South Florida On The Market

The Wealth Report, now in its 12th year, is the industry’s leading publication on global prime property markets, wealth distribution and investment sentiment. Increasingly, the trends of the world's wealthiest are influencing markets around the globe. The Wealth Report provides unique insight into the evolving behaviors of this important investment class and is a valuable guide to the emerging trends that are shaping our residential real estate markets worldwide.  FOLLOW THE MONEY Tracking wealth concentration and the flow of capital 1) The number of UHNWIs – individuals with $50m+ in net assets – increased by 10% in 2017, taking the total to 129,730 individuals globally. 2) The number of HNWIs – individuals with $5m in net assets – is set to rise 43% by 2022 to a total of 3,617,550. 3) New York leads all global cities in households earning $250k+ per year, with more than 1,167,000 counted. Los Angeles comes in 2nd place with 637,000. 4) Nort

 Large-balance mortgage loans – "jumbo" loans – are becoming less expensive than conforming loans. Traditionally, jumbo loans carried higher interest rates, but since mid-2013 that has been gradually changing, and they were less expensive than a conforming mortgage loan by an average of 33 basis points during the first quarter, according to CoreLogic, a real estate data firm. In response, jumbo loans have been growing, and their share of the mortgage market has reached its highest rate since 2009 – about 15 percent of home-purchase originations, CoreLogic reports. And in 2009, the jumbo share was just 6 percent. Jumbo loans are ones that exceed the high-balance conforming loan limit under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the Federal Housing Finance Agency set at $453,100 for most of the U.S. in 2018. In a few areas designated as high-cost, conforming loans stretch up as high as $679,650. CoreLogic researchers say one of the reasons that the jumbo-to-conforming ra

Since its introduction in 1990 by the U.S. Immigration Act, the EB-5 program provides a special category of immigration visa for the international investors. To qualify for the program, the applicant must invest $500,000 in a business or project located in an area of the United States with a high unemployment rate. The applicant's investment must create 10 full-time jobs within a two-year period.  After the successful completion of the program, investors and their family members (spouse and children under the age of 21) are given a conditional resident status in the United States, which can be converted into a permanent residency with a path to citizenship. Individuals interested in the EB-5 Visa Program must provide sufficient evidence documenting the source of the funds that are used for the EB-5 investment. The funds for the required $500,000 investment may be obtained from a number of sources such as from a gift, a personal loan, savings, sale of assets, an inheritance o

The first thing you need to know about home inspection: You’ll feel all the feels. There’s the excitement — the inspection could be the longest time you’re in the house, after the showing. Right behind that comes … anxiety. What if the inspector finds something wrong? So wrong you can’t buy the house? Then there’s impatience. Seriously, is this whole home-buying process over yet? Not yet. But you’re close. So take a deep breath. Because the most important thing to know about home inspection: It’s just too good for you, as a buyer, to skip. Here’s why. A Home Inspector Is Your Protector An inspector helps you make sure a house isn’t hiding anything before you commit for the long haul. (Think about it this way: You wouldn’t even get coffee with a stranger without checking out their history.) A home inspector identifies any reasonably discoverable problems with the house (a leaky roof, faulty plumbing, etc.). Hiring an inspector is you doing your due

Many of us dream of the day we're entirely debt-free and paying off the mortgage can be at the top of the list. Saving for retirement, planning for children's college education, and maintaining a cash cushion for emergencies are just a few items competing for your hard-earned dollars. If you're thinking of paying off your mortgage, understanding recent changes in the tax law, specifically the changes to the "standard deduction," can be a key deciding factor. It's important to understand whether it makes more sense to prepay your mortgage or invest the extra money elsewhere. For example, take a home with a $300,000 balance and 20 years remaining on a 30-year mortgage at 6.25 percent. Let's assume you begin paying an additional $400 per month toward your mortgage. In the end, you'd have saved yourself $62,000 in interest and have the loan paid off six years earlier. This may sound like a great plan initially, but you won't really know until you

Getting away for a summer vacation can be fun and relaxing, but there’s no need to leave home to have fun and relax. Check out these three easy DIY projects to turn your backyard into the ultimate staycation location. 1. Cinder Block Fire Pit Start by creating a flat, fireproof base using large bricks, then build a square pit by placing a layer of cinder blocks beside each other on the brick base with the open ends facing up. Fill the holes in the cinder blocks with dirt, sand, or rocks to help solidify the wall. Add a second layer of cinder blocks, centering them over the meeting place of the first layer, and fill them like the first layer. Add your firewood, gather some friends, and enjoy! 2. Patio Lighting Nothing can transform your backyard or patio quite like patio lights. Grab some solar-powered string lights from your local hardware store and get creative! Hang them from trees, create a perimeter around your yard, and circle the posts on your deck, then enjoy