Showing 31–60 of 198 articles
Articles
Market Update · Statewide · 18 min read
September Payrolls Rose 29,000. The Unemployment Rate Is 4.2 Percent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payroll employment changed little in September 2026, up 29,000, and that the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent. Average hourly earnings were $37.81, up 5 cents on the month and 3.0 percent over the year. July payrolls were revised from +21,000 to −10,000, and August payrolls were revised from +162,000 to +133,000.
Market Update · Statewide · 12 min read
Amendment 3 Raises the Non-School Homestead Exemption and Cuts the Non-Homestead Cap to 5 Percent
Florida Amendment 3 is on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot. The Division of Elections booklet titles it Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments. The summary raises the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and it lowers the annual cap on non-homestead assessment increases from 10 percent to 5 percent. It takes effect January 1, 2027 if it is approved.
Market Update · Citrus County · 18 min read
Southern Woods Phase V Is 74 Lots. The Plat Is Not Filed.
Citrus County’s August 18, 2026 applications list cleared Southern Woods Phase V (IMP2023-00005) so infrastructure can start: 74 residential lots on Woodfield Circle in Homosassa. A final plat has not been submitted. This is a later phase of Southern Woods at Sugarmill Woods. The September 24 Freddie Mac survey at 7.03% is a separate weekly average.
Market Update · Statewide · 18 min read
South Marion High Opened Near Marion Oaks. The Opening Capacity Is 2,011.
Marion County Public Schools’ August 6, 2026 release says classes begin Monday for a projected 46,697 students, and that South Marion High School opens that Monday on 115 acres near Marion Oaks. The release calls it a $180+ million school expected to open at a capacity of 2,011, with a third-floor buildout still underway toward 2,711. The 46,697 figure is the opening projection. The release says the official count usually peaks in October.
Market Update · Hernando County · 20 min read
Hernando Entitled 37.06 Acres at Spring Hill Drive. The Rezoning Is Not a Building Permit.
On July 12, 2022, the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners adopted Resolution 2022-139, file H-22-26, for 37.06 acres at the northwest corner of Spring Hill Drive and the Suncoast Parkway. The adopted master plan is a combined planned development on parcel keys 377577 and 1599274. Staff’s performance conditions cap the project at 462 dwelling units. The same staff report says a rezoning is not a construction permit.
Market Update · Statewide · 21 min read
Florida Authorized 13,980 Housing Units in August. That Is 12.8% Below July.
The Census Bureau’s revised Building Permits Survey for August 2026 shows Florida authorized 13,980 new privately owned housing units, down 2,044 from 16,024 in July, a decline of 12.8 percent. One-unit structures were 9,697. Units in buildings of five or more were 3,973. August 2025 was 13,594, so this August is 2.8 percent above a year earlier. The year-to-date total, 109,323, is 11.2 percent below the same eight months of 2025.
Market Update · Statewide · 22 min read
Marion's April 1 Count Is 433,765. The Cities Are the Small Share.
BEBR’s Florida Estimates of Population 2025 put Marion County at 433,765 on April 1, 2025, up 57,857 from the April 1, 2020 Census count of 375,908, a gain of 15.4 percent. Ocala is 71,017. Belleview is 6,121. Dunnellon is 2,022. McIntosh is 460. Reddick is 466. Unincorporated Marion is 353,679. The five cities together are 80,086 people, 18.5 percent of the county.
Market Update · Statewide · 19 min read
I-75 Is Adding Lanes from SR 200 to SR 326
FDOT project 452074-1 is adding auxiliary lanes on Interstate 75 in Marion County from State Road 200 to State Road 326. The project page lists an 8-mile add-lanes job in Ocala, a construction cost of $242 million, and estimated completion in early 2029. Construction began November 3, 2025. The contractor is Lane Construction. The same page lists northbound lane closures from the night of September 27 through the morning of October 1, 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Market Update · Hillsborough County · 22 min read
Plant City’s Plan Sends Retail to Three Nodes and Industry East of Park Road
Plant City’s adopted Imagine 2040 plan directs further retail to three activity centers: Alexander Street at James L. Redman Parkway, and the Interstate 4 interchanges at Thonotosassa Road and Park Road. Future industrial land in that plan sits east of Park Road and along County Line Road. Census QuickFacts puts the city at 44,118 on July 1, 2025. BEBR’s April 1, 2025 estimate is 45,331. FDOT’s 2025 telemetered count on I-4 under the Bethlehem Road overpass is 144,159 vehicles a day.
Market Update · Statewide · 18 min read
New-Home Sales Were 684,000. The Average Price Fell 8.8%.
Census and HUD’s August 2026 new-home sales release, CB26-155, put sales of new single-family houses at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000. That is 6.4 percent above the revised July rate of 643,000, and the 90 percent confidence interval on that move includes zero. For-sale inventory was 483,000 houses, an 8.5-month supply. The median price was $393,700. The average price was $478,700, 8.8 percent below August 2025, and that average-price drop is the change whose interval stays below zero.
Market Update · Statewide · 16 min read
The 30-Year Is 7.03%. That Is the Fifth Straight Rise.
Freddie Mac’s September 24, 2026 survey put the 30-year fixed at 7.03% and the 15-year fixed at 6.42%. The 30-year is 8 basis points above last week’s 6.95% print, and it is the first weekly average at or above 7% since January 16, 2025. The dollar figures below are principal and interest on a stated loan. A lock is a written quote.
Market Update · Citrus County · 22 min read
The CR-486 Interchange Map Comes Up October 26
Citrus County’s applications list sets the CR-486 Interchange Management Area adoption hearing for October 26, 2026, at 5:01 p.m. The June 22 board transmitted the draft as CPA-2026-00002. The same list tracks the county consultant file as CPA-2025-00008. The transmitted map is about 1,560 acres around the Suncoast Parkway interchange at Norvell Bryant Highway. It is not an adopted plan, and it is not a subdivision approval.
Market Update · Citrus County · 18 min read
Black Diamond Town Center Is the One Already in the Ground
Citrus County’s August 18, 2026 applications list says Black Diamond Town Center at 3499 W Norvell Bryant Highway is under construction. Improvement plans IMP2024-00001 are approved. Final plat FPLT2025-00003 is in and awaiting applicant revisions. This is the CR-486 commercial subdivision, not the Black Diamond Ranch home guide.
Market Update · Citrus County · 17 min read
Crystal Ridge Can Start Dirt. The Plat Is Not Filed.
Citrus County’s August 18, 2026 applications list cleared Crystal Ridge Phase 1 (234 lots) and Phase 2A (about 213 lots) so infrastructure can commence. Neither final plat has been submitted. This is a start-of-build tape, not a sold street.
Market Update · Citrus County · 19 min read
Citrus Added People. The School Count Did Not.
Census QuickFacts puts Citrus County at 171,666 people. BEBR’s April 1, 2025 estimate is 166,500. The school district projected 14,845 students for 2025–26. The plan being rewritten is Citrus 2050.
Market Update · Statewide · 16 min read
Starts Were 1.275 Million. Completions Fell 12%.
Census/HUD’s August construction release put housing starts at a 1.275 million annual pace. Single-family rebounded to 918,000. Completions fell 11.9% to 1.128 million. The starts move did not clear the error band.
Market Update · Statewide · 16 min read
The 30-Year Is 6.95%. That Is the Print After the Hike.
Freddie Mac’s survey for the week ending September 17 put the 30-year fixed at 6.95% and the 15-year at 6.26%. That is the first official weekly print that includes the September 16 FOMC meeting. Here is the five-week path.
Market Update · Statewide · 16 min read
Banks Eased CRE Standards. Construction Demand Did Not Follow.
The Fed’s July SLOOS said banks eased standards on nonfarm nonresidential and multifamily loans in the second quarter. Construction and land-development demand weakened. The H.8 CRE book was $3.13 trillion in early September.
Market Update · Statewide · 16 min read
The Fed Raised. The 10-Year Was Already at 5%.
The FOMC voted 12–0 on September 16 to raise the funds rate to 3.75–4.00%. The new SEP median stays at 4.1% through 2027. The 10-year closed 5.00% on September 15. The week-ending September 17 mortgage survey printed 6.95%.
Home Buying · Statewide · 17 min read
Florida Hometown Heroes Is Broader Than “Teacher or Sheriff.” Here Is Who It Is For.
The 2026 Hometown Heroes test starts with the employer, not the badge. eHousingPlus still showed over $25 million in DPA on September 16. That is leftover from the $50 million pot — not a new 2027 check.
Local Market Guide · Hillsborough County · 17 min read
Buying or Selling a Home in Sun City Center and Wimauma, FL: A Complete Guide
A practical guide to buying or selling in Sun City Center and Wimauma—south Hillsborough’s 55+ campus and land-edge pair—covering age-restriction rules, Southshore Bay and Cypress Mill CDDs, and why Riverview is not this file.
Market Update · Statewide · 14 min read
Ages 40–49 Now File 26.8% of New Bankruptcies. The Count Is Still Not 2015.
The New York Fed’s 2026:Q2 credit panel put ages 40–49 at 26.8% of new bankruptcy notations — the highest share since 2015:Q3. Ages 50–59 added 23.1%. About 137,000 consumers. The filing count is still about half of 2015.
Local Market Guide · Hillsborough County · 17 min read
Buying or Selling a Home in Apollo Beach and Ruskin, FL: A Complete Guide
A practical guide to buying or selling in Apollo Beach and Ruskin—south Hillsborough’s Tampa Bay and U.S. 41 search—covering Harbor Bay and Waterset CDDs, older canal streets, and why inland Riverview is not a waterfront file.
Market Update · Statewide · 13 min read
The Fed Has Not Voted Yet. Your Mortgage Rate Already Has.
The FOMC meets September 15–16. The last official vote held at 3.50–3.75%. The 10-year is already 4.95% and the 30-year is 6.76%. Here is what is in the tape — not a guess at Wednesday’s statement.
Local Market Guide · Hillsborough County · 17 min read
Buying or Selling a Home in FishHawk and Lithia, FL: A Complete Guide
A practical guide to buying or selling in FishHawk and Lithia—southeast Hillsborough’s amenity-campus and Alafia-edge search—covering Fishhawk Ranch and Fishhawk IV CDDs, why Bloomingdale is not this file, and how the area differs from Brandon and Riverview.
Market Update · Statewide · 13 min read
August CPI Rose 0.4%. Shelter Is Why Mortgage Relief Is Still Waiting on the Fed.
BLS says August consumer prices rose 0.4% after 0.1% in July. Gasoline did the headline. Shelter did the core. The FOMC meets September 15–16 with a new set of projections.
Market Update · Statewide · 12 min read
The 30-Year Is 6.76%. That Is the Third Weekly Rise, Not a Blip.
Freddie Mac’s survey for the week ending September 10 put the 30-year fixed at 6.76% and the 15-year at 6.09%. Here is the four-week path and what it does to a Florida purchase or listing.
Market Update · Statewide · 12 min read
Mortgage Applications Fell 2.7% as Refis Hit Their Slowest Week Since May 2025
MBA’s survey for the week ending September 4 shows purchase applications barely moved while refinances dropped 6%. ARM share rose to 8.5%. That is the demand tape behind this week’s higher rates.
Local Market Guide · Hillsborough County · 18 min read
Buying or Selling a Home in South Tampa and Hyde Park, FL: A Complete Guide
A practical guide to buying or selling in South Tampa and Hyde Park—Bayshore, Palma Ceia, and the Interbay peninsula—covering the historic district, why New Tampa is not this search, and how the streets differ from Seminole Heights and St. Petersburg.
Market Update · Statewide · 15 min read
Does Rent Count Toward Your Mortgage Score? VantageScore 4.0 for Florida First-Time Buyers
FHFA opened VantageScore 4.0 to every Fannie and Freddie lender. Here is when rent, utilities, and a thin file can help a Florida first-time buyer — and when they still do not count.