Chair Brian Kavanagh and Assembly Housing Committee Chair Steven Cymbrowitz, will ensure...
Fast-growing prices in the housing market, as well as low interest rates, are enticing more investors to buy homes, renovate them quickly and sell them for a profit. But while home flips are rising and investors are expecting growing returns, the profits are falling.
Close to 95,000 homes were flipped in the third quarter of this year, which was an increase for the second quarter in a row after flipping dropped dramatically in the first year of the pandemic. Flips represented 5.7% of all sales, according to ATTOM, a property database.
Yet the average gross profit on a flip was just under $69,000 in the third quarter, down 1.6% from the same period a year ago. The return on investment fell to 32%, the lowest return since the start of 2011....
Driven by COVID, 10 U.S. Housing Records Were Broken in 2021
National property broker Redfin is reporting this week that the coronavirus pandemic, and the resulting surge in remote work, have changed where, when, why and how people buy homes in North America.
This past year was also a year where U.S. home sale prices hit the highest median in history, the number of homes for sale fell to an all-time low, and there was record demand for second homes.
"The ongoing pandemic, including its seismic effect on the U.S. economy and the way Americans live and work, has made 2021's housing market anything but typical," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. "Remote work, low mortgage rates, a shortage of building materials and wealth inequality that has allowed an influx of affluent Americans to buy vacation homes,...
Inflation has accelerated to its astest pace since 1982, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reaching a staggering 6.8% on the year over year metric.
In addition, energy prices have risen 33.3% since November 2020, including a 5% surge in November. Gas itself is up over 58%.
Federal officials have gone on record to attribute the inflation jump to factors as a result of the pandemic, including supply botthlenecks and shortages.
Though gross pay has increased 4.8% over the past year, real average hourly earnings accounting for inflation declined another 0.4% for November and are down 1.9% for the 12-month period, the Labor Department said in a separate release.
While much of the pandemic-era inflation has come from soaring demand for products such as vehicles and other long-lasting goods, services inflation also has been on the...
ALBANY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Dec. 6 that New York State is the first state in the nation to receive U.S. Department of the Treasury’s approval to launch its Homeowner Assistance Fund, a program that will provide up to $539 million to help eligible homeowners avert mortgage delinquency, default, foreclosure, and displacement.
Applications will begin being accepted on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.
“Many New Yorkers are still recovering from the pandemic, and just like we did for renters, our state is now leading the way to provide much-needed economic relief to vulnerable homeowners across the state,” Gov. Hochul said. “We know that the economic pain of the pandemic has been felt disproportionately in rural communities, communities of color, and immigrant communities, and this program is a demonstration of our commitment to...
