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Natural Disaster

California MBA backs $100M fund in governor’s budget proposal for wildfire rebuilding

California, Construction loan, Forbearance, Housing Market, HWmember, Mortgage, Natural Disaster, Wildfire /

The California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA) voiced strong support for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed $100 million allocation for the Southern California Rebuild Fund included in this month’s revised state budget proposal, the trade group said this week. The proposed funding is designed to expand access to construction financing for homeowners affected by last year’s Southern […]

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First fully rebuilt Palisades home testing post-fire demand

Brokerage, California, Compass, Home Prices, Homeowners insurance, Housing Market, HWmember, Los Angeles, Luxury Real Estate, Natural Disaster, New Home Sales, Real Estate, Wildfire /

Fourteen months after California’s Palisades wildfires destroyed nearly 5,900 homes, the first fully rebuilt residence has come to market, offering the clearest pricing test yet for post-fire demand. The newly built contemporary home — listed at just under $7.5 million — comes after the original was just one month from completion when it was destroyed.

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California MBA urges guardrails for bill targeting wildfire-related forbearance

California, CMBA, Forbearance, Housing Market, HWmember, Legislation, Mortgage, Natural Disaster, Wildfire /

The California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA) testified on March 20 before the California Assembly Banking & Finance Committee during an oversight hearing on California Assembly Bill 238, which focuses on the effectiveness of mortgage forbearance and the broader challenges facing homeowners affected by the state’s January 2025 wildfires. AB 238 provides up to one year

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43.5 million U.S. properties face mounting hail risk, Cotality finds

Climate Change, Cotality, Homeowners insurance, Housing Market, Mortgage, Natural Disaster, Weather /

More than 43.5 million U.S. properties are at moderate or greater risk from hail damage, representing about $17.84 trillion in reconstruction cost value, according to Cotality’s 2026 Severe Convective Storm Risk Report released Tuesday. The report finds that hailstorms are emerging as one of the most financially destructive natural hazards for the housing market, with

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How one Florida community transformed hurricane resilience into record sales

Homebuilders, Land, Natural Disaster, Residential Real Estate, The Builder's Daily /

Southwest Florida was tagged by homebuilding business strategists and observers as one of the nation’s more difficult and listless markets in 2025. On the other hand, Babcock Ranch – a master-planned, solar-powered community located near Fort Myers – defied gravity, carrying on in better-than-expected fashion.  While the region’s homebuilding market grappled with priced-out entry-level buyers

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Estimates for insured losses from Winter Storm Fern top $4 billion

Housing Market, HWmember, Insurance, Natural Disaster, Tennessee, Texas, Weather /

Data and analytics firm Verisk said that insured losses to property and automobiles from Winter Storm Fern could reach $4 billion, according to an initial analysis released by the company on Tuesday. Another estimate from Karen Clark & Co. (KCC) is even higher. KCC reported that privately insured losses from Winter Storm Fern are estimated

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Trump executive order overrides Los Angeles wildfire rebuilding plan

California, Donald Trump, FEMA, Housing Market, HWmember, Los Angeles, Natural Disaster, Politics, Wildfire /

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an executive order that allows the federal government to override state and local regulations during recovery efforts from last year’s Los Angeles wildfires, arguing that California authorities have slowed rebuilding. The order directs federal agencies to bypass state and local permitting processes for federally funded disaster recovery projects, asserting

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Sonic Fire Tech launches infrasound wildfire defense system in California

California, HWmember, Natural Disaster, Technology, The Builder's Daily, Wildfire /

Sonic Fire Tech recently announced the commercial rollout of its Sonic Home Defense system, a wildfire defense system in California that extinguishes fires using inaudible, infrasound technology instead of water or chemicals.  The product has personal significance for Remington Hotchkis, chief commercialization officer at Sonic Fire Tech, whose family home in Altadena burned down in

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Why Texas builders are betting on backup batteries for new homes

Homebuilders, Homebuyers, Natural Disaster, Technology, The Builder's Daily /

On March 4, 2025, a windstorm cut across Texas and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes. Outside Dallas-Fort Worth, the pattern was the same as the storm swept through one of Lennar‘s new communities: the grid went down, the neighborhood went dark. But 46 homes in that same community—the ones with a

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Florida property insurance market is rebounding from 2022 low point

Flood insurance, Florida, Homebuyers, Homeowners insurance, Hurricane, HWmember, Natural Disaster, Real Estate /

ALIRT Insurance Research released a report this week finding that Florida’s homeowners insurance market has stabilized after years of financial strain — following legislative reforms adopted in late 2022 and early 2023. The 2025 Florida Domestic Property Insurer Market Update concludes that the market has rebounded from conditions in 2022, when litigation costs, rising losses

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