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Staff ReportsNovember 25, 2015

Consumer sentiment among Floridians rose more than 2 points in November to 91.5, up more than 5 points compared with November last year, according to the latest University of Florida consumer survey. Among the five components that make up the index, four increased and one declined. Perception of personal finance now compared with a year […]

Ryan RayNovember 3, 2015

Amid a heated inter-industry debate among representatives of title insurance companies and homeowners’ and condominium association managers, a bill to shift certain closing costs onto the latter passed the House Civil Justice Committee on Tuesday with two “no” votes. Republican Rep. John Wood‘s HB 203 is based on the premise that HOAs and condo associations are charging […]

Staff ReportsOctober 30, 2015

Consumer sentiment among Floridians fell slightly in October to 88.8, down less than half a point from September’s revised reading, according to the latest University of Florida consumer survey. Among the five components that make up the index, one decreased while two increased and two remained unchanged. “The greatest decline in the consumer sentiment index […]

Guest AuthorApril 12, 2015

Two bills speeding through the legislature, CS/SB 736 and CS/CS/HB 611, are set to change complex and nuanced areas of real estate law. They deal with such arcane things as estoppel certificates and who pays what at real estate closings. Those concepts may be complex to the average reader, so I’d like to frame it […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 22, 2015

Most mornings I walk my dog down to the neighborhood lakeside park. In the evening I go there to jog while others go bicycling, walking and fishing. In 2000, my yard and the hundreds of homes surrounding it were pastureland owned by The St. Joe Co., the timber and paper conglomerate. In 1998, St. Joe […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 22, 2015

Most mornings I walk my dog down to the neighborhood lakeside park. And in the evening I go there to jog while others go bicycling, walking and fishing. In 2000, my yard and the hundreds of homes surrounding it were pastureland owned by The St. Joe Co., the timber and paper conglomerate. In 1998, St. […]

Tag: real estate

Florida consumer sentiment ticks up in November in time for holiday sales

Disputed real estate estoppel bill clears House panel, but has a long way to go

Florida consumer confidence drops in October, low-income households gloomiest

Barry Berkowitz: Key fact about estoppel bill: it's bad for homeowners

Bruce Ritchie: How much is enough conservation land for Florida?

Bruce Ritchie: How much is enough conservation land for Florida?