Victim identified in deadly shooting in Immokalee; suspect on the runLots of sunshine this Tuesday afternoon
IMMOKALEE Victim identified in deadly shooting in Immokalee; suspect on the run The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has released more information regarding a deadly shooting that occurred in Immokalee.
the weather authority Lots of sunshine this Tuesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking sunnier conditions with less humidity and increased wind speeds this Tuesday afternoon.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up Mar. 11 As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
WINK NEWS Labelle Man killed in crash on SR-80 in Hendry County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly crash that killed a man on East State Road 80 and Cedarwood Parkway in Hendry County.
LEHIGH ACRES Bowling night brawl in Lehigh Acres leaves one man hospitalized A night of bowling at Lehigh Lanes in Lehigh Acres took a shocking turn when a fight broke out, leaving one man unconscious in the parking lot.
GOLDEN GATE Golden Gate truck crash leaves resident’s home in ruins; suspects flee A truck crashed through a woman’s bedroom wall at the Mer Soleil Apartments in Golden Gate, narrowly missing her.
Bill aims to make Florida hands-free driving state Texting and driving in Florida is already illegal, but now a new bill would take it one step further.
PUNTA GORDA Local roof builder arrested: Former customers speak out Reife Nels Peterson, also known as “RJ,” faces multiple charges, including grand theft and impersonating a contractor during a state of emergency.
SANIBEL LCEC preparing power supplies for future storms on Sanibel Sanibel residents experienced a daunting two-week power outage after Hurricane Ian. This left many struggling without essential services.
Custom hats bring joy to young patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital Shannon Berg is making a big impact with small gestures at Golisano Children’s Hospital.
NORTH PORT Behind the bar at CoolToday Park: A Braves fan’s dream job Order a drink at the Tomahawk Tiki Bar in CoolToday Park and you are sure to see Tonia Copelan behind the bar.
FORT MYERS BEACH Spring breakers in Fort Myers Beach embrace rainy weather Rainy weather impacted Southwest Florida, particularly Fort Myers Beach, during spring break. Despite the showers, visitors and spring breakers made the most of their time.
FORT MYERS Lee County speaks on challenges of getting sidewalks near Fort Myers Middle School The quest for sidewalks near Fort Myers Middle School is proving to be more complicated than initially expected.
NAPLES Collier County shooting victim’s family fights to preserve memorial site A family in Collier County is facing heartbreak as they work to maintain a memorial for their loved one who died in a shooting.
EVERGLADES CITY Everglades City airpark faces closure, locals rally to save it The Everglades Airpark in Everglades City could face closure as it is reportedly losing money.
IMMOKALEE Victim identified in deadly shooting in Immokalee; suspect on the run The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has released more information regarding a deadly shooting that occurred in Immokalee.
the weather authority Lots of sunshine this Tuesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking sunnier conditions with less humidity and increased wind speeds this Tuesday afternoon.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up Mar. 11 As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
WINK NEWS Labelle Man killed in crash on SR-80 in Hendry County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly crash that killed a man on East State Road 80 and Cedarwood Parkway in Hendry County.
LEHIGH ACRES Bowling night brawl in Lehigh Acres leaves one man hospitalized A night of bowling at Lehigh Lanes in Lehigh Acres took a shocking turn when a fight broke out, leaving one man unconscious in the parking lot.
GOLDEN GATE Golden Gate truck crash leaves resident’s home in ruins; suspects flee A truck crashed through a woman’s bedroom wall at the Mer Soleil Apartments in Golden Gate, narrowly missing her.
Bill aims to make Florida hands-free driving state Texting and driving in Florida is already illegal, but now a new bill would take it one step further.
PUNTA GORDA Local roof builder arrested: Former customers speak out Reife Nels Peterson, also known as “RJ,” faces multiple charges, including grand theft and impersonating a contractor during a state of emergency.
SANIBEL LCEC preparing power supplies for future storms on Sanibel Sanibel residents experienced a daunting two-week power outage after Hurricane Ian. This left many struggling without essential services.
Custom hats bring joy to young patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital Shannon Berg is making a big impact with small gestures at Golisano Children’s Hospital.
NORTH PORT Behind the bar at CoolToday Park: A Braves fan’s dream job Order a drink at the Tomahawk Tiki Bar in CoolToday Park and you are sure to see Tonia Copelan behind the bar.
FORT MYERS BEACH Spring breakers in Fort Myers Beach embrace rainy weather Rainy weather impacted Southwest Florida, particularly Fort Myers Beach, during spring break. Despite the showers, visitors and spring breakers made the most of their time.
FORT MYERS Lee County speaks on challenges of getting sidewalks near Fort Myers Middle School The quest for sidewalks near Fort Myers Middle School is proving to be more complicated than initially expected.
NAPLES Collier County shooting victim’s family fights to preserve memorial site A family in Collier County is facing heartbreak as they work to maintain a memorial for their loved one who died in a shooting.
EVERGLADES CITY Everglades City airpark faces closure, locals rally to save it The Everglades Airpark in Everglades City could face closure as it is reportedly losing money.
Credit: WINK News. The U.S. real estate market was already tough for prospective buyers, who have faced double-digit price increases and cutthroat competition for listed properties. Now they are facing another challenge as rising mortgage rates add to the affordability squeeze. The average mortgage rate jumped to 4.42% for the week ended March 24, according to Freddie Mac. That’s more than a one percentage-point jump since January 2022, when rates were hovering at about 3.2%. The current rate is the highest homebuyers have seen since March 2019. The higher rate translates into significant costs for homebuyers. For a median-priced home, a rate of 4.4% on a fixed 30-year mortgage would cost someone an additional $250 a month, compared with a purchaser who had bought in January when the rate was about 3.2%, according to Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting for the National Association of Realtors. That jump in housing costs is pricing millions of potential buyers out of the market, she added. “Since the beginning of the year, about 7.9 million households have already been priced out due to higher mortgage rates,” she said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch, adding that “2.5 million of these households are millennials.” The rapid increase in home prices during the pandemic has pushed the dream of homeownership beyond the means of many middle-class Americans, who increasingly are bidding against investors and higher-income buyers for a limited pool of homes. One question many have asked is when prices might come back to earth; so far, however, there are no signs prices are softening. In February, the median listing price for U.S. homes jumped almost 13% to $392,000 compared with the previous year, Realtor.com said earlier this month. Only about 40% of renters who are millennials — whose generation is now the biggest buyers of homes — can afford to buy a starter home under today’s rates, compared with 53% a year earlier, Evangelou said. Housing market cooling fast Even so, there are some cracks emerging in the real estate market. For one, the pending home sales index, which tracks contracts signed for existing home sales, dipped 4.1% in February, which experts say is due to affordability concerns as well as a lack of inventory. The number of active listings dropped by almost 25% in February compared with a year earlier, according to Realtor.com. “Pending home sales follow mortgage demand, which has been falling rapidly since the turn of the year, and is nowhere near bottom, given the continued surge in mortgage rates,” noted Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a research note. “The housing market is cooling very rapidly, and sales are set to fall by 20%-to-30% by mid-year.” He added, “The writing is on the wall, in big, sharp, clear letters.” Buyers are also facing a triple-whammy: Not only are housing and borrowing costs higher now, but inflation is at its highest level in four decades. The typical household is likely to face an additional $2,000 in costs this year due to high gas prices — money that will erode their ability to spend on other goods and services. “For buyers looking for a home, the higher price came at the same time as speeding #inflation not only took more out of each paycheck, but also pushed mortgage rates higher,” said George Ratiu, senior economist at Realtor.com on Twitter. “The net effect, especially for first-time buyers, was a shrinking of their budgets & fewer options.”