Mortgage Masters Group
481 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd. Suite A,
Port St. Lucie, FL 34952
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It’s truly been a year like no other, yet people around the world have done so much good in 2020.
Scientists have not just been working on COVID vaccines, researchers have made major diabetes breakthroughs, discovered new cancer therapies, and launched critical green innovations to make the world a better place for us all.
And though this year has been difficult for our favorite restaurants and bars, and people losing jobs—millions of people have done whatever it takes to keep them afloat.
From all of us at GNN, thank you to our readers, for your hilarious and heartwarming comments, and for sharing our positive stories with your friends.
With everyone proclaiming, ‘Good Riddance to 2020’, we can’t help but bask in the magnificent glow of kindness, resilience, and personal growth that has emerged…
Watch this young-hearted senior as she sews homemade face masks for all her friends, family, and community members—while jamming out to The Beatles.
The Oscar award-winning actor hosted several virtual bingo games for the Round Rock Senior Living facility—with his family cheering them on.
Dozens of Facebook groups for the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine” popped up across America so ‘wine fairies’ can leave gifts for community members.
Sheltering in place, Jimmy Fallon produced a Tonight Show ‘At Home Edition’, and his Hashtags segment was hilarious #MyQuarantineInSixWords
The Fownes Hotel in Worcester housed 45 rough sleepers during the COVID-19 shutdowns—and in return, the homeless repayed the kindness.
Florida cities aren’t just a popular place to retire; turns out, it’s a great locale to raise a family, too.
Port St. Lucie ranked 20th on “America’s Safest Cities to Raise a Child,” according to SafeWise, a research group that analyzes national crime and safety trends.
The study used the FBI’s crime rate data and included violent crime, such as murder, rape or aggravated assault; property crime, such as burglary, arson, motor vehicle theft; and sex offender rates per 1,000 residents. Port St. Lucie’s rates were:
Violent and property crime data used in the study was from 2018, the most updated available, and registered sex offenders were accurate as of Sept. 28.
Port St. Lucie was the highest ranked Florida city, but Coral Springs and Cape Coral were included in the Top 50. Port St. Lucie had the largest increase in rankings compared to 2019 when it ranked 41st, jumping 21 spots.
Naperville, Illinois, clenched the No. 1 spot this year.
Miami Beach did not make the list but had the highest property crime rate of cities studied at 74.76. The report also included the “10 Most Dangerous Cities in America,” but none in Florida made the list.
Catie Wegman is a community reporter who also produces “Ask Catie,” an occasional feature to find answers to your burning questions about anything and everything — the more bizarre the better. Support her work with a TCPalm subscription. Contact her at catie.wegman@tcpalm.com and follow her @Catie_Wegman on Twitter and @catiewegman1 on Facebook.
“As we inch closer to 2021, we continue to see more progress and increases across the St. Lucie County housing market. Throughout the year, we’ve seen a trend of double digit increases in median sale price and closed sales. This trend continued in November as the median sale price increased 7.5 percent to $259,575,” said Jarrod Lowe, 2020 President of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®.
Median sale price is our preferred summary statistic for price activity because, unlike average sale price, median sale price is not sensitive to high sale prices for small numbers of homes that may not be characteristic of the market area.
“Closed sales also increased heavily by 23.7 percent to 548. Homes in St. Lucie County are selling at an astonishing rapid rate and quickly as the median time to contract decreased 53.1% to 15 days. The market is hot and it’s a great time to invest in real estate. Take full advantage of the market this holiday season by contacting a local Realtor® for guidance on buying and selling in the current market conditions,” continues Lowe.
Time to Contract measures the number of days between the initial listing of a property and the signing of the contract which eventually led to the closing of the sale. Meanwhile, months’ supply of inventory is an estimate of the number of months it will take to deplete the current inventory given recent sales rates.
Market Reports: St. Lucie Single FamilyOpens as PDF. | St. Lucie Townhouses/Condos
However you celebrate this wonderful holiday season, may it be with Family, Friends and those you hold dear.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Very Happy New Year to You and Yours from your Friends at mortgage Masters Group.
On Tuesday night, December 22, 2020, the City of Port St. Lucie took viewers on a tour of the best local holiday lights and outdoor yard displays. They zig-zagged their way around Port St. Lucie to spotlight the best holiday-themed lights and festive photo-ops throughout the City.
It’s our pleasure to share it with you, just in case you missed it. Let’s spread some holiday cheer.
The agreement contains many priorities championed by NAR, including rental assistance, a fresh round of funding and simplified forgiveness for SBA loans, and more direct payments to Americans.
“Through this bill, our members will continue to have access to unemployment and small business assistance. But perhaps one of the biggest wins is rental assistance, which we have fought hard for since the last major COVID-19 bill was passed in April. It will bring instant relief to both mom-and-pop property owners and American families in danger of going over a financial cliff at the end of the year,” says Shannon McGahn, chief advocacy officer for NAR.
“While this bill hit more traditional political obstacles than the ones passed earlier this year, it was always a must-pass bill,” McGahn says. “One in five of our members took out a PPP loan. We made sure that Congress knew these items were critical to America’s 1.4 million REALTORS® and the economy as a whole.”
Specifically, the agreement reportedly:
Provides a new round of direct stimulus payments of $600 to most Americans including dependents
Extends all unemployment assistance, including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), through April 19, 2021, with a $300 weekly boost in payments through March 14.
Unemployment benefits are extended to the self-employed
Provides an additional $284 billion for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and $20 billion for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) grants
Allows certain eligible businesses to receive a second PPP loan
Creates a simplified forgiveness process for most PPP borrowers
Allows for deductibility of business expenses paid for with PPP funds
Provides $25 billion to the states through Sept. 30, 2022, for rental assistance and allows landlords to apply for funds on behalf of tenants
Includes payments for rent in arrears as well as utilities and other expenses related to housing
Extends federal eviction ban through the end of January
Provides $7 billion to states for broadband expansion, including $300 million for rural broadband
Provides new money for schools and vaccine distribution
Congressional leaders will begin consideration of the agreement Monday alongside a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 2021.
The government funding bill reportedly contains several items of importance to NAR, including:
The extension of a group of tax breaks known as tax extenders, some permanently or for multiple years
An increase in fair housing funding
A two-year expansion of the business meals deduction
Extension and expansion of Employee Retention Tax Credit
Permanent extension of section 179D deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings, with some enhancements
Mortgage debt forgiveness exclusion is extended for five years
Low Income Housing Tax Credit is expanded and improved
Source: National Association of Realtors®
Congress is expected to approve PPP Disaster Relief Loan Program Version 2.0
From the information shared so far:
TNT Funding Associates LLC can pre-submit a PPP 2.0 application for you or your organization now – without delay.
Please click or copy our contact webpage link below and let us know if you are interested?
Don’t wait to apply, as we expect this round of funding to be used up quickly.
You or Your Organization may be eligible!
Whether printed on wrapping paper, made into ornaments, or sewed into festive socks, the figure of a snowflake is one of the most identifiable shapes you’ll ever see.
But why is the shape so unanimous, when it’s often said that no two are alike? Today GNN looks at some merry mathematics and festive physics to get the stone cold facts about the famous six-pointed snowflake.
Many people think that snow crystals, as they should be referred, are just frozen droplets of water. These would be sleet, and snow crystals are actually formed in a completely different way, and change as they fall from the sky.
Furthermore, all three forms of water, liquid, vapor, and ice, must be present in a cloud for snow to fall.
At the heart of all things chemistry, there is first a discussion of charges, in this case a positive and a negative charge. Two hydrogen atoms bind to one side of an oxygen atom, giving that part a positive charge, while the other side left lacking the hydrogen atoms is negatively charged.
The negative side than attracts an entirely separate water molecule, which eventually grows, in a liquid state, to form a four-sided pyramid of six water molecules.
In this stage of the snow crystal-forming process, it could very well be that two indeed look the same, and there is no actual law of nature that would prevent two crystals from looking the same (in the winter of 1988, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Nancy Knight, took a plane into the clouds over Wisconsin and did indeed find two identical snow crystals).
It’s after this stage, when it becomes ice however, that a snow crystal will shift into a hexagonal (six-sided) formation and the immediately identifiable and beautifully symmetrical shape comes into existence.
University of Manitoba researcher and mathematician Ranganathan Padmanabhan explains to his university press why a snow crystal is always depicted with six sides and six branches.
“Nature is the Mother of all symmetries,” he begins. “In fact, symmetry happens to be a central organizing principle in Nature’s design,” noting bee honeycomb before explaining that on a molecular level, a hexagon allows for the tightest packing of things into space, meaning that Nature is a thrifty sort.
As the snow crystal falls through the clouds and the sky, it collects water—liquid, vapor, and solid, which upon exposure to differing levels of humidity and temperature, begins to build up as it spins downward in a theoretically unending variation of trajectories and conditions, eventually forming the branches or arms of the snow crystal that essentially prohibit identicality among fallen flakes.
An interview with meteorologist David Epstein, published in the Boston Globe, explains how snow crystals can actually form pillars, needles, diamonds, and triangles under different weather conditions, but hexagonal formations which we all recognize have a very streamlined process.
Ranganathan Padmanabhan tastefully noted that “as Galileo once mentioned, mathematics happens to be the language chosen by God to express these basic facts of science,” adding that “group theory,” an important mode of fashioning descriptions, was developed to explain symmetry across physics, mathematics, and biology.
While they fall across the polar latitudes and higher altitudes, the beautiful snow crystals which blanket forests and houses in snow globe glory have another beautiful side to them—a beautiful symmetry, uniqueness, and mathematics.
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There is plenty to do on the Treasure Coast this weekend including getting outdoors and enjoying the cooler weather. Here just a few of the Weekend Happenings going on in our own backyard…
The Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast
Date: Friday December 18, 2020
Time: 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: The Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast
Address: 1707 NE Indian River Drive, Jensen Beach, FL, 34957
Price: $6/person 12 months and under Free
Category: Kids / Family
Come explore & travel the world at the Childrens Museum of the Treasure Coast on December 18th for our Holidays Around the World Stroll!
Members can travel from 4:30pm-5pm & general admission starts at 5pm until 7pm. Tickets are $6 per person (Infants 12 months & under are FREE!)
All expeditions begin with a passport that gets stamped as you travel throughout different countries exploring diverse cultures and holiday traditions celebrated across the planet! MASKS/FACE SHIELDS ARE REQUIRED for all adults & children 6+. Social Distancing 6 feet apart is to be followed.
For volunteer opportunities, contact the volunteer coordinator at (772)225-7575 ext. 208
Every Saturday, the Fort Pierce Jazz & Blues Society hosts a Jazz Market “featuring creative arts & crafts” in Historic Downtown Fort Pierce on the waterfront of the Indian River. Original hand made crafts, stained glass, Highwaymen paintings, hand-painted glassware and much, more are available for purchase. Funds raised support education programs and local scholarships.
The Fort Pierce Jazz & Blues Society Jazz Market is a year-round event.
The Jazz Market summer hours are 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Although we enjoy promoting our local Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County resident artists and crafters, our market is open to all crafters who wish to participate, given space available and our Market Managers discretion. If you are interested in displaying or selling your items, download the The Jazz Market Guidelines and Vendor Application.
If you are an interested new vendor, applications are now being accepted.
Print and fill out an application and return it with pictures of your items to:
P.O. Box 1086, Fort Pierce, FL 34954-1086
For more information, please email: JazzMarket@jazzsociety.org
Six in ten Americans expect to be receiving more “creative” gifts than ever before from their loved ones this holiday season, according to a new poll.
And it may be in hopes to make this a season to remember, as nearly three in four Americans say they are planning on making this holiday season a memorable one.
The poll of 2,000 Americans found that in order to achieve this, one in five started their holiday shopping in September.
he survey, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of BJ’s Wholesale Club, took a look at how Americans are doing their holiday shopping during this unusual year.
According to the results, all but five percent of those polled plan to start their holiday shopping before December.
Since there will be a greater emphasis on online shopping this year than in the past, 71% said they plan on spending a good amount of time researching the best deals and discounts before purchasing anything.
And for those who will shop in-store, 70% of those polled said they plan on doing their holiday shopping at big, all-encompassing stores in order to cut down on how many trips they take.
While 56% of those polled said they’ll miss the in-store “treasure hunt” aspect of holiday shopping this year, most feel as though they’ll wind up being more creative and thoughtful with their gift-giving by shopping online.
Most respondents feel confident that they’ll find what they need by surfing the web, but one out of three (34%) still say they plan to buy at least one holiday item or gift only in-store. The majority agree that they’ll plan to use digital services to make that process easier.
More than four in ten respondents (42%) also say that they will purchase gifts for people that they’ve never previously bought for.
In fact, the average American surveyed will be getting gifts for nine people this holiday season, with 40% having 11 or more people on their shopping list.
The average American who took the survey said they plan on spending $370 on holiday gifts for loved ones this year, and nearly half (45%) say they plan to spend more than $400, with 16% planning to spend over $700.
Plans to give creative, thoughtful gifts to loved ones? That sounds like a pretty great way to end what’s been a difficult year for so many.
(WATCH the illustrated video of this shopping news below.)
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Expect a post-pandemic economic rebound, improving job conditions and stable interest rates in 2021, according to a survey of more than 20 top U.S. economic and housing experts during the National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) second annual Real Estate Forecast Summit. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, unveiled the consensus forecastOpens in new tab..
The group of experts predicted:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Growth of 3.5% in 2021 and 3.0% in 2022
Annual unemployment rate: 6.2% next year declining to 5.0% in 2022
Mortgage rates: An average 30-year fixed mortgage rates of 3.0% (2021) and 3.25% (2022)
Home prices: The annual median will increase 8.0% in 2021 and 5.5% in 2022
Housing starts: 1.50 million next year and 1.59 million in 2022
Working from home: The share of the U.S. workforce working from home will be 18% in 2021 – down from 21% in 2020 – and 12% in 2022
Vacancy rates: Small declines in office and hotel vacancy rates in 2021 and a slight increase in retail vacancies
Interest rates: 90% of experts predict no change next year; in 2022, most expect a 0.25% increase
“It is an understatement to say the year 2020 has been filled with challenges and full of surprises,” says Yun. “Yet, one astonishing development has been the hot housing market as consumers eyed record-low mortgage rates and reconsidered what a home should be in a new economy with flexible work-from-home schedules.”
In 2020, home sales will reach 5.52 million, the highest annual mark since 2006, with the median home price setting a record high of $293,000, according to NAR.
NAR also identified the top 10 marketsOpens in new tab.Opens as PDF. it predicts will best weather the post-pandemic environment over the next two years. It chose the top 10 metro areas by considering a variety of indicators, including: unemployment rate; net domestic migration, including movers from expensive West Coast areas; share of workers in retail trade, leisure and hospitality industries; mobility to retail and leisure places; and the fraction of the workforce working from home, among others.
Source: Florida Realtors®
New Yorkers are the most savings-conscious compared to any other state, according to a new poll of 5,000 Americans from all 50 states.
Interestingly, the results also showed that 58% of those polled said COVID-19 has completely changed how they approach savings, with 53% saying they’ve started saving for different things since the pandemic started.
Of those surveyed, the top thing they were saving for was found to be an emergency of some kind (32%) followed closely by retirement (31%), with a new car coming in at a distant third (20%).
But the respondents are also making a much greater effort to put money away. Nearly six in ten (59%) say they are officially cutting back on their spending towards this effort.
The survey, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Slickdeals, aimed to uncover data around how people in different states are reacting to their finances in the wake of the pandemic.
Of those cutting back, taking advantage of deals and discounts instead of buying at retail price (45%) was a popular method, as well as getting less take-out (44%) and making coffee at home rather than getting their caffeine fix from a pricey cafe.
“Cutting back on your spending does not always require drastically altering your lifestyle,” said Ryan Tronier, senior personal finance editor at Slickdeals. “Once saving money becomes a priority, you can start to make minor changes that start to add up over time.”
The saving-conscious New Yorkers are putting away, on average, 14.5% of their income towards savings goals or investment accounts.
Georgia came in second place with 12.9%, and Texas placed third with 12.7%—with residents from nearly every other state tucking less than 10% away for future goals.
he average respondent was found to have $17,135 locked away in a savings or investment account, with people from South Dakota leading the way with an overall average of $24,497 in savings.
The states with the least amount of savings were found to be West Virginia ($6,936) and Tennessee ($9,628).
TOP STATES FOR MOST MONEY SOCKED AWAY…
South Dakota $24,497
New Hampshire $24,187
Wyoming $22,626
Montana $22,522
Pennsylvania $20,252
Rhode Island $20,227
Hawaii $19,613
Massachusetts $19,565
North Dakota $19,185
Wisconsin $18,725
Nebraska $18,517
Georgia $17,562
Alaska $17,491
Delaware $17,451
Virginia $17,245
Nevada $16,752
Iowa $16,738
New York $16,609
Minnesota $15,884
New Jersey $15,151
Utah $15,066
New Mexico $15,039
Michigan $14,928
Texas $14,832
Alabama $14,813
Maine $14,657
Washington $14,431
Indiana $14,396
Kansas $13,900
Maryland $13,815
Vermont $13,573
Illinois $13,416
Kentucky $13,238
North Carolina $13,237
Connecticut $12,823
Colorado $12,490
South Carolina $12,240
Oregon $12,094
Florida $11,955
California $11,815
Arizona $11,804
Ohio $11,436
Oklahoma $11,414
Louisiana $10,939
Arkansas $10,805
Missouri $10,478
Idaho $10,208
Tennessee $9,628
Mississippi $9,306
West Virginia $6,936
A Spanish startup has launched the world’s first ‘piano’ that’s made from living plants.
The remarkable instrument uses flora as biological antennas, capable of perceiving changes in frequency when they are touched.
This change in frequency is translated into a voltage, which is conducted by the plants, as they are natural conductors of electricity.
he voltage is transformed into sound and activates the input of current from the electrical network into the circuit, giving rise to a magical show of light and music.
The installation was created by a biotech company named Bioo that makes electricity from nature.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” said founder and CEO Pablo Vidarte.”Multiple studies show that engaging with plants has a positive impact on humans from an emotional and psychological perspective.
“We aim to create a global consciousness of nature that helps lead the way to a greener future. That’s why we’re so enthusiastic about leveraging our technology that allows us to transform plants into biological switches, to create an amazing experience.”
The ‘green piano’ was launched in August in Spain’s Ibiza Biotechnological Botanical, Europe’s only biotechnology botanical center.
Bioo, named by the European Parliament as one of the most innovative companies in Europe, has the overall aim of making sustainable electricity from nature, and is also responsible for creating a biological battery powered from soil that “nourishes from nature without harming it.”
(WATCH the SWNS video to hear the instrument in action below.)
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When you look back on the year 2020, you’ll likely, remember COVID-19, widespread social unrest, and a contentious presidential election.
But overshadowed by all that gloom, the real estate market did something it hasn’t done in close to 15 years.
“It seems like a very big number, and it usually takes people’s breath away,” Florida Atlantic University Professor Ken Johnson said.
Johnson is talking about how much more your home is now worth.
Using data from private and public sources, Johnson and his colleagues publish the BH&J index. It tracks conditions to help people decide to buy or rent a home. It also records the average price of homes in certain areas. It shows West Palm Beach is 17 percent over its normal pricing trend, and in Port St. Lucie, home values are 20 percent higher than normal.
Johnson says the increases are short of the 2006 spike that saw prices climb by 60 percent, but this spike is built on strong economic factors.
“We’re looking at a tropical storm today, versus a Category 5 hurricane back in 2006,” Johnson said in terms of home values.
Real estate agent Alex Kaplan is with Douglas Elliman. Like most agencies, it first felt the pandemic’s impact in mid-march when the number of homes for sale dropped dramatically.
“Everyone feared for the worse. I was certainly concerned that things would be challenging in the future,” Kaplan said.
What no one knew then is that interest rates on home loans would continue to drop while at the same time, people started leaving big cities in the northeast in droves. Many set their sights on South Florida and the Treasure Coast to relocate. Those factors, along with a shortage of family homes on the market, have sent property values soaring. Because of the competitive market, selling may be the easy part. Kaplan recommends first deciding on where you’re going to relocate first.
Since finding the right home can be challenging, buyers need to move fast when they find something they like.
Kaplan recommends getting prequalified for a loan to help speed up the process. As for sellers, Kaplan says to make sure you’re working with a reputable licensed realtor who knows the market. It also helps to make sure your home is decluttered and ready for a quick sale. In some cases, the right home can go in just days and even hours.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12)
It’s safe to say that 2020 has provided Americans with the opportunity to spend more time at home than ever before—and two-thirds of homeowners have been making the most of the year by investing in their homes.
A poll of 2,000 Americans discovered that for 62% of people, investing in the home is the result of wanting to make their living spaces more comfortable and suitable for their new lifestyles.
The study, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Thermador, aimed to discover how people are rethinking their home environment and the steps consumers have taken to create more purposeful living spaces.
Results showed that one in four respondents upgraded a kitchen appliance, with another 50% elevating their home décor.
Additionally, 19% of respondents have transformed their entire living space since March 2020. Meanwhile, 17% have purchased new office furniture to make themselves more comfortable as they work from home.
People are also taking more time to reimagine and reconfigure their homes, as more members of the household are now enjoying the same spaces together.
As a result of these upgrades, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed are the happiest they’ve been with their homes—ever.
And people will continue to improve their spaces going into the holiday season. In fact, three in five say they are more likely to change up their interior design during this time.
“Many people are making various enhancements to their homes, such as adding built-in coffee machines in master suites and reworking garages to create in-home exercise rooms. It’s more important than ever that living spaces reflect peoples’ lifestyles, so investing in home improvements and remodels enables them to create a truly customized and functional environment,” stated a spokesperson for Thermador.
People are also turning to smart appliances to make their homes function better. For example, 46% of respondents invested in a smart appliance since March 2020.
TOP HOME UPDATES OF 2020
Whether it’s using voice control to lend a helpful hand in cooking meals or remotely starting the dishwasher, it looks like homes across the country are being turned into the newest “hotspot” this year.
Holiday Happenings across the Treasure Coast have changed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Many of the annual Christmas celebrations in Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties have been canceled, while others made drastic changes, including some going virtual, to follow safety recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Plus, new events were added this year. All events are free unless otherwise indicated.
Here’s What To Do in 772 this holiday season.
Golden Ponds Christmas Drive-Thru: 5:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at Golden Ponds Community, 1800 Golden Ponds Drive, Fort Pierce. Residents decorate their homes each year for public drive-thru.
Santa or Banana Pub Crawl: 4:45 p.m. Dec. 12 at Pierced Ciderworks, 411 N. Second St., Fort Pierce. Includes drinks specials at five bars or restaurants, costume contests and raffles. For more information, go to facebook.com/piercedcider.
Delights of December Plant & Gift Sale plus Fun with Virtual Santa: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, 2410 SE Westmoreland Blvd., Port St. Lucie. Garden Center Plant and Gardens Gate Gift Shop Sale. Take some virtual Pictures with Santa in the Secret Garden Kelly Pavilion. pslbg.org
St. Lucie Sheriff’s Police Athletic League Toy Run Festival: 1 p.m. Dec. 13 at St. Lucie County Fairgrounds, 15601 W. Midway Road, Fort Pierce.
Sounds of the Season Virtual Holiday Concert: 7 p.m. Dec. 18. Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County will stream online. For more information, go to facebook.com/stluciecsc.
Selfies with Santa: 1:30-4 p.m. Dec. 19 at Tradition Square, 10489 S.W. Meeting St., Port St. Lucie. Visit Santa and Mrs. Claus at for selfies, swag bags an DJ. Face masks required. Stations separated for social distancing. For more information, go to facebook.com/lifeattradition.
12 Pubs of Christmas Holiday Crawl & Toy Drive: 2 p.m. Dec. 19 at 12 bars or restaurants in Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie. Face masks required when walking between venues and inside venues but may be removed when seated and eating or drinking. Sanitized bus pickup every 45 minutes at different locations along route to help with social distancing. Tickets are $30 each. For more information, go to facebook.com/santalovesthekids.
Holiday Lights Spectacular: 6-9 p.m. nightly until first week of January at Marina Square on Melody Lane near City Marina at 1 Avenue A. Show consists of more than 100,000 lights wrapped around palm trees and synchronized to holiday music. For more information, call 772-467-3031.
Garden of Lights: 5:30-9 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays through Jan. 2 at Heathcote Botanical Gardens, 210 Savannah Road, Fort Pierce. Closed Christmas Day but open on Sunday, Dec. 27. Light displays throughout 5-acre gardens. Face masks required. Admission is $10 for non-members, $5 for members, $3 for ages 6-12 and free for kids younger than 6. For more information, call 772-464-4672 or go to heathcotebotanicalgardens.org.
Taste of Jensen: 5:30-8 p.m. Dec. 8 outdoors along Jensen Beach Boulevard. Features lighting of community’s 26-foot Christmas tree and Town of Ocean Breeze decorated golf cart parade throughout downtown Jensen Beach. Face masks recommended when not eating or drinking. Temperature checks and other safety measures will be followed. For more information, go to jensenbeachflorida.info/events/2020-taste-of-jensen.
Snow at the Plaza: 9-11 a.m. Dec. 12 at Stracuzzi Plaza, 2895 S.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart. Features playing in 6 tons of snow, bike raffle, treats, face painting, hair glitter and goodie bags for kids. Admission is unwrapped toys. Face masks required. For more information, go to facebook.com/thestracuzziteam.
Santa’s City Lights: 5-9 p.m. nightly Dec. 12-28 at Memorial Park, 300 S.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart. Features forest of Christmas trees decorated by Martin County Realtors of the Treasure Coast and City of Stuart, plus holiday songs playing on speakers via Florida Power & Light Co. Local celebrity judges choose three winners. For more information, go to martincountyrealtors.org.
A woman near Adelaide had the best tree-topper of all time—at least for a day.
Amanda McCormick found that her Christmas tree had a new ornament after a live koala wandered into her home and snuggled up the branches of the white pine.
Lucky for the internet, she took pictures before calling a wildlife rescue group, 1300KOALAZ.
“Our hotline operator took a call,” the charity wrote on FB. “At first she thought she was the victim of a prank call.”
They merrily reported that the koala was “desperate to get in the Christmas spirit.”
Amanda, who lives in Coromandel Valley in southern Australia, is not alone. Dee Hearne-Hellon, the co-founder of 1300Koalaz, says koalas are occasionally known to sneak into houses.
Perhaps, especially, when there’s a pretty tree to climb.
The juvenile female was released into the neighborhood, which is in a region of habitat perfect for koalas, and scurried up a nearby tree.
“Tis the season to be jolly…Koalalalala Lalalala.”
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Great news on the mortgage front: |
| Conforming loan limits are increasing for 2021! Buyers who are looking at larger homes now have an opportunity to receive better pricing when they close on or after January 1st, 2021. Anyone looking for higher loan amounts may be able to benefit from a conventional loan instead of a jumbo loan. Contact Mortgage Master at 772-340-4003 today for more information. |
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An analysis of online state-to-state home searches provides some insight on U.S. migration patterns, and Florida appears to be attracting a lot more new residents than it could lose to out-migration.
Redfin economists looked at the viewing habits of 53,000 visitors to its website in the third quarter of 2020 and found a lot of California and New York residents ready to transition to other states. And at least for New York, a lot of residents have their eye on a new Florida home.
“New York’s loss is Florida’s gain,” says Redfin economist Taylor Marr. “When the pandemic hit the U.S. in March, remote workers started leaving New York City and its ultra-expensive housing in search of wide-open spaces, sunshine and affordable homes – all of which you can find in Florida, with the bonus of no state income tax.”
Marr says the “trend has only intensified as the pandemic continues and people feel more certain of their remote work and school plans.”
According to the analysis, nearly 53,000 more website users wanted to move out of California rather than into it in the third quarter, a 62% increase since the third quarter of 2019 and the highest rate since Redfin started tracking migration in the beginning of 2017.
The story is similar in New York, where almost 47,000 more people searched for homes outside the state than the number who wanted to move in during the third quarter – about 35% more than the 35,000 home searchers looking to leave during the same time period last year.
California and New York had the biggest upticks in people looking to move out of state – minus people looking to move in – since last year, followed by Massachusetts, Washington, D.C. and Illinois.
Nearly 22,000 more website users looked to move into Florida than the number of Floridians who searched for a home outside the state in the third quarter, which is almost double the number in 3Q 2019 and the highest net inflow migration potential for the state since economists started tracking migration.
According to economists, movement into Florida has accelerated since the beginning of the year.
Source: Florida Realtors®
For more information, call 772-878-2277.
In the mood for a different kind of date night? Bring a comfortable chair (chairs will not be provided), head over to the Event Lawn at The Port and listen to live music while looking out over the St. Lucie River and gazing into the night sky. Food and drink are available for purchase. River Nights is free and takes place on the second Thursday of every month.
Celebrate Hispanic culture with four time Grammy award winning musician Tomasito Cruz. Listen to Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Balada, Cumbia and mucho mas!
Join us for live Music, dancing, & food! Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door.
For more information please call 772-344-4142.
Starting today, applications for PSL’s Home for Heroes Program are being accepted.
The City of Port St. Lucie, Synergy Homes, in collaboration with St. Lucie County Veteran’s Services Office, have partnered to build and donate a single-family home to a local, Gold Star family or Veteran. The City will donate the lot, Synergy Homes will build the home and St. Lucie Veterans’ Service Office will help advertise and co-select the recipient.
The Application period is from December 1 through December 15
Applicants are considered case-by-case and those considered to receive a home should meet the following criteria:
| CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE |
Meet Frankie the adventure goat who has traveled over 60,000 miles across the US with her owners in their colorful Airstream trailer.
Cate Battles and her husband Chad moved from their house into a trailer in 2016, and they’ve been traveling to beauty spots with their favorite pet ever since.
“She’s an awesome travel companion,” said Cate, a 34-year-old artist and travel writer from Grants Pass in Oregon.
“She’s visited all kinds of scenery with us; lakes, beaches, mountains, and caves. We’ve covered dozens of states and national parks together.
“At this point she’s probably been about 60,000 miles all around the country, all the way from the east to the west coast. She must have been to over 20 states already.
“Frankie loves being on the road and having adventures, she finds joy in any place she goes, in the desserts she climbs all over the rocks and at the beach she loves to lick the salt off the stones.
“She’s a great hiker, wherever we go she loves run around and explore. She’s even been to the Grand Canyon.”
The happy trio have managed to continue to travel during the pandemic, because they stick to places that are way off the beaten track.
“We don’t go to camp grounds, we always go out into the middle of nowhere, so Covid hasn’t really affected us at all. We’ve done multiple trips this year already, including North Eastern Nevada and Idaho,” said Cate.
Frankie, a 6-year-old Nigerian dwarf/pigmy goat, will cover a lot more ground in the coming months.
“Next we’re going to do a whole loop around the south west—Nevada, Arizona, Southern Utah, and New Mexico,” said Cate.
A die hard “goat mom,” Cait said she and Chad couldn’t imagine taking their trips without Frankie by their side.
“She’s so much fun, she looks tiny but she actually weighs about 80 pounds, she’s a stocky girl and she’s very well fed by us. We have a great time with her.”
Ready to see some more of Frankie?
Picture of Frankie the adventurous goat who has traveled over 60,000 miles across the US with her owners in their colorful Airstream trailer.
Heathcote’s Garden of Lights
Date: Tuesday December 1, 2020 through Thursday December 31, 2020.
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Heathcote Botanical Gardens
Address: 210 Savannah Rd, Fort Pierce
Category: Christmas & Holiday
Heathcote Botanical Gardens 6th annual all-volunteer designed and created Garden of Lights holiday light extravaganza is planned for 2020 following CDC guidelines and with a mandatory mask requirement to keep everyone as safe as possible.
This family-friendly annual holiday tradition has many fan-favorite displays from years past – the pond and waterfall, French market cart and bicycle, and some new displays
this year – the peacock, “cracken” and amazing flowers made from recycled materials.
Take photos with Heathcote the Bear.
You don’t want to miss this year’s Garden of Lights!
Tickets are available online here and at the gate. Prices are $5.00 for members, $10.00 for non-members, and $3.00 for children ages 6-12 years. Under 6 are free.
Please no pets at Garden of Lights.
Another massively successful vertical farming startup is pushing the future of farming towards the sky, literally and figuratively.
From an ag-tech startup named Plenty, a two-acre indoor vertical farm produces yields that would normally require a 720-acre ‘flat farm’—and it can be done with 95% less water.
Saving water is critical in an agricultural state like arid California, where Plenty is set to supply fresh produce for 430 Albertsons grocery stores.
The vision is truly one out of Star Trek, with Plenty’s use of robotics and artificial intelligence to ensure perfect plants year round.
The reasons to support indoor vertical farming are varied, ranging from climate-related benefits to removing cumbersome logistical challenges like long-distance transportation.
The company’s website says the technology “frees agriculture from the constraints of weather, seasons, time, distance, pests, natural disasters, and climate” that makes GMO-free nutrient-rich plants at scale with “extraordinary flavor.”
Perhaps that is why Driscoll’s, America’s largest fresh berry farmers, have agreed to grow their strawberries year-round in Plenty’s expanding portfolio of vertical farms.
And investors are seeing the potential of seeding their own portfolios with Plenty.
The company’s method for growing greens, like baby kale and lettuce, on giant vertical racks moved around by robotics recently garnered $400 million in investment capital from the likes of SoftBank, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and former Google chairman Eric Schmidt.
Reductions in transportation chains would eliminate millions of tons of CO2 every year, since instead of importing produce into city centers from farms across the country or the world, you could order it from a warehouse on the edge of town.
Furthermore, Plenty’s farms grow non-GMO crops without the use of pesticides or herbicides, and recycle every drop of water that’s not used, making them extremely friendly to the environment—except for their power usage.
A spokesperson told GNN they were using 100% renewable energy for their flagship farm in San Francisco, to keep emissions down.
Bathed in sun-mimicking LED lights in climate-controlled spaces year round, the farm ensures veggies grow at an astounding rate, which produces 350-times more food per-acre.
Supply-chain breakdowns resulting from COVID-19 and natural disruptions like this year’s California wildfires, demonstrate the need for a predictable and durable supply of produce can only come from vertical farming, says Nate Storey, co-founder of Plenty.
This will be all the more important if continual warming of the planet leads to droughts or other climate-related disruptions that can’t be overcome by farmers and biologists attempting to make crops more climate and drought-resistant.
Furthermore, vegetables and fruits contain far more micronutrients than cereals, but they also spoil fast and therefore are more expensive. Nations and inner cities that have to import all fresh produce places the poorest in the society at an extreme disadvantage nutritionally speaking. Vertical farming could be the way to solve that problem permanently.
Not only that, Plenty told GNN they have introduced new packaging that is not only made of recycled plastic, it is 100% recyclable, and it keeps food fresh longer to cut food waste.
The housing market defied high unemployment and an economic recession and surged during the COVID-19 pandemic – and that isn’t likely to let up heading into the winter months, says National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS® during Tuesday’s “Residential Economic Issues & Trends Forum” at the virtual 2020 REALTORS® Conference & Expo.
“2020 has been a year of surprises,” Yun said during NAR’s virtual convention – notably with a robust housing market in the middle of a global pandemic.
“This winter may be one of the best winters for sales activity,” Yun said. “It won’t match summer or spring sales numbers, but on a winter-to-winter comparison, this could be one of the best breakout years just based on the fact that pending contracts are at such a higher level.”
Mortgage applications are also up 20% year-over-year, which reflects the number of buyers in the pipeline approved for mortgages and ready to buy. Home prices are up too: The median existing-home price for all housing types was $311,800 in September – a 14.8% increase from a year ago.
What else does 2021 hold? Yun thinks the persistent housing shortage will likely keep home prices elevated, while new- and existing-home sales will continue to rise as record low mortgage rates and a work-from-home trend give housing markets a boost.
Mortgage rates: 3.1% (3% for 2020 forecast)
New-home sales: +23% (+20% for 2020)
Existing-home sales: +9% (+3% for 2020)
Home prices: +3% (+6% for 2020)
GDP growth: +4% (-5% for 2020)
Job gains: +3 million (-7 million for 2020)
10-year treasury: 1% (0.9% for 2020)
Consumer price inflation: 1.6% (1% for 2020)
Low mortgage rates are key against higher prices, Yun said when he addressed Realtors during the conference. One major factor contributing to the hot housing market has been record-low mortgage rates, under 3%. Yun predicts rates will continue to stay low into 2021. Mortgage rates are helping housing affordability balance against rising home prices.
“Some affordability challenges can be alleviated because of mortgage rates,” Yun said. However, “if home prices continue to rise at this current level, it could chip away at housing affordability.”
The economy likely will continue a strong recovery – but that’s dependent on a vaccine. Still, the economy remains short 10 million jobs in order to return to prior peak employment levels, and there’s a big variation in employment recovery among states.
If another lockdown occurs – due to escalating instances of the virus resurfacing – employment could take another hit, Yun warned. Nevertheless, many Americans’ personal incomes have received a boost from stimulus checks, small business loans and unemployment insurance over recent months. And consumers’ savings rate has remained elevated during the pandemic.
“That could be unleashed spending into the economy once there’s a vaccine,” Yun said.
Foreclosures likely won’t have a sizable impact on the market because “the job market is not back to normal,” Yun said. So when pandemic-related foreclosure moratoriums and mortgage forbearance programs come to an end, that could lead to a spike in foreclosures, Yun noted.
“That will be terrible for families losing their homes … but from a marketplace point of view, it will be completely unlike the subprime bust” more than a decade ago, Yun said. Back then, there was a 10-month supply of housing inventory compared to this market, which is under a 3-month supply.
“We are lacking inventory,” he said. “Any foreclosure increases will likely be quickly absorbed by the market. It will not lead to any price declines.”
Indeed, most homeowners have continued to gain equity in the pandemic. For example, the typical buyer who purchased their home in 2011 has accumulated about $120,000 in housing wealth today. Those who purchased in 2016 have about $60,000 in housing wealth.
Housing shortages will persist. “The challenge going forward is we don’t have enough supply,” Yun said. A balanced housing market is considered to be at a five-to-six-month supply, far from the current market’s under-three-month supply. “There are not enough homes for sale, and that means multiple offers and prices that are rising too fast. It also could limit some renters from becoming owners.”
Newly constructed homes also have low inventories. Builders have been hit by labor and lot shortages, and rising lumber costs that limit production.
Yun sees work-from-home trends drive housing preferences, with more Americans rethinking where they call home. About half of Americans who used to work in an office are still working from home, which sparked widespread office vacancies in many cities, Yun said. Several tech companies have even announced a permanent transition to working from home for its employees. That could mean the latest move-to-the-suburbs trend could continue after the pandemic too, Yun said.
“‘Work from home’ can also now mean ‘work from vacation home,’” Yun added, noting a rise in home sales in vacation and resort areas since the pandemic. “If you don’t have to commute every day, you might not mind living farther out.”
A recent NAR survey showed that 47% of Realtors said their clients are interested in moving to the suburbs or a subdivision, and 39% are interested in relocating to a rural area. However, only 14% are interested in moving to an urban area or central city. Many homebuyers also want larger homes, sometimes to accommodate multiple generations, according to NAR’s 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and SellersOpens in new tab.. Yun predicts the move to smaller cities and suburbs will continue beyond the pandemic due to a lasting work-from-home trend.
Source: Florida Realtors® & National Association of Realtors®
