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California could allow undocumented residents to qualify for new state backed home loan program

The astronomic rise in mortgage rates and spike in home prices over the past year has pushed a key tenet of the American dream out of reach for millions of families. Now, there is another obstacle to homeownership: higher home insurance premiums. The average cost of home insurance for a $300,000 property in the U.S. surged 12% in 2023 to roughly $1,770 per year, according to a new report published by Insurify, an insurance comparison website headquartered in Massachusetts. However, home insurance is even more expensive in states plagued by severe weather and other climate-related catastrophes. In fact, as the...

Existing home sales fell to their lowest point in 28 years in 2023, while the median price of a home reached a record high, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales of previously owned homes dropped to 4.09 million last year, marking the lowest annual level of home sales since 1995, the report found. The median price of an existing home, on the other hand, rose to an all-time high of $389,800. Home sales fell 1 percent last month alone and fell 6.2 percent compared to December 2022, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...

How the year will shape up in the housing market isn’t yet clear, but there are some predictions that things will ease up for homebuyers. We may see interest rates fall and inventory increase. But just because things could be easier on buyers this year doesn’t mean sellers are necessarily in for a tough time. Indeed, better days could be ahead, as some real estate experts anticipate housing sales to pick up in 2024. Rather than getting ahead of ourselves with predictions on what prospective sellers can expect in the housing climate in 2024, let’s back up a bit and...

The media U.S. mortgage payment was down nearly $400 in December from its October peak, enticing some homebuyers back into the market, according to a Thursday report from real estate group Redfin. The median mortgage payment was $2,361 for the four week period ending in Dec. 31, Redfin found. That’s $372, or 14 percent, less than it was in October and the lowest average monthly payment in nearly a year. The weekly average mortgage rate, which hit a 23-year high of 7.79 percent in October, also fell to 6.61 percent at the end of December after the Federal Reserve signaled...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said someone reported a fake crime at her home on Monday, the latest in a series of apparent swatting incidents that have targeted her. “I was just swatted. This is like the 8th time. On Christmas with my family here. My local police are the GREATEST and shouldn’t have to deal with this,” she said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Greene added that she appreciates the local police and her family is in “joyous spirits” c toelebrating Christmas.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard argued that the economy is better off than it was before, but home affordability challenges are still “very great,” and that people are also upset about healthcare costs and junk fees. After Brainard stated that the economy is better off than it was a year ago, two years ago, and three years ago, co-host Poppy Harlow asked about people who feel Bidenomics isn’t working, especially on housing prices. Brainard responded, “We are very focused on a few areas where affordability is still a challenge for...

A woman was arrested on Thursday after dousing Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth home in Atlanta, Georgia, with gasoline during an attempt to set the home on fire. The 26-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, is charged with criminal attempt to commit arson and criminal attempt to damage government property. She could also face federal charges in connection with the incident. Atlanta police officers responded to Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth home shortly after 5:45 p.m. on Thursday following reports of vandalism. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters that two tourists from Utah told officers they observed...

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.