Fort Lauderdale Blog

5 Tips to Deal with Stock Market Volatility

5 Tips to Deal with Stock Market Volatility

 
A volatile stock market can be stressful for anyone who has invested a chunk of change.  Here, Aadil Zaman and Syed Nishat of the Wall Street Alliance Group, offer their top 5 tips for successfully navigating through market volatility:

Be mentally prepared for market declines. Market corrections are an essential part of a healthy market. At any point in time, an investor should be prepared for a 10 percent to 20 percent pullback. If the recent two-days fall made some investors feel restless and stressed, then it may be time to reassess their risk exposure to make it more conservative.

Mortgage Rates Move on Uptrend

Mortgage Rates Move on Uptrend

By RISMedia Staff

Mortgage rates again moved up this week, continuing an uptrend, with the average 30-year, fixed rate at 4.43 percent, according to Freddie Mac's recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The average 30-year, fixed rate was 4.40 percent the week prior. The average 15-year, fixed rate this week is 3.90 percent, while the average five year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate is 3.62 percent.
 
Mortgage rates are moved, primarily, by 10-year Treasury yields.

Buying Is Still Better Than Renting in Most States

Buying Is Still Better Than Renting in Most States

Affordability challenges are weighing on the housing market, as many homebuyers and sellers contend with either being unable to compete or to find a new home within reach.
 
Buying a home, however, is still better than renting one in most states—35, to be exact, according to a recent study by GOBankingRates.

**High rents in Fort Lauderdale and Miami becoming a major reason tenants are becoming Homeowners**

The 10 Worst Money Mistakes You Can Make

The 10 Worst Money Mistakes You Can Make

By Barbara Pronin

Successful money managers share a simple strategy: spend less than you make over a long period of time and invest the difference.

But the author of ESI Money, an online blog written by a reclusive “50-something retiree who has amassed a sizable net worth,” suggests a list of the 10 worst things you can do to sabotage your financial independence:

Rent Growth Crawls, but Costs Still High

Rent Growth Crawls, but Costs Still High

 Rent growth is crawling at its slowest pace in five years, with rents up nationwide just 0.7 percent year-over-year, according to the recently released March Zillow® Real Estate Market Reports. Notably, rent growth in the West, which has led appreciation, is stalling. The median rent is now $1,408.
 
Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell attributes the brake on appreciation to a more balanced supply/demand scenario.
 
"The slowdown in rental appreciating is mainly due to new construction finally meeting demand, and even outpacing demand in some areas," says Gudell.

It's Good to Be a Seller: Sales See Highest Profits Since 2007

It's Good to Be a Seller: Sales See Highest Profits Since 2007

 
It's a good time to be a seller.
 
Home sellers in 2016 saw the highest profits since 2007, averaging a 21 percent gain, or $38,206, according to ATTOM Data Solutions' Year-End 2016 U.S. Home Sales Report. Sellers in San Jose and San Francisco, Calif. saw the highest gain, at 69 percent, as well as those in Santa Rosa, Calif., at 52 percent, Los Angeles, Calif., at 49 percent, and Seattle, Wash., at 48 percent.

Tips for Bulking Up Your Savings

Tips for Bulking Up Your Savings

Regardless of your saving goals, many Americans find they aren't able to save as much as they like. According to a recent survey by GoBankingRates, 62 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings and 21 percent don’t have a savings account. A total of 9.2 percent of respondents to the survey admitted to having just enough money in their savings account to meet the minimum requirements set by their bank. 

Read on for everyday budgeting tips that can help bolster your savings, courtesy of  American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC). I added my 2 cents too.

Report: Home Values Appreciating Faster

Report: Home Values Appreciating Faster

  
Home values Appreciating Faster in the U.S. Growing 5.5. percent in the past year—the fastest pace of appreciation in over two years, to a median value of $189,400, according to the September 2016 Zillow® Real Estate Market Reports.
 
Portland, Dallas and Seattle reported the highest year-over-year home value appreciation among the 35 largest metros across the country, the Reports show. In Portland, home values rose almost 15 percent to a median value of $342,100. Home values in Dallas and Seattle appreciated 12 and 11 percent, respectively. For the first time, the median home value in the Seattle surpassed $400,000 and is now at $401,100.

Fixed Mortgage Rates Don't Budge

Fixed Mortgage Rates Don't Budge

Average fixed mortgage rates remained unchanged from the previous week, while still remaining near their all-time record lows, according to Freddie Mac's recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey®.
 
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.43 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending August 25, 2016, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.84 percent.

Survey: Saving a Top Priority For Millennials, but Impulse Spending a Major Barrier

Survey: Saving a Top Priority For Millennials, but Impulse Spending a Major Barrier

One in three millennials (34 percent) ranked saving as their No. 1 goal for the year – ahead of living a healthy lifestyle (20 percent), paying off debt (19 percent), and losing weight (14 percent). But while saving was a top priority, a majority of millennials attributed their lack of saving to impulse buying (65 percent).

According to a recent survey from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Ad Council, for older millennials - those born between the early 1980s and early 1990s - saving is crucial as they work toward major milestones in their lives.