The five U.S. metro areas where pending sales are falling most are all in Florida, though the declines are easing in some metros following a destructive hurricane season. Florida is home to the five U.S. metropolitan areas where pending home sales are falling fastest.  In Fort Lauderdale, pending sales dropped 15.2% year over year during the four weeks ending November 10—the biggest decline among the U.S. metropolitan areas Redfin analyzed. Next came Miami (-14%), West Palm Beach (-13.8%), Jacksonville (-9.5%) and Tampa (-7.2%). Nationwide, pending sales rose 4.7% over the same period. The metro-level ranking in this report came from a list of the 50 most populous metros; Redfin included the 47 that had sufficient data. Florida’s housing market has been slowing for months as residents grapple with frequent natural disasters, along with a surge in home insurance costs and HOA fees fueled by intensifying climate risk. The latest shoe …

Automated valuation models (AVMs) provide instant property valuations. They are an algorithm-based tool based on mathematical formulas, property databases, and property characteristics. Used by homeowners, real estate professionals, underwriters, mortgage lenders, investors, and anyone who wants a quick property valuation, AVMs are available on digital platforms. They vary in their sophistication depending on the needs of the end-user. Read on to learn how AVMs work, who uses them, where to find them, and how they serve the world of real estate. What Is an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) in Real Estate? An automated valuation model (AVM) is an algorithm-based tool to determine the value of a home or property. The models use property data including information on local real estate and the neighborhood combined with mathematical or statistical modeling to estimate a property’s value. Property AVMs are available on real estate platforms popular among homeowners, such as Trulia.com, Realtor.com, and …