HURRICANES – Get ready: The Florida Department of Financial Services has scheduled a number of hurricane expos around the state, and many are open to the public. Topics vary but focus on hurricane mitigation techniques to boost a home’s defenses against a storm.
One of the expos will be in the Naples area on Aug. 24: Resource to create, maintain and grow your business – hurricane preparedness.
MORTGAGES – More homebuyers avoided adjustable rate mortgages in the second half of 2006 in favor of fixed-rate loans, according to Mortgage Brokers Assocation’s latest survey, which found that the number of fixed rate mortgages increased from 43.3 percent in the first half of 2006 to 46.2 percent in the second half.
CONSTRUCTION – Builders say that smaller, more affordable homes can have big selling power in the current housing market. “Smaller homes generate lower revenues, but they sell faster, therefore the cash returns are better,” says Jeffrey Mezger, chief executive of KB Home of Los Angeles.
You have to wonder if the smaller more affordable homes will be as popular in the Naples FL real estate market, due to the buyer’s expectations and when comparing to existing homes on the market.
COMMERCIAL GOING GREEN – Tourist-related businesses, including hotels, are going green. It’s a win-win for hotels that began becoming more environmentally friendly a decade ago to cut costs – but now realize they can market to a growing cadre of green consumers.