Last year, Minnesota’s homeownership rate saw its largest single drop in 40 years, a recent housing report shows.
That new rate is 71% after being as high as 75% just a few years ago. That makes the state no longer the regional leader for homeownership—Iowa has surpassed Minnesota for that top spot, according to the Roseville-based Housing Affordability Institute.
“It’s natural for home ownership rates to fluctuate, but the level of fluctuation we’ve seen in the last couple of years is really what is concerning,” said Nick Erickson, executive director of the institute.
Affordability and availability are to blame. Minnesota is short of nearly 100,000 homes–two-thirds in the Twin Cities metro—and has the highest median home price for new and existing single-family homes in the upper Midwest region.
There are fewer permits for new home builds despite that growing need for housing, the report found. Demand for homes that outpaces supply drives up costs and prices people out of the market, Erickson said.
And not enough affordable rental units doesn’t help either as people try to save for down payments.
“This is a problem that is now kind of feeding itself and without intervention, it’s just going to continue,” he told WCCO in an interview Wednesday.
The National Association of Realtors earlier this month said the typical age for a home buyer has climbed to 40 last year, an all-time high last year.
Changing course, Erickson said, requires government intervention.
“We’ve made more progress this year on this issue than last year,” Rep. Mike Howard, DFL-Richfield, one of the lead authors of the “Yes to Homes” package, said earlier this year.
Among the proposals put forward that didn’t ultimately pass is legislation designed to cut down red tape in order to build more starter homes. like townhomes and duplexes, and ensure those plans are approved by cities in a timely manner by streamlining that process.
Other bills focused on lifting parking directives and removing aesthetic requirements — the mandated use of premium products as the minimum construction standard — that supporters say are barriers to development.
“The bipartisanship that surrounds it here in Minnesota mirrors what we’re seeing across the country at the state level, and it really is encouraging to see, but I think it also speaks to the depth of the challenge,” Erickson said. “This is a crisis that is affecting Minnesotans across the board as it is Americans.”
The American dream feels increasing out of reach as home prices have skyrocketed for years. The latest report from the National Association of Realtors shows the share of first-time home buyers has dropped to 21%. Andres Gutierrez reports from Burbank, California.
As more U.S. homeowners struggle to keep up with mortgage payments and maintenance costs, new data shows the number of property foreclosures is steadily rising. CBS News contributor Javier David has more.
For those who like to crank the thermostat up during the winter, a new report showing data for the Midwest and other parts of the country says you should be prepared for a much higher price tag this season if you have electric heat.
Friday’s report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association says that on average, heating costs will increase by more than 7.5% from last winter across the country, from $907 to $976. However, officials with NEADA say homeowners with electric heat are expected to see an even higher increase.
The average price last winter was $1,093, and this year, NEADA projects that same average cost to be $1,205. That’s an increase of $112, or 10.2%.
The association says electrical bill increases are due to the construction of large data centers, the rising cost of natural gas as well as maintaining and upgrading the electrical grid.
The report went on to break down estimated winter heating costs by region by using regional temperature and price projections. In the Midwest, electric heat users on average spent $1,251 last winter, according to the report, which projects this winter to cost $1,498. That’s an increase of $246, or nearly 20%.
Meanwhile, natural gas users in the Midwest should see an average increase of $99, while propane users should see an increase of about $5. Those are increases of 16.4% and 0.5% from last winter, respectively.
Since the winter of 2021-2022, NEADA says the average winter heating cost has risen by 31% for electric users and 26.5% for those who use natural gas.
According to NEADA, roughly 21 million households are behind on energy bills. Nationally, 3 million homes had their energy shut off in 2023, and another 3.5 million followed suit in 2024. This year, that number could reach 4 million.
In Minnesota, a state law known as the Cold Weather Rule prevents utility services from being shut off from Oct. 1 to April 30, while the Extreme Heat Law makes sure electricity isn’t turned off when temperatures reach excessive heat levels. However, to make sure your service isn’t disconnected, a payment plan must be made and agreed upon by the user and the utility company. A payment plan can be set up at any time during the Cold Weather Rule season.
A potential ban on homeowners associations (HOAs) in Florida is edging closer after a state Republican said he was considering filing legislation about the matter.
Juan C. Porras, who represents Miami-Dade County has called to repeal the associations, calling them “authoritarian bonds.”
Newsweek contacted Porras by website form to comment on this story.
Why It Matters
Some 9.5 Floridians, or nearly half the state’s population, live in HOA communities. These organizations comprise a group of residents elected to a board which creates community rules, maintains common areas and collects funds to do so.
HOAs have caused headaches for some residents. According to a September 2024 survey by home repair and maintenance services company Frontdoor, 70 percent of people would prefer to purchase a home in a community without an HOA.
In this Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, file photo, a home is listed for sale in Surfside, Fla. In this Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, file photo, a home is listed for sale in Surfside, Fla. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File
They are also on the rise. U.S. Census data shows the proportion of single-family homes built within HOAs has increased from 49 percent in 2009 to 65 percent in 2023.
What To Know
Posting on X, Porras said: “I am seriously considering legislation to repeal Homeowner Associations (HOA’s). In the Free State of Florida, we should not have authoritarian boards dictate your day to day life with no accountability.”
According to local outlets, he also shared a petition calling for enforcement and transparency over HOAs. At the time of writing it has been signed 1,551 times.
Porras has not drafted legislation or announced details about how he would propose a ban but he told local press he wants to work on it before the state legislative session ends in January 2026.
What People Are Saying
Homeowner Sharon Siebert told Tampa Bay 28: “I understand that it’s a business, I understand that the business is to make sure the properties are maintained. But at the same time, when you’ve been here a long time and always maintained your property, it’s difficult when you find yourself in a tough situation and there’s no help.”
Porras told Tampa Bay 28: “It might just be time we take a look if HOAs are really even necessary. Maybe we should just do away with homeowner associations as a whole.”
He added: “You’re being charged $500, $600 plus a month when in reality you don’t see a lot of that money going back to even your own community.”
“It was a failed experiment,” he said.
What Happens Next
Whether Porras advances legislation and whether it is then well received by other lawmakers in the legislature remains to be seen.
Any legislation would have to pass the Florida House and Senate before being approved by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
If you feel like your energy bills keep climbing, you’re not alone — and you’re not imagining things.
According to a new EcoFlow-Horowitz survey of homeowners in California, Texas, and Florida, 74% anticipate that the cost of electricity will continue rising in the near future. Meanwhile, 61% say their electric bill is already too high, and 75% are always looking for ways to lower it.
“American consumers are not taking the rising energy prices lightly,” EcoFlow noted in a statement. “They’re taking stock of the increasing frequency of power outages, the rise in energy prices, and are concerned about the effects of extreme weather.”
This pressure is especially pronounced among older homeowners and those living in California, where power costs and grid instability are recurring concerns.
In response, more Americans are turning to solar power as a way to take control of their home energy. According to the same survey, 70% of homeowners have solar panels or are interested in getting them — with cost savings cited as the No. 1 reason.
Going solar is one of the most effective ways to cut long-term energy expenses while also reducing the pollution that contributes to Earth’s warming. However, the high upfront cost remains a challenge for many families.
Thankfully, solar leasing programs such as Palmetto’s LightReach initiative help homeowners avoid major upfront payments — sometimes with no money down — while still reaping the benefits of clean, affordable energy.
“There is tremendous opportunity for increased competition in the market for backup power and solar battery solutions in the United States,” the Horowitz report noted.
Homeowners want systems that are affordable, easy to use, and reliable, especially as outages become more common and grid prices more volatile.
If leasing isn’t the best fit for your situation, EnergySage offers a free platform where you can compare quotes for a solar installation and get matched with top-rated local installers.
How concerned are you about your energy bills increasing this summer?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Installing solar panels is one of the best home energy hacks — it can bring your electricity costs down to or near $0. EnergySage makes it easy to compare quotes and potentially save up to $10,000 on an installation.
If you’re ready to go solar but are unsure if leasing or buying solar panels is your best option, you can compare the pros and cons on Palmetto’s list.
You can also swap your HVAC system for a heat pump and save nearly $400 per year. Mitsubishi has affordable, high-efficiency models to help you get started.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
It’s been almost a month since Hurricane Milton battered Florida, and some homeowners in Brevard County are still in the middle of cleanup and repairs.”Sometimes people come, and they don’t have all the equipment they need, and they’re not prepared,” said a Cocoa Beach homeowner. “If it hadn’t been for the tornado, I don’t think this area at least wouldn’t have the damage that it had.”The county’s public information officer Rachel Horst said the damage assessment report shows at least 723 properties were impacted by the storm. Thirty-two of them received major damage, with most being in the Cocoa Beach area. Homeowners said that while they are trying to stay patient, getting repair help is taking longer than expected. “Obviously dealing with insurance and getting builders and contractors in,” said Gary Sorohan, a homeowner in Cocoa Beach. “Although we’ve got quite a lot of damage there are people worse off than us, so I don’t think some of our neighbors will be back to normal before four or six months at least. I’m hoping we get done by Christmas.”The county said, so far, FEMA has set aside $2 million to help 650 households. It may cover temporary housing, hotel stays and some repairs. “We just got to stay as patient as we can even though it’s frustrating and hope that things move on relatively quickly,” Sorohan said.Owners of properties that suffered damage from Milton are encouraged to register for FEMA assistance.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. —
It’s been almost a month since Hurricane Milton battered Florida, and some homeowners in Brevard County are still in the middle of cleanup and repairs.
“Sometimes people come, and they don’t have all the equipment they need, and they’re not prepared,” said a Cocoa Beach homeowner. “If it hadn’t been for the tornado, I don’t think this area at least wouldn’t have the damage that it had.”
The county’s public information officer Rachel Horst said the damage assessment report shows at least 723 properties were impacted by the storm. Thirty-two of them received major damage, with most being in the Cocoa Beach area.
Homeowners said that while they are trying to stay patient, getting repair help is taking longer than expected.
“Obviously dealing with insurance and getting builders and contractors in,” said Gary Sorohan, a homeowner in Cocoa Beach. “Although we’ve got quite a lot of damage there are people worse off than us, so I don’t think some of our neighbors will be back to normal before four or six months at least. I’m hoping we get done by Christmas.”
The county said, so far, FEMA has set aside $2 million to help 650 households. It may cover temporary housing, hotel stays and some repairs.
“We just got to stay as patient as we can even though it’s frustrating and hope that things move on relatively quickly,” Sorohan said.
Owners of properties that suffered damage from Milton are encouraged to register for FEMA assistance.
In some areas, homes are such great a risk that they’re too expensive to insure — if private insurance is even available at all.
How much does the average person spend on home insurance?
Home insurance premiums are intended to be cheaper than what it would cost to rebuild your home after a disaster or major damage. That cost is based on numerous factors, including home size and claim history, but it’s also based on location — and as extreme weather events driven by climate change bring a greater risk of floods, severe storms, hurricanes and heat waves, among other things, that location matters more than ever.
Bankrate has found that the average cost of dwelling insurance, which covers the actual structure of your home should it need to be rebuilt, is $2,285 per year in the U.S. for a policy with a $300,000 limit. But that cost is still rising.
“From 2017 to 2022, homeowners insurance premiums rose 40% faster than inflation,” a June report by the Bipartisan Policy Center says. “…For millions of households already struggling to make their mortgage payments, these monthly insurance costs are a significant burden. They can also put homeownership out of reach for prospective first-time homebuyers.”
The range of homeowners’ insurance costs is widespread. In Vermont, Bankrate data shows that people pay an average of $67 a month for a $300,000 dwelling limit, while in Nebraska, the most expensive home insurance state, people pay an average of $471 per month — an annual policy that amounts to more than $3,300 above the national average.
Other parts of insurance coverage are not included in these amounts, such as other structures, personal property and loss of use, which are typically listed as coverage B, C and D, respectively, in coverage policies. And depending on your location, you may also need separate deductibles for wind or storm damage, will likely be determined based on a percentage of your dwelling coverage.
“While inflation has slowed down since its peak in June 2022, insurance rates are reactionary,” Bankrate said in its September report. “The cost of home insurance is still increasing due to the impact inflation has had on the previous losses experienced by the insurance company, the elevated cost of building materials and the high likelihood of future extreme weather-related losses.”
Home location matters for insurance costs
Across the U.S., people are dealing with risk of earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and severe storms across the seasons. In California, which, as of Sept. 17, is battling six active wildfires, the growing risk of such events has left some areas “essentially ‘uninsurable‘,” according to researchers at First Street Foundation, a nonprofit that studies climate risks. The group found that about 35.6 million properties — a quarter of all U.S. real estate — are facing higher insurance costs and lower coverage because of climate risks.
That combination also devalues their properties.
San Bernardino County, which accounts for six out of the 10 worst ZIP codes in the state for insurance non-renewals, is also among the most at-risk of natural hazards and climate change, according to FEMA. The county in Southern California is currently combatting both the Bridge and Line Fires, which combined have burned more than 93,000 acres.
The fire risk in California — which has also been battling the historically large Park Fire for nearly two months — is now so high that both Allstate and State Farm have paused sales of property and casualty coverage to new customers in the state.
“The cost to insure new home customers in California is far higher than the price they would pay for policies due to wildfires, higher costs for repairing homes, and higher reinsurance premiums,” Allstate told CBS News.
AAA is also opting out of renewing some policies in Florida, a state that has seen increasingly devastating impacts of flooding and hurricanes. Without private insurance offers, it’s up to insurance policies made available by the government, such as the the National Flood Insurance Program, to assist.
It’s not just an issue for coastal areas and wildfire-prone states. In fact, the most impactful weather events are those that do not get categorized with names.
The Insurance Information Institute found in a May 2020 report that severe convective storms — thunderstorms — “are the most common and damaging natural catastrophes in the United States.” Tornadoes are often a product of those storms, and Nebraska, the most expensive home insurance state on average, was impacted by five of the top 10 costliest U.S. catastrophes involving tornadoes, according to the report.
There have already been 20 billion-dollar disasters nationwide so far this year, as of Sept. 10, with 14 of those involving severe weather or tornadoes.
This map shows the confirmed billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events that have already occurred in the U.S. in 2024.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
But Bankrate has also found that more than a quarter of homeowners say they aren’t financially prepared to handle the costs that come with it.
And it’s not just homeowners. While last year was not the worst year for overall U.S. insured losses due to extreme weather, it was the worst year since at least 2014 for losses due to severe storms ($59.2 billion), according to data by AON.
Renters are feeling those impacts as well.
Between 2020 and 2023, multifamily housing development insurance rates increased by an average of 12.5% annually, according to a June report by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
“One affordable housing provider, National Church Residences, saw its property insurance premiums increase by over 400% in the six years leading up to 2023, along with higher deductibles and reduced coverage,” the report says. National Church Residences provides affordable housing and independent and assisted living to seniors.
Last fall, NDP Analytics surveyed 418 housing providers across the U.S. who operate a combined 2.7 million units, including 1.7 million affordable housing units. They found that nearly a third of them saw premium increases of 25% or more from 2022 to 2023. To handle those costs, over 93% of respondents said they’d have to increase their deductibles, decrease operating expenses and/or increase rent. More than half said they would need to limit or delay investments in housing stock and projects.
How to lower home insurance costs
The driver behind extreme weather events — rising global temperatures largely fueled by the burning of fossil fuels — is not going away anytime soon. The continued release of greenhouse gases that trap heat within the atmosphere will continue to heat up the planet for thousands of years to come, even if overuse of those gases stopped today, which means that there are still decades to come of worsening climate disasters putting lives and homes at risk.
But home insurance is a game of measuring risk, and there are things you can do to better protect your home that could help lessen the blow of future weather disasters.
According to Massachusetts insurance agency C&S Insurance, resilient home features can make an impact on premium pricing. Storm shutters, reinforced roofing and flood barriers can all help lower the risk of damage to your house, and therefore, your wallet.
NerdWallet says that elevating your home’s water heaters and electrical panels, developing wildfire-resilient landscaping and installing fortified roofing are among the things homeowners can do to reduce the impacts of flooding, fires and wind, respectively.
The Council on Foreign Relations, an independent nonpartisan organization, says that more government regulations on where and how homes can be built can also help reduce the costs. The group says that stopping taxpayer dollars for buildings in high-risk areas and more investment in natural infrastructure, such as wetlands and trees, can also help reduce impacts from storm surges and heat.
Li Cohen is a senior social media producer at CBS News. She previously wrote for amNewYork and The Seminole Tribune. She mainly covers climate, environmental and weather news.
Add tornadoes, wildfires and floods to the already lengthy list worries for U.S. homeowners.
More than a quarter of homeowners (26%) say they are not financially prepared to handle the costs if extreme weather damages their home, according to a new report from Bankrate. Among those polled, 14% reported they are somewhat unprepared and 12% say they are very unprepared, the personal finance site found. The findings come as hurricane seasonreaches its peak.
People who are “unprepared for that kind of climate risk intersecting with the amount of unknown risk that exists in the country is really alarming in a lot of ways,” Dr. Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications research at First Street, a firm that studies climate risk, told CBS MoneyWatch.
The Bankrate survey provides a snapshot of homeowners’ financial position in a climate landscape where summers are becoming hotter, hurricane season more active and wildfires more destructive. As billion-dollar climate disasters become more common, homeowners will have to absorb part of the cost via higher insurance rates, weather-proofing strategies and repairs.
In the Bankrate survey, 15% of homeowners said they would not be able to pay their insurance deductible without going into debt if their home was damaged in an extreme weather event.
Geographically, people in the the South (29%) and West (28%) reported the greatest degree of financial vulnerability to extreme weather, the survey found.
“People living in the South are more likely to have home policies, so they’re going to have to pay the biggest amount, and their earning potential is actually lower,” said Shannon Martin, an analyst at Bankrate.
Changing insurance market
It’s no secret that the insurance market is going through a rapid transformation. Insurers like Allstate and State Farm are withdrawing from states prone to fires and coastal flooding or opting to raise their premiums, making homeowners’ coverage less affordable.
Porter said rates are likely to rise in the future given that insurers hasn’t fully priced climate-related costs into the real estate market. “There are more increases to come in terms of additional costs of even homeownership,” he said.
According to Bankrate, 7% of those polled said they do not have homeowners insurance. That figures rises to 15% for people earning less than $50,000 annually. According to the Insurance Information Institute, 12% of homeowners went without insurance in 2022.
How to protect your property
Understanding your risk is important, experts say, especially given that dealing with extreme weather is unprecedented territory for most Americans.
“Homeowners may also face the risk of hazards they have not faced in the past,” said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior staff associate at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, part of Columbia University’s Climate School.
Of those polled by Bankrate, 43% said they had not taken any steps in the past five years to protect their home against property damage due to dangerous weather, while just 9% of homeowners had invested in weather-proofing measures.
By contrast, more homeowners are at least aware of the growing risks, Martin said. “What this survey told me is that more people are kind of paying attention to what’s happening in terms of extreme weather.”
According to Bankrate, 39% of homeowners said that they reviewed their auto or home insurance policy to ensure they have the proper level of coverage.
“It seems like such a simple and basic thing, but it’s honestly the first step that everyone should take,” Martin said.
Martin recommends calling your insurer or finding a time to meet with them in person to review your policy. Something like fire or flooding may be covered one year and not the next, she said.
Martin also said people should check out Risk Factor from First Street and Climate Check, tools that allow users to look up their property and view extreme weather risk. “
You can look there and understand the smaller, more affordable things you can do to your house to make sure that you’re protecting yourself against those types of damages,” Porter aid.
Getting out while there’s still time
In some cases, mitigation strategies simply won’t cut it. Over those polled in Bankrate’s survey, 7% said they ultimately moved to a lower risk area to reduce the risks of extreme weather.
The trend is relatively small at this point, said Porter. “I would expect in the near future, we won’t see any mass macro level migration.” Still, more and more people are taking risks into consideration and making climate informed decisions, he added.
Joe Printz, a New York-based wine shop owner and former restaurateur, is one of them. Printz closed on a home in Napeague Harbor, on the South Fork of Long Island, New York, in early 2021. Just three years later, he and his partner are already considering selling it for fear it might one day be underwater.
Made of six repurposed steel shipping containers fit together Tetris style, Printz ‘s home, nicknamed the “Beach Box,” is a formidable force against extreme weather. “I’m telling you, a tidal wave would probably only knock out the windows,” he said.
But even the sturdiest of materials may not stop it from getting pummeled by a flood. If past storms are any indication, water from the ocean, only two and a half blocks away in the case of Print’s property, will find its way.
A local coastal resiliency report predicts there’s a 60% chance a 100-year coastal flood will hit that part of Long Island in the next 30 years and that sea level rise could transform East Hampton into a series of islands as early as 2070.
Printz doesn’t want to take any chances. “We are going to fix up our house. We’re going to live in it for three or four more years and probably sell it,” he said.
In California, we look into efforts to deal with squatters illegally dwelling on other people’s property. Then, we explore the growing Land Back movement which aims to reconnect indigenous people with their ancestral land. Watch these stories and more on Eye on America with host Michelle Miller.
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Nationally, homeowners pay an annual average of $2,230 for $300,000 in home coverage.
Meanwhile, here in Denver, residents are paying $3,344 a year, according to the July home insurance report from the personal finance website Bankrate.
You’re paying $1,144 a year more than the average homeowner in the United States. The average monthly premium is a steep $260.
The reason? Gnarly storms, hail, tornadoes and wildfires.
While our insurance rates are higher than many places in the state, the more affordable city of Colorado Springs is paying slightly more: an average of $3,403 annually.
Arvada, at $3,196, and Westminster, at $3,219, offer slightly better deals than the Mile High City.
At least we’re not the most expensive place to insure a home nationwide.
In Florida, residents are paying $5,533 to get $300,000 in home insurance.
Why the super high rates? Hurricanes, flooding and even sinkholes gobbling up homes.
That’s followed by Nebraska at $5,249, thanks to hail, flash floods and tornadoes.
Oklahoma is at $4,700, due to a similar cocktail to Nebraska’s, plus earthquakes.
And neighboring Kansas has high rates too: $4,103. “Wizard of Oz” got it right. Tornadoes are painfully common.
Some states offer a bargain.
Vermont comes in at $806, West Virginia at $952, Delaware at $966, New Hampshire at $973 and Oregon at $986 per year for $300,000 of coverage.
“Keep in mind that while flooding is a concern in many states, flood insurance is not part of standard homeowners policies,” according to Bankrate. “If you live in an area at risk for flooding, you will need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy. Earthquakes are also a common homeowners insurance exclusion. Like floods, earthquake damage must be covered by a separate policy.”
And nationwide, insurance costs are up.
“Home insurance premiums have been steadily rising due to several factors, including increasing natural disasters, higher construction costs, and inflation,” wrote Joel Efosa, the CEO of Fire Cash Buyer, a company investing in fire-damaged homes.
“The frequency and severity of events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods have significantly impacted insurers’ risk assessments, leading to higher premiums for homeowners,” he added. “And for those who are rebuilding homes, the cost has surged due to supply chain disruptions and labor shortages.”
So what should homeowners do to get the best rate?
“It’s essential for homeowners to regularly review their policies and shop around to ensure they get the best coverage and rates available,” Efosa notes.
The Republican National Committee just released its 2024 platform. While calling it a platform is a stretch, the list of bullet points gives an idea of what the potential next Trump administration’s goals are. Here’s one issue that should be front and center: End inflation and make America affordable again.
To be sure, “make America more affordable” would be a great slogan and a great objective. It’s similar to what many have called an “abundance agenda.” While there is plenty to dislike in a platform that at times feels unserious and destructive, this part I like.
Abundance isn’t achieved by the same old subsidies or tax breaks for special interests, price controls, or spending loads of taxpayer money on transfer payments. It’s achieved by freeing up the supply side of our economy. That means freeing producers and innovators from excessive regulatory obstacles and heavy tax burdens (including tariffs) so they can provide more of what Americans need.
The Trump administration platform assures us it will move in this direction. For instance, it wants to increase America’s dominance as an energy producer, which will only be achieved through a deregulation agenda. Apart from counterproductive tax incentives for first-time homeowners, it expresses a commitment to lowering housing costs through deregulation.
The platform states it will “cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations” as well as “end the Socialist Green New Deal.” I assume that means ending the expensive subsidies and tax breaks in the Inflation Reduction Act. Great idea, but get ready to hear all the recipients of these handouts cry that they won’t be able to do what they were already doing before being given the subsidies.
A deregulation agenda would serve the Republicans’ goal of boosting manufacturing much better than tariffs, which former President Donald Trump continues to love despite overwhelming evidence that they don’t do what he claims. Most tariffs raise the prices of inputs used by American firms, including manufacturing, to produce outputs that serve their customers.
Something similar could be said about Republicans’ swipes at immigrants. Fewer immigrants will create labor supply shortages, hurt manufacturing, and slow the economy.
Still, even with their disastrous trade and immigration agenda and the many contradictory goals espoused by this platform, implementing the deregulatory part of the agenda will make some strides at freeing the supply side and hence lowering prices. Indeed, President Joe Biden has not only maintained many of Trump’s tariffs, but he’s added some of its own. He’s also systematically favored subsidizing the demand for certain things—nudging customers to buy what he wants them to buy—while taking actions that restrict supply. That’s a recipe for affordability failure.
But as far as affordability goes, I’m less optimistic about the prospect of the next administration ending inflation. That’s because Trump and other Republicans are firmly embracing fiscal irresponsibility and excessive debt. The platform contains no mention of a plan to get government debt under control. Instead, it pledges to “fight for and protect Social Security and Medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age.”
Many voters love hearing this promise. But maintaining these two objectively underfinanced programs will inevitably explode the debt burden over the next 30 years. In the entire history of the United States so far, Uncle Sam has accumulated roughly $34 trillion in debt. Under the Trump plan, the government would need to borrow another $124 trillion for these programs alone.
Leaving aside the question of who will lend us all this money when foreign buyers are already scaling back purchases of U.S. Treasuries, remember that most of the inflation we’ve recently suffered is the product of massive Biden administration spending on top of the COVID-19 spending without any plan to pay for it. As such, announcing that the U.S. will simply go on another borrowing spree sends a poor signal, and it might even increase inflation.
This is made more important because Trump wants to make permanent the tax cuts that are set to expire after 2025, end taxes on tips, and more. If Congress and the president do this without any offsetting spending reductions, it will add at least another $4 trillion in debt over 10 years. With more inflationary fuel, we could easily see the Federal Reserve raise interest rates again, making borrowing money even more expensive than it already is.
The bottom line is that Trump’s deregulatory agenda could have a shot at lowering some prices. But it will only be a game-changer if he becomes serious about fiscal responsibility. Right now, he isn’t, so I wouldn’t count on it.
The carnage left by Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean this week is a stark reminder of the destruction such storms can wreak on entire communities. And with meteorologists expecting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season this year, nearly 33 million homes from Texas to Maine could face danger from the savage winds, storm surges and heavy rainfall such tempests can produce, real estate data provider CoreLogic estimates.
Read on to learn what experts say homeowners can do to harden their properties against hurricanes.
Family members survey their home destroyed in the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Ottley Hall, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuesday, July 2, 2024.
Lucanus Ollivierre / AP
Cover the windows
When time is of the essence, the quickest and cheapest way to protect your home from a hurricane is nailing plywood across all the windows. Owners who have more time to prepare can protect windows by installing so-called roll shutters, which a little like a garage door and which run between $300 and $400.
“That’s going to protect you from the debris flying into your window,” said Michael Gridley, a residential construction professor at SUNY Morrisville in upstate New York, noting that many homeowners can mount plywood or install roll shutters themselves.
But such fixes are temporary and likely won’t keep glass from shattering and falling into your home, Joshua Parrish, a general contractor in Georgia, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Experts say “roll shutters,” seen here covering a home’s windows in a 3D rendering, can protect properties from flying debris kicked up by a hurricane.
Getty Images/KangeStudio
For stronger, long-term protection, a professional can install hurricane windows, which typically have a steel or aluminum frame and reinforced glass.
“The glass actually has two layers of heat-treated glass, and there’s plastic in between them. It will actually protect you,” Gridley said.
Not surprisingly, hurricane windows are costly. At $125 to $150 per square feet, installing them could easily cost a homeowner between $10,000 and $30,000, he noted.
Barricade your doors
As with the measures for safeguarding windows, homeowners have three basic options: putting up plywood, adding a larger roll shutter or having a hurricane door installed.
Parrish said mounting plywood on sliding glass or patio doors should provide sufficient protection from Category 2 (wind speeds of 96–110 mph) or Category 3 (wind speeds 111-129 mph) hurricanes. For more powerful storms, he recommends a hurricane door. That starts with deciding whether to get a steel, aluminum or fiberglass door.
“I would lean toward getting something like fiberglass just because, in case of a dent, something in that family of metal would be more difficult to fix and you’d have to end up replacing it,” Parrish said.
Hurricane doors typically cost between $2,400 and $4,000 depending on the structure and size, Gridley said.
Reinforce your roof
Before making any changes to your roof, it’s important to first check for soft spots in your roof deck, nail down any loose shingles and clear the gutters so water flows quickly away from your home, experts said.
After the roof checkup is done, homeowners can generally go one of two routes. For those who don’t have the time or money to replace the roof, Gridley said they should consider cementing the existing shingles together. Shingles are already nailed down and stuck together with asphalt, but over time the asphalt cracks and fades — adding cement reinforces them.
Another, pricier option — but one that offers better protection, including from an insurance perspective — is to install a metal roof.
“It fastens down, it has less room for [wind] pickup — it’s going to be the best option,” Gridley said.
Experts say a metal roof is less prone to being lifted off a home in a hurricane.
Dan Reynolds Photography/Getty Images
Metal roofs are installed so there are no “seams where wind can get underneath and start lifting that off the building,” Parrish said, adding, “It’s probably going to be double the cost of a typical shingle roof. But it’s going to last you almost forever — 40, 50, 60 years.”
A 2,000 square-foot metal roof costs an average of roughly $27,000, according to Architectural Digest.
Seal the foundation
Examine the foundation of your home and the walls of your basement or crawl space for cracks, the experts said. If you notice deep, long cracks, consider hiring a waterproofing company to seal them.
It’s vital to get cracks fixed because there could be water pressing against a foundation wall — structural risk that could lead to flooding during a hurricane, Parrish said.
“That’s additional water pressure beating against your home and, if it’s severe enough, it could cause other issues, and now you have a bigger problem on your hands,” Parrish said.
Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. He previously worked as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald, Newsday and the Florida Times-Union. His reporting primarily focuses on the U.S. housing market, the business of sports and bankruptcy.
A housing proposal could unlock nearly $1 trillion for homeowners, Meredith Whitney wrote for the FT.
The idea is for Freddie Mac to start purchasing secondary mortgages, offering a cost-effective way for borrowers to tap equity.
Homeowners face few options to do this, as there aren’t many willing buyers.
An idea is percolating at one of America’s government-sponsored mortgage finance giants that could unlock a huge new lifeline for homeowners, Meredith Whitney wrote for The Financial Times
“As early as this summer, a proposed move could begin to unleash almost $1tn into consumers’ wallets. By the autumn, it could be on its way to $2tn,” Whitney wrote.
That’s if Freddie Mac secures approval from its regulator to operate in the market for secondary mortgages, also commonly known as home equity loans. If greenlighted, the scheme would be equivalent to a huge stimulus injection, but without a cent added to the national deficit, the “Oracle of Wall Street” explained.
Under the plan, Freddie Mac could start purchasing second mortgages and package them into bonds the way it does with primary home loans now. As Freddie Mac is a massive provider of mortgage market liquidity, the move could encourage more banks to extend this financing to customers.
Whitney points out that Americans are sitting on a massive and growing pile of home equity, but little of that is being tapped. More widely available home equity loans would be a boon in particular for older Americans, who are taking on more debt than other age groups and are at growing risk of a financial shock.
Approval would also be well-timed. The proposal noted that options are limited for homeowners who want to tap their equity, meaning that few are benefiting from the housing market’s appreciation.
“For the many homeowners who purchased or refinanced their homes during a period of lower mortgage rates, a traditional cash-out refinance today may pose a significant financial burden, as it requires a refinancing of the entire outstanding loan balance at a new, and likely much higher, interest rate,” it said.
Freddie Mac’s participation seeks to offer a cost-effective alternative. According to Whitney, part of the issue as to why households have so few affordable avenues is a consequence of Great Financial Crisis, as a large number of bank lenders decreased their mortgage exposure following the 2008 crash.
Freddie Mac’s entry into the market could result in $980 billion of home equity financing becoming available to Americans, with that number growing to $3 trillion, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae follow suit, Whitney estimated.
“By opening up the securitization market for second mortgages, not only would more institutions be inclined to originate the loans, but the cost to borrowers would meaningfully decline with more finance providers,” Whitney said: “It would also provide big stimulus to an economy and consumer that appear to be slowing down without adding a dime to government debt.”
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation Wednesday aimed at illegal squatting.
House Bill 1017, which the Georgia House and Senate passed unanimously during this year’s legislative session, creates the offense of unlawful squatting when someone enters upon the land or premises of the owner without the owner or rightful occupant’s knowledge or consent.
The bill comes amid an increase nationwide in highly publicized reports of trespassers committing violence against homeowners, landlords, or real estate agents, as well as vandalizing properties.
“For property owners in Georgia, squatters are occupying their property, which presents a very difficult and expensive legal problem,” said state Rep. Devan Seabaugh, R-Marietta, chief sponsor of House Bill 1017.
“We have homeowners tied up in court for eight months to two years in some cases trying to get these squatters removed from their property. House Bill 1017 sends a message to squatters that they are criminals, and they will be treated like criminals.”
Under the measure, violators will receive a citation advising them to present documentation within three business days authorizing their presence on the land or premises. Failure to do so will subject the violator to being charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass.
If the person does present documentation, a hearing would be set within seven days to determine its validity.
If the documentation is found to be improperly executed or fraudulent, the person would be subject to arrest and a fine based on the fair market monthly rental value of the property. A law enforcement official would have to show the person an affidavit regarding his or her claim to the property at least three days before executing an eviction.
The bill had five cosponsors in the House, all Republicans.
Sacramento, Calif. — State Farm will discontinue coverage for 72,000 houses and apartments in California starting this summer, the insurance giant said this week, nine months after announcing it wouldn’t issue new home policies in the state.
The Illinois-based company, California’s largest insurer, cited soaring costs, the increasing risk of catastrophes like wildfires and outdated regulations as reasons it won’t renew the policies on 30,000 houses and 42,000 apartments, the Bay Area News Group reported Thursday.
“This decision was not made lightly and only after careful analysis of State Farm General’s financial health, which continues to be impacted by inflation, catastrophe exposure, reinsurance costs, and the limitations of working within decades-old insurance regulations,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.
“State Farm General takes seriously our responsibility to maintain adequate claims-paying capacity for our customers and to comply with applicable financial solvency laws,” it continued. “It is necessary to take these actions now.”
The move comes as California’s elected insurance commissioner undertakes a yearlong overhaul of home insurance regulations aimed at calming the state’s imploding market by giving insurers more latitude to raise premiums while extracting commitments from them to extend coverage in fire-risk areas, the news group said.
The California Department of Insurance said State Farm will have to answer question from regulators about its decision to discontinue coverage.
“One of our roles as the insurance regulator is to hold insurance companies accountable for their words and deeds,” Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael Soller said. “We need to be confident in State Farm’s strategy moving forward to live up to its obligations to its California customers.”
It was unclear whether the department would launch an investigation.
Last June, State Farm said it would stop accepting applications for all business and personal lines of property and casualty insurance, citing inflation, a challenging reinsurance market and “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.”
The company said the newly announced cancellations account for just over 2% of its California policies. It did not say where they’re located or what criteria it used to determine that they wouldn’t be renewed.
Mortgage rates are expected to fall slightly this year, according to real estate experts looking at the data. Jessica Lautz, the deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of REALTORS, joins CBS News to discuss if homeowners should refinance their mortgages.
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Millions of Americans are getting a measure of relief when it comes to keeping a roof over their head: After skyrocketing during the pandemic, rent is falling nationwide.
According to a new report from apartment marketplace Rent.com, the national median rent for residential properties fell 0.78% in December of 2023 compared to a year ago — the third consecutive month in which rental prices have fallen across the U.S. The median rent countrywide was $1,964 in December, or $90 less than its peak in August 2022, the report shows.
That modest drop-off comes amid a rise in homes for sale, luring buyers who otherwise would’ve rented back into the residential real estate market. That means less competition for renters, who can leverage the softening market to get better deals, Rent Director Kate Terhune told CBS MoneyWatch.
“It’s the year of the renter… they’re being really choosy right now,” she said. “Property managers aren’t able to fill every unit, and those dollars absolutely count, so we’re seeing some concessions being made.”
Over the last year through December, rent fell particularly sharply in Florida, Idaho and Oregon, where rents fell 9.21%, 5.76% and 5.08%, respectively, the report shows. By contrast, rents surged in cities such as Providence, Rhode Island, where prices soared more than 21%; Columbus, Ohio (11.56%); and San Jose, California (9.48%), according to Terhune.
The rent is expected fall further in many cities when new rental units hit the market, putting pressure on landlords to fill vacant units. In another factor that could weigh on rents, the Federal Reserve has projected multiple interest-rate cuts this. That would lead to lower mortgage costs, spurring homes sales while reducing demand for rentals.
To be sure, despite the recent dip, rents remains unaffordable for many Americans. Overall, rents since the pandemic have jumped 23%, adding an extra $371 per month to households’ rent, Rent.com’s data shows. In 2022, roughly half of renters across the U.S. struggled to afford a roof over their head, according to new research from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Elizabeth Napolitano is a freelance reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and technology news. She also writes for CoinDesk. Before joining CBS, she interned at NBC News’ BizTech Unit and worked on The Associated Press’ web scraping team.
Although U.S. women still trail men when it comes to pay, they are pulling ahead financially in one important way of building wealth: homeownership.
A recent study from LendingTree shows that single women own 2.7 million more homes than their male counterparts, with roughly 13% of those women holding the titles to their homes, compared to 10% of men.
“A home for most people is going to represent the biggest portion of their overall net worth,” Jacob Channel, senior economist at LendingTree and author of the report, told CBS MoneyWatch. “Owning a home helps you access considerably more wealth.”
Women have historically faced social and economic barriers to wealth creation, and they continue to earn an average of just 82 cents for every dollar men earn for the same work, according to the Pew Research Center.
LendingTree’s study is based on an analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey and accounts for demographic factors including homeowners’ age, income, education and racial background.
According to LendingTree, single female homeowners outnumber their male peers in 47 states, with the rate of female homeownership as high as 15% in states like Delaware and Louisiana. However, single males owned more homes than single women in Alaska, North Dakota and South Dakota, likely because of the prevalence of male-dominated industries in those states, Channel said.
Home equity accounts for nearly 28% of household wealth on average, according to a 2020 U.S. Census Bureau report. Channel notes that most homes are owned by couples and families. And overall, American women’s net worth still falls well below that of men. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the median wealth of women-headed households is 45% lower than those headed by men.
“If there’s one really important thing about this study, it’s that there’s a lot going on here that’s influencing women’s wealth, and we’ll need a lot more information before we can really definitively say why things are the way they are,” Channel said.
Elizabeth Napolitano is a freelance reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and technology news. She also writes for CoinDesk. Before joining CBS, she interned at NBC News’ BizTech Unit and worked on The Associated Press’ web scraping team.
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Washington — A Texas-based housing developer and mortgage lender is accused of targeting members of the Houston area’s Hispanic community by offering loans to people who could not pay them back, selling them land in disrepair and taking advantage of language barriers.
Prosecutors allege Colony Ridge Development, LLC, and its subsidiaries carried out a predatory lending scheme in which foreclosures were part of the business model, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The developers — who handled over 40,000 lots across 33,000 acres — were sued by the Justice Department Wednesday in what was the first effort by civil rights prosecutors to confront predatory mortgage lending in the U.S.
File: A model home in the Colony Ridge development Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas.
David J. Phillip / AP
Investigators say tens of thousands of potential buyers from the Hispanic community were lured into purchasing land from Colony Ridge with targeted Spanish-language ads on TikTok and other social media platforms. Some of the marketing falsely advertised that the land came with utility connectivity, the civil complaint said, when it did not, and other land that was sold was prone to flooding and raw sewage runoff.
Once buyers were interested in the land, prosecutors said Colony Ridge directed customers to loan plans they controlled.
“Despite extending loans that total in the tens of thousands of dollars, Colony Ridge fails to assess borrowers’ ability to repay, requiring self-reported (but unverified) gross income, and a nominal down payment,” prosecutors alleged in court documents. The company and its Houston-based lender did not determine whether the borrowers were in the financial position to secure and pay back a loan.
And if owners were unable to keep up with loan payments, the lawsuit alleged the developer foreclosed on the land and sold it to other customers for a profit.
“When borrowers lose their properties to foreclosure, Colony Ridge completes the scam’s life cycle by purchasing the properties back for pennies on the dollar and reselling them at even higher prices to new unsuspecting borrowers,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said Wednesday, adding that the Justice Department is pursuing compensation for the victims of the alleged scheme.
Colony Ridge operated as a “one-stop shop for discriminatory lending,” Clarke alleged.
Colony Ridge CEO John Harris said in a statement that the company was “blindsided by this lawsuit and we are concerned that the Justice department would pursue this action.”
Calling the lawsuit “baseless,” “outrageous and inflammatory,” Harris said, “Our business thrives off customer referrals because landowners are happy and able to experience the American Dream of owning property.”
“We loan to those who have no opportunity to get a loan from anyone else and we are proud of the relationship we have developed with customers,” he added.
Loan Originator Services, which is named in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “appears to be uninformed regarding the applicable law regarding land sales, as well as the facts surrounding Loan Originator Services’ involvement in these land sales.” The company said it “looks forward to explaining why these land sales are legal and appropriate for customers” and expressed confidence the lawsuit would be dismissed once the government “comprehends what actually occurred.”
Prosecutors and federal regulators alleged the predatory lending scheme outlined in court documents violates federal law and said they are warning members of the community of the allegations.
Robert Legare is a CBS News multiplatform reporter and producer covering the Justice Department, federal courts and investigations. He was previously an associate producer for the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.”
