- Texas Real Estate News
- Posts
- Feds refer Texas Hurricane Harvey funding discrimination case to the DOJ
Feds refer Texas Hurricane Harvey funding discrimination case to the DOJ
Plus: 73% of owners have regrets about their home purchase
🚀 It's the start of this work week, let's go!
Today's newsletter is 600 words — a 2.5-minute read.
1. Survey: 73% of homeowners regret their purchase decision
According to a new survey by the insurance provider Hippo, 73% of homeowners expressed regrets about their home purchase—an increase of 10% from last year’s survey.
Of those surveyed:
42% regret compromising on features they wanted in their homes.
34% regret paying a mortgage rate higher than they can comfortably afford.
29% are dealing with more repairs and unexpected issues than they anticipated.
These regrets may explain why 59% of respondents in the survey said they plan to move in 2025.
2. Feds refer Texas Hurricane Harvey funding discrimination case to the DOJ
HUD affirmed on Wednesday that Texas officials discriminated against residents based on race and national origin in the distribution of $1 billion in Hurricane Harvey aid in 2021.
“The General Land Office (GLO) focused Mitigation resources in communities that benefited smaller populations of rural White Texans over communities of urban Black and Hispanic Texans, particularly those closer to the coast and more prone to flooding from hurricanes and other natural disasters.”
HUD referred the case to the DOJ after GLO refused to address the issue. Despite GLO's defense, which cited the plan's benefits for minorities, investigations revealed that the aid disproportionately favored less-affected inland counties.
A MESSAGE FROM DAVE YOUR MORTGAGE GUY
What is a DSCR Loan? It is a superpower for Investors! Tune in for everything you need to know!
P.S. I have done these loans for Realtors, Business Owners, Retired Folks, and more!
3. Catch up quick
🤝 Howard Hanna adds 400 agents with the Home Experts Realty merger. (Howard Hanna)
⚠️ Homeowners in high-risk areas paid 82% more for insurance. (Treasury)
🏗️ Judge allows construction to continue at the controversial industrial park Velocis in Bee Cave. (Kxan)
🖋️ Trump signs executive order on housing. (WhiteHouse)
🏠 Fun read: ‘Home Alone’ house sells above asking price at $5.5 million. (NYPost)
4. FTC files complaint against Greystar alleging hidden fees in rent prices
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Thursday that it is suing Greystar, the nation's largest multi-family rental property manager, for allegedly deceiving renters by adding mandatory fees that increased prices above the advertised amount.
The lawsuit accuses Greystar of not revealing fees — such as trash or package delivery services — on websites where the apartments they managed were advertised, such as Zillow, even when those rental marketplaces had sections to list those types of fees.
5. Housing starts jump 15.8% in December
According to a report from HUD and the Census Bureau, housing starts rose by 15.8% in December, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.50 million units — the highest since February 2024.
Single-family starts rose by 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.05 million units. In 2024, total single-family starts reached 1.01 million, an increase of 6.5% from the previous year.
The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, surged by 61.5% to a pace of 449,000 units. However, multifamily starts ended the year 25% lower than in 2023.
Total housing starts for 2024 reached 1.36 million, down 3.9% from 1.42 million in 2023.
A MESSAGE FROM NO SCRUBS
Hate Laundry? NoScrubs laundry delivery is for you!
2-3 hour turnaround
Professionally folded
Quality guarantee
☀️ Thank you for starting your day with us!
If you like this newsletter, your friends may too. Forward it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here.
Interested in advertising to 50k+ Texas Realtors? Email [email protected]