Free Republic

The sale of previously owned homes fell to an annualized rate of 3.79 million in October, marking a 13-year low, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Tuesday. Existing home sales, which fell 4.1 percent from September and 14.6 percent from last year, reached its lowest point since August 2010, the data showed. “Prospective home buyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a press release.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called out Democrat Donna Brazile after she mispronounced his name and told him to go “home,” pondering what would happen if a white Republican said the same of the failed Democrat gubernatorial candidate. “Vivek needs to just shut the hell up and go home,” she said during an appearance with Bill Maher, who pointed out that she was mispronouncing his name. “Well whatever,” she said after he corrected her, continuing to mispronounce his name. “Thank you so much,” she said after Maher corrected her again. “I learn so much when I come on this show.”...

The Biden administration on Monday said it is offering another round of free at-home Covid tests to U.S. households ahead of the holiday season, when more people gather indoors and the virus typically spreads at higher levels. Starting Monday, Americans can use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests per household. Those who have not ordered any tests this fall can now place two orders for a total of eight tests, according to the website. The administration in September allowed people to request an initial round of four free tests through the site, resuming a federal program that temporarily shut down...

Bidenomics is the gift that keeps on giving … if you are one of the top 1% of income. But if you are in the middle class, Bidenomics is like a horror movie. Pending home sales fell 7.1% in August 2023, with all four regions of the U.S. posting month-over-month and year-over-year declines in transactions. Rising mortgage rates have reduced the pool of home buyers, who are having to readjust their expectations about the location and type of home they can afford. Transactions were down 11% from last year. Pending home sales came off of the lowest print in recent...

The Democrat-controlled Massachusetts House will take up legislation this week that would require licensed concealed carriers to ask permission before entering someone’s home while armed. The legislation would also expand many of the state’s already stringent gun controls. Mike Bloomberg-affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety currently ranks Massachusetts the No. 6 state in the Union for gun control strength.

Within two days of announcing Florida would arrange transportation for Americans stranded in Israel and bring them to Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis welcomed home nearly 300 Sunday night. We’re happy to be able to deliver and ready to welcome them back to the United States of America.” Florida partnered with Project Dynamo to bring nearly 300 Americans home from Israel, including more than 270 to Tampa and seven to Orlando on Sunday. “I am proud of how quickly we have been able to activate resources and do what the federal government could not – get Floridians and other Americans back...

Home foreclosure activity in the US surged to the highest level since the start of the pandemic, a sign that the financial aftermath of COVID-19 has been wearing out cash-strapped homeowners. Foreclosure filings – including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions – jumped 28% in the third quarter from the prior quarter to 124,539, the real estate data group ATTOM said in a recent report. That represents a 34% surge from a year ago, attesting to growing financial distress among US homeowners.

The front door of an apartment building in Berlin was marked with the Star of David this week amid increasing tension across Europe in the wake of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel. Harkening back to the dark days of the 1930s when the Nazis would brand Jewish businesses with the Star of David, a young woman of Jewish heritage was horrified to find that her home in the Prenzlauer Berg area of the German capitol had been branded with the same symbol this week.

Excerpt from agenda of an upcoming webinar: An employee now living and working from home in Indiana would be subject to Indiana wage-hour laws even if the employee used to work in Illinois and the employer is still located in Illinois. Overtime rules, minimum wage rates, and permitted deductions from paychecks, even pay stub requirements are governed by where the employee is physically performing the work. The same applies to garnishments for child support and creditors.

Homeowners are increasingly forgoing home insurance, gambling that the likelihood of a disaster isn’t high enough to justify the cost of a policy Some skipping insurance say they are doing so because they can no longer afford the rising premiums. The national average for home insurance based on $250,000 in dwelling coverage increased this year to $1,428 annually, up 20% from 2022, according to Bankrate. Others, particularly among the wealthy, say they have enough money saved to rebuild or move elsewhere should their home be destroyed.

U.S. ARMED FORCES PLANNERS AT WAR WITH CHRISTIANITY AND THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY. EVERY YEAR Congress debates and passes a NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT. About every year since (I believe) 1994, a provision to require women to register for Selective Service (i.e., register of the military draft, as men are required to do) finds its way in as a provision of the bill. What you as an individual think about women being required to register for Selective Service, and what you think about women in general serving in the Armed Forces, has very much to do with what you believe about...

High housing prices nationwide are leading many to view renting as a smarter move than purchasing a home, according to a report released Tuesday. More than two-fifths — 44 percent — of renters surveyed by RealPage said that renting is a better option than buying. The top reason among all surveyed was affordability. Broken down by generations, Generation Z renters led the way, with 51 percent saying renting is the best choice. For the survey, RealPage asked 25 questions to 2,000 multi-family renters ages 55 and below across the country whose income ranged between $20,000 to $200,000.

Home prices are ticking up again and reaching new highs in many markets across the country, according to a new report. Prices grew by 0.8 percent in June after slowing for more than a year, pushing prices to record levels in around 60 percent of the nation’s major housing markets, the report from Black Knight showed. Overall, annual price growth was greatest in markets in the Midwest and northeast regions of the U.S., while the strongest price growth was seen in Hartford, Seattle and San Jose. Median home prices in the pandemic-era boomtown Austin fell furthest below their 2022 peak,...

Around 90 A.D., the Roman historian Tacitus traveled through Germania observing the lives of its inhabitants. It was quite an eye-opening journey for him. Among his many observations, he noted how the Germanic people chose to live in small separate dwellings, separate from even extended family. Often these dwellings would house just a mother, father, and their children. That seems normal to us today, but it certainly wasn’t to Tacitus and the Romans, or much of the civilized world at that time. Authors Michael Lotus and James Bennett wrote of this in their groundbreaking book “America 3.0: Rebooting American Prosperity...

By now you have heard of the Dutch farmers’ controversy.The government of The Netherlands is buying out thousands of farms to meet idiotic climate change goals–under the theory that growing food is an unacceptable pollutant–and forcing the most productive farmers in the world to quit feeding people.Understandably the farmers are upset and have been flexing their political muscle, but it all came to naught when talks between the government and the farmers collapsed. Plans to forcibly close the farms are moving forward. 3000 farms will go “poof” and somehow the climate will be saved.🇳🇱 Now that the totalitarian Dutch government...

Vice President Harris on Thursday announced a new rule to require financial institutions ensure that their home appraisal algorithms are not contributing to racial bias in home valuations. The rule, subject to a 60 day public comment period, aims to establish quality control standards to help ensure accuracy and fairness for Automated Valuation Models (AVM), the algorithmic models used to assess the value of homes. AVMs would have to adopt policies and safeguards to protect from data manipulation, avoid conflict of interest, and conduct random sample testing. Harris also announced actions to expand the ability of consumers appealing what they...

I am a libertarian. To me, freedom looks like the essential glue or fabric for society. Freedom needs discipline. I speculate that my poet’s etymological analysis of the word “freedom” can give us both freedom and discipline in the one word. To do this, I first suggest that the roots of the word “freedom” can lead us to call it the home or homes where we can feel free. For me today, the word "freedom" combines the adjective "free" with the Latin word "domus" or home to mean a home or homes where someone can feel free. This is an...

It was a dream come true—or rather about to come true—when the Halls bought their forever home. It had everything they needed and more: five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a family room, a dining room, a roomy garage, good schools, and a good neighborhood. Sure, a fixer-upper, but they felt up to it. Prentiss Hall, a home improvement contractor, made it his life project, and everybody lent a hand—his wife, Tawanda, and six children, cousins, and friends. “We were really excited,” Tawanda told The Epoch Times. They negotiated the price down to $67,000—a bargain, perhaps, but the home demanded a daunting...

One of North Jersey's most unforgettable transplants elevated a modern Park Ridge townhouse from posh to presidential. Put up for sale at the end of March, 23 Sherwood Downs was the final home of former President Richard M. Nixon and his wife, Patricia. The asking price is $1.2 million, twice what the couple paid in March 1991. Located deep within the gated Bears Nest community, the three-bedroom, five-bathroom home was the second Bergen County residence for the Nixons. The pair lived in a 15-room home on 4 acres in Saddle River for nine years before they sold it in November...

Nationwide home prices increased in February after falling for seven consecutive months, according to data released on Tuesday. New S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index data showed that prices rose from the previous month by 0.2 percent after seasonal adjustment. Prices were up by 2 percent year-over-year. The 20-City Composite index, which measures price growth in major U.S. metro areas, showed a 0.4 percent year-over-year gain. Miami, Tampa, and Atlanta posted the highest annual increases. The bump in home prices reflects a return to normal for the spring buying season, Zillow senior economist Nicole Bachaud said in a...