ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
FILE – A sign is displayed outside a house for sale in Pittsburgh, Jan. 4, 2019. The Biden administration is looking to expand reporting requirements on all-cash real estate deals to help crack down on bad actors’ use of the U.S. market to launder money made through illicit activity. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) Home prices have plunged during the second half of 2022 with demand for residential real estate cooling off in a number of states and cities across the U.S. And prices could continue to fall by as much as 20% next year as mortgage rates climb and the housing market normalizes in wake of the pandemic, according to a noted Wall Street economist. Ian Sheperdson, chief economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a report this week that tumbling demand for homes amid sharply rising mortgage rates is weighing heavily on housing prices. “[W]e expect home sales to keep falling until early next year. By that point, sales will have fallen to the incompressible minimum level, where the only people moving home are those with no choice due to job or family circumstances,” he said. “Discretionary buyers are disappearing rapidly in the face of the near-400 [basis point] increase in rates over the past year.” Mortgage rates have more than doubled over the last year — and could keep climbing Some real estate markets cooling as mortgage rates hit 20-year high Home values plunge in some U.S. cities as mortgage rates rise Home sales fell to 4.7 million last month, down 1.5% from August, according to the National Association of Realtors. Rising interest rates could further tighten supply Mortgage rates have more than doubled this year. The average rate on a typical 30-year mortgage rose this week to 6.94%, from 6.92% last week and 3.2% in January. The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages is now 6.23%, compared with 2.33% a year ago. Rising rates have forced some homeowners to pump the brakes on selling their property because they would have to get a mortgage to buy another home as rates are surging. “It’s entirely possible that even people who want to trade down will face a bigger monthly payment,” Shepherdson said. “That’s a good reason to stay put, thereby constraining supply.” The supply of homes available for sale will likely shrink next year, predicted Shepherdson, while noting that “prices have to fall substantially in order to restore equilibrium.” The median home sale price rose to $384,800 in September, up 8.4% from a year ago, the NAR said. “We think inventory could increase modestly in the next month or two as homes sit on the market for longer, but new listings continue to decline as sellers retreat to the sidelines,” Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist with Oxford Economics, said in a research note. How high will rates go? Economists expect mortgage rates to continue climbing next year as the Federal Reserve further pushes up borrowing costs in a bid to curb inflation. Rates could reach 8.5% “which would be another big shock to the housing market,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told a group of real estate investors last week. Other analysts think mortgage rates could hit double digits. Mortgage rates have soared nearly 3.8% since the end of 2021, according to Oxford Economics. Wall Street analysts expect the Fed raise to raise its benchmark interest rate by up to an additional 1.5% by year-end. “At the beginning of the year, it seemed very unlikely that mortgage rates would push past 6%,” Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS, told Realtor Magazine. “Now the question is how high will they go? A lot of the answer depends on how aggressive the Federal Reserve is going to go on rate hikes in its next two meetings.”